It happens to most of us at some stage in our lives, so how we manage it is vital.
There is good scientific evidence on how we should deal with this.
Back pain is extremely common and nothing to worry about. It may recur but this does not mean re-injury and there will usually be no permanent problems.
Managing episodes of back pain successfully can make a difference to your abilities in the long term.
What to do when you have an episode of back pain:
Do not rest unless you have to, and then 2 to 3 days maximum. Rest is not a treatment for low back pain and can lead to stiffness, weakness, loss of fitness, and disability.
Do seek professional advice early on if you are concerned in any way about your back pain.
Keep up normal activities by giving yourself small goals to keep to, eg to walk around for a few minutes every so often, sit for a certain time etc.
Pace your activities - do normal daily activities but cut them up into small blocks of time that you can easily manage. Increase activities by fixed increments and stick to what you plan, not to how you feel.
Take adequate pain-killing medication. Medication should be taken in fixed doses at fixed times, and not when you feel like it or the pain gets too bad. Drugs used need to be discussed with your doctor or pharmacist.
Recognise negative beliefs and deal with them. Look upon the episode as a relapse, not a disaster.
Manipulation can be useful to provide short-term improvement in pain and abilities. As long as you choose a skilled therapist the risks of manipulation are very low.
Use relaxation techniques, either from classes, books or tapes.
Go back to work/normal activities as soon as possible. Don’t wait.
Do not expect to be completely pain free before resuming normal activities.
You should have returned to normal activities and work by six weeks after the start of your episode. If not you may need to join an exercise programme under supervision or at the gym to prevent long term problems.
No comments:
Post a Comment