Back pain is very common, and one of the major reasons people come and visit an osteopath, it's one of the main things we treat at our osteopathy clinic in Clapham, near Bedford. Indeed, when you mention you have a bad back, most people will suggest you go and see either an osteopath or a chiropractor. At some point in our life, most of us will suffer from a bad back.
Whatever your age, you may suffer from back pain, caused by sprains or strains to your muscles or ligaments. Sometimes this may be caused by injury, sometimes due to bad posture, such as sitting incorrectly at your work desk for example, or through lifting heavy objects. Stress, depression, or being overweight can also be influencing factors in back pain.
Back pain can manifest itself with either mild or severe pain, with maybe stiffness or tenderness to your back, or during movement. This can be anywhere around the upper half of your body from the neck to the pelvis. You may also feel numbness or pins and needles.
A lot of the time, you may find that your back pain will resolve itself. Sometimes though, your pain may be longer term, or may be linked to other symptoms. Your Osteopath can help diagnose and treat you, helping you understand your condition, and also suggest exercises and lifestyle/posture changes to help prevent a reoccurrence in the future.
If your Osteopath cannot directly help with your back pain, or if they feel there are other influencing factors, they may refer you for X-rays to help with a diagnosis or refer you to your GP for further investigation or tests.