| More than 60% of us will suffer from back pain
at some time in our lives, and yet the general understanding of
how the back works is poor.
 With
an estimated £500m of an annual NHS funding being spent on back
treatments, and at least 100m sick days blamed on back pain, it
seems more and more important that people seek and understand
their problem, what causes it, and more importantly, how best
to manage it.
A recent national report into growing problems
of back pain concluded that sufferers should be treated, as well
as being educated as the nature of their condition. One of the
treatments recommended by the report was chiropractic.
Understanding the problem
Any treatment is dependant on mutual understanding
 between
patient and practitioner and this is particularly true in the
treatment of back pain. The better you understand your problem,
the more efficient you can make your recovery.
People suffering back pain too often believe that
the best solution is bed rest.
It is now known that in fact prolonged bed rest
can do more harm than good.
It is wise to refrain from the activity which
caused the pain initially, but otherwise to go about your daily
tasks as normally as possible.
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Another problem is neglect. People often mistakenly believe that
if they ignore the problem it will “wear off”.
However, even if time brings relief from the initial
pain, the underlying problem is likely to still be present, and
the pain will recur until eventually it no longer goes away. It
is at this stage that many people seek advice from a chiropractor.
Whilst the chiropractor will still be able to
treat the pain, the necessary treatment tends to be longer for
older problems. Do try to seek chiropractic advice as soon as
possible.
Age-old remedies, passed down from generation
to generation, are no doubt very helpful fro many aliments, but
not for back pain! Contrary to popular belief, people with painful
backs should not retire to bed with a hot water bottle. A likely
cause of back pain is inflammation in the back it is best to use
ice until you can see a chiropractor.
 History
of the problem
When a chiropractor sees a new patient,
they will always take a full history of the problem to try and
ascertain the cause of the problem.
At this stage, it is best to give the chiropractor
as much detail as possible, even if you do no think it will be
relevant.
Often we see patients who say their back pain
came on for no apparent reason, only to find out that they had
been moving house the day before!
The more detail you give us, the quicker we will
be able to pinpoint the cause of the problem and treat it.
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