Lower Back Pain - Knowledge is Power
The BMJ reports that between a third and half of the UK population experiences some form of chronic pain, with up to 60% expected to experience back pain at some point in their lives (NICE, 2022).
Musculoskeletal problems cause 35% of all sick days.
Can learning about your lower back pain help?
A recent study in Australia took a group of lower back pain sufferers through a 'sensorimotor retraining programme', where they were taught about the science behind chronic pain, how the back and the brain communicate, and how they move their back during activity.
The study, published in the Journal of American Medical Association, randomly split the 276 participants (all lower back pain sufferers for greater than 3 months) into a sensorimotor retraining group and a control group, consisting of sham treatments, which lasted 12 weeks.
The education modules looked to correct the dysfunction involved in chronic pain and assist with movement while experiencing lower back pain. The treatment sought to improve patient understanding of the relationship and gradually retrain the body and the brain back to a normal protection setting and a resumption of usual activities.
Results:
The average pain intensity was 5.6 at the start (on a 0 to 10 scale, 0 being no pain), and 3.1 at week 18 in the intervention group, compared to 5.8 at the start and 4.00 at week 18 in the control/sham treatment group. This is a significant improvement in pain for the treatment group.
Educating patients around pain science and a graded approach to resuming movements is part of the treatment package at OsteoPoint Wimbledon. We combine this with traditional Osteopathic treatment principles and manual therapy techniques.
References:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2794765
