Chances are that you will experience back pain at some point in your life. The statistics suggest that over 80% of people will suffer some back pain.
The Australian Institute of Health and Wellbeing reports that in 2017-2018, almost 2 in 5 people with back problems said their pain affected their daily activities. These are staggering statistics that illustrate the significant burden that back pain is having on our society, and this is not just financial! There are both the physical and mental burdens on the individuals too.
A third of chronic pain patients will experience higher levels of psychological distress, one in five will suffer from depression and the probability of early retirement because of pain related disability increases by 40%.
Another interesting statistic is that 9 out of 10 back pain patients do not know what is causing their pain. Unfortunately, when you don’t know the cause, it’s hard to know how to manage it correctly and a lot of individuals turn to opioid pain medication. This is no long term solution, and too often we see this turn into a chronic back injury that starts to affect lifestyle.
Back pain is very complex and still widely mismanaged. This may be because there are so many different potential causes including:
- Disc injuries
- Joint sprains
- Muscle strains
- Postural pain
- Trauma
- Sporting injuries
- Arthritis
- Sciatica
So.. Why see an Osteopath for your Back Pain?
1) Training
Osteopathy is one of the fastest growing healthcare professions in Australia with many osteopaths describing back pain as our ‘bread and butter’. Osteopaths have 5 years of University training where they learn to master the difficult task of assessing, diagnosing, treating and managing musculoskeletal injury, particularly back pain.
2) Thorough History & Assessment
An initial consultation at Pakenham Osteopathy is 60 minutes long to ensure your story is heard. Our osteopaths will take the time to listen and formulate the history of your back pain and how it is affecting your quality of life. A thorough assessment is then carried out to pinpoint the cause of your back pain, allowing for individualised treatment plans.
3) Hands on Treatment Approach
Pain is the most common symptom of any back problem and the most common reason people seek osteopathic treatment. Therefore, there’s no surprise that Osteopaths continue to employ a hands on approach to help decrease pain and get you moving better. There are a vast range of hands on techniques that an Osteopath will use including:
- Soft tissue massage
- Joint mobilisation
- Joint manipulation
- Rigid and kinesio taping
- Dry needling
- Shockwave Therapy
4) Individualised Treatment Plan
It is disappointing to us when we look back at the statistic that 9 out of 10 back pain patients don’t understand what is causing their back pain. At Pakenham Osteopathy, we believe that patient understanding into their cause of pain and management is vital. That’s why we take the time to explain your pain and provide you with a written management plan. This plan outlines your diagnosis, expected recovery time, how many treatments you will need, and anything else that is required to reach your back pain goals. This way, we avoid leaving patients confused, worried or isolated.
5) Holistic Approach
For many people, back pain can become a recurring incident. If we had a dollar for every time someone has said they’ve had back pain “on and off for years”, then we’d be millionaires! We believe in long term success and therefore we take on a holistic approach to your injury. We not only treat your pain, but we also address the root cause of your problem. This will reduce the likelihood of pain returning in the future so that you can live a healthy and active life moving forward.
Everyone’s pain is different, and everyone has different goals. At Pakenham Osteopathy, we strive to treat the person, not just the injury.
Whether your goals are to run marathons, muck around with the kids or enjoy your time in retirement, we take them very seriously (while always having a laugh in the treatment room at the same time!). These goals help us form the basis of our individualised management plan to ensure that together, as a team, we are able to get you back doing the things that you love.
If you want to learn even more about back pain check out some of our other blogs here:
https://www.pakenhamosteopathy.com.au/5-common-misconceptions-low-back-pain/
