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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    What can I do about my chronic lower back pain?

    Related Topics
    Back & Neck Pain Pain
    My L5 pushed up into on other vertebrae spine moved 20%.

    I am experiencing constant pain also down my legs and can not stand for more than 30 minutes.
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    Luke McManus

    Physiotherapist

    Effective treatment will depend on how long you have had your pain for. If it is a new injury, seek a physiotherapist for advice as to how to modify your daily activities to minimise pain. They can also advise if other medical referral is required.

    Chronic low back pain (greater than 3 months) is quite different, and can certainly be difficult to manage.
    Current research suggests that there is no one superior treatment technique (massage, manipulation, exercise) over another.

    This is because chronic pain is a complex combination of different factors, which varies between each person. Things to take into account are anatomical factors (tight muscles, stiff joints), as well as possible factors such as poor sleep, anxiety, depression, and other lifestyle factors. 

    It's important to see a clinician that is experienced in chronic pain to go through a thorough assessment and identify which factors are contributing to your pain.

    Here is a video that might be of interest, to help explain:

    http://physiodevelopment.com/2013/07/understanding-chronic-pain/ 

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    Sandra McFaul

    Physiotherapist

    Do you suffer from chronic lower back pain or neck pain? Based in SYDNEY, Sandra is 1 of ONLY 15 Physiotherapists in Australia with ADVANCED … View Profile

    You need a mechanical assessment to find out what movements make you feel better and what movements make your pain worse.  This is called the McKenzie Method of Physio.  If your pain doesn't respond within a 3-4 sessions a McKen zie therapist would then suggest seeing a specialist for further investigations.

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  • Dr Cassie Atkinson-Quinton

    Chiropractor

    After graduating from her Masters in Clinical Chiropractic, Cassie has completed two post graduate degrees in Chiropractic Sport Science and Chiropractic Neuro-Rehabilitation. Her post graduate … View Profile

    As Luke said, chronic pain is a very complicated phenomenon. It'll often require a multimodal approach to address the various aspects. Multimodal means looking at it from different perspectives often using a team of pracitioners.
    Rehabilitation exercises will also be important. Within days of a lower back injury, the muscles around the area are inhibited or “turned off.”

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    Josephine Perry

    Bowen Therapist

    Josephine is a fully qualified Bowen Therapist, with full insurance cover and Association membership. Rebates provided by most health funds, according to levels of cover.Practice … View Profile

    I agree with Luke and Cassie. It is important to find the cause of the problem.  A Bowen therapist can assess your range of movement, provide gentle non-invasive relaxation procedures and recommend stretching and strengthening exercises.  Depending upon how long you've had the pain, relief can come within the first three treatments.  A Bowen therapist would have no hesitation in recommending further consultation with a diagnostic practitioner.

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  • Karen Brown

    HealthShare Member

    Hi  I fully understand how you feel As I too do suffer from iy far to often   the phrase" anxiety and Depression" are associated to this problem, Unfortunately to those who treat the is problem, the lack of understanding that only 20% of suffers suffer from anxity and depression', is a large factor that casues the long term , I would first definately establish with a good gp, what the problme is, try to get asses ed and try some massage , light exercise together with meds to break the cycle of pain. 

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