DON’T TAKE TO YOUR BED

‘THE idea that moving will make your back pain worse is a myth that endures,’ says Lauren Connors, of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. ‘It’s true that some movements can be uncomfortable, but it’s well established that returning to movement as soon as you’re able to is better for recovery than bed rest.’

In fact, taking to your bed makes matters worse as it quickly weakens the muscles and ligaments that support the spine. ‘Often patients with back pain have tight muscles because they avoid certain movements,’ adds Laura Finucane, a consultant physiotherapist at the NHS Sussex MSK Partnership. ‘As a result they get stiffer and tighter, which all contributes to their back pain’.

Indeed, in the vast majority of cases of lower back pain, ‘behaviours such as limping,

protective muscle guarding and grimacing, are more reflective of fear and distress’ than of injury, According to a major review in The Journal Pain Management Today in 2014. Avoiding movement can leave patients ‘feeling helpless and disabled’ — and such ‘catastrophic Thinking’ can make back pain worse. This is why modern treatment focuses on getting patients to exercise and make lifestyle changes.

NICE guidance recommends patients with back pain be encouraged to continue with normal activities and even be referred to exercise programmes, including aerobics classes.

‘ Manual therapy’, such as spinal manipulation or massage should be considered, ‘but only as part of a treatment package including exercise’.