Sunningdale Osteopathic Clinic

These seven useful tips are for those of you with a brand new episode of low back pain - i.e. under a few days.

See other articles for advice on sciatica, and for what sciatica actually is.

These tips are for what we call 'mechanical' low back pain - involving problems with joints and muscles.

For advice on how to cope with disc injuries, please look at this article.

Don’t panic!

Most bad backs get ‘better’ quickly, the majority within a week. Believe it or not, the severity of pain is not a good guide to how bad the injury is. Sometimes the most painful backs get better quickest!

Alternate plenty of rest with gentle moving around in the first couple of days, and then increase activity gently but progressively

Initially, find a comfortable resting position (often lying on your back with legs bent up, or on your side with the top leg drawn up to your chest), rest for a little while, then get up and move about gently.

Drink plenty of water, avoid too much coffee, tea and alcohol and cut back smoking if you can

Keep the load of your digestive system, and allow waste products from any injury site to be disposed of as quickly as possible!

Gentle exercises (of short duration) may help, done as often as possible in the early stages

The first, lie on your back with neck supported on a pillow or cushion, then bring both knees to your chest with your hands over your knee-caps. Using your arm strength only, gently bring your legs further to your chest until you feel a mild stretch in your low back. Hold it there (remembering to breathe!) for 15 to 20 seconds.

The second, in the above position, starting with your elbows straight, just rock gently your legs towards you (not too far!), just enough to get some rhythmic movement in your low back.

Neither of the two exercises above should actually cause significant pain. If they do, then ease off. But remember, activity and exercise need to be tried - you need to use your best judgement as to whether they are helping or not. Perhaps the best way of answering this is to say: does my back feel a little better after I've exercised / moved it, or not?

Change your normal activity to reduce stress on your back wherever possible

No lifting, gardening, washing at the sink, housework etc., especially in the first week.

No long car drives. If you have to drive make sure the seat is adjusted properly to avoid strain on the low back (basically, don’t have the seat back too up-right).

Don’t be tempted!

As soon as you feel a little better, you may be tempted to overdo things as you rush to make up for lost time. Don’t - healing is still going on. Instead, discuss with your osteopath how soon you can up your activity levels. But you should be trying to get back to normal life if you can - it's just that normal life should not include some of the riskier activities (e.g lifting, washing the car) till you can cope with them.

Drugs

If you are taking anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen (nurofen) or diclofenac (voltarol), watch out for stomach upsets. They probably won’t happen, but it’s better to be prepared. Also, if you feel they aren't doing you any good, don't just keep taking them - talk it over with your pharmacist, GP or osteopath.