Back Pain

Back pain is a very common problem, which affects 4 out of 5 of us at some point – A very unpleasant but normal part of life. Fortunately, most back pain is not due to anything serious and rarely needs a scan although multiple factors can contribute to it, including physical, mental and lifestyle aspects. The people who recover quickest due to back pain are those who stay active and get on with life despite some pain.

With the right guidance and support, most people with back pain will recover without the need for medical help. Understanding back pain and what you can do to help yourself get better is an essential part of your recovery.

Watch this short video by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy on how to manage back pain and then look at the other sections for more information.

If you are not sure of the cause of your back pain then click below to complete our Musculoskeletal Symptom Checker to learn about potential causes of your symptoms and the best ways to manage these in the Self Help section.

Musculoskeletal Symptom Checker

Acute Back Pain

Have you have been experiencing back pain for less than 6 weeks? If yes, then you are suffering with acute back pain.

This is a recent onset of pain which might be caused by a sprain or strain of the back although more commonly it starts for no obvious reason without sustaining any specific injury to your back.

The pain can come on suddenly or over a few days or weeks and can range from a mild pain or ache to quite severe pain, which can be extremely distressing and can sometimes stop you carrying out your everyday activities.

Despite having acute back pain, it is essential that you keep moving from day one, even if you might have to temporarily do a little bit less than usual initially, and then gradually build up to return to your normal activities.

For more help with improving acute back pain, please see other self-help sections further down the page. You can also Click Here for exercises that our physiotherapist recommend to help with acute back pain.

Persistent Back Pain

Have you been experiencing back pain for more than 3 months? If yes, then you are suffering with persistent, also known as chronic, back pain.

This type of back pain will initially start like Acute Back Pain although the pain continues even after the original cause of back pain has healed.

The pain you feel is just as real and unpleasant although it is much less to do with any ongoing tissue damage in the back, but more due to an over sensitive protective system that continues to produce pain in your back and sometimes the legs too.

This pain protective system can be influenced by multiple things including thoughts, feelings and beliefs as well as confidence to move the back again. Unfortunately, there are a lot of unhelpful and incorrect messages given about back pain which can actually make the problem worse. Click on the FAQ section to bust some myths about back pain and start trusting your back again.

Click on this short video below, produced by Pain-Ed, to listen to people with back pain presenting 10 facts every person should know about back pain:

Although persistent back pain can be more complex, it can still be improved through understanding pain better and changing the way to approach it.

Click Here to access some exercises that our physiotherapists would recommend for addressing persistent back pain.

Sciatica

If you’re feeling pain in your lower back or hip that radiates to the back of your thigh and into your lower leg, you may have sciatica.

This is an umbrella term for any condition that is causing irritation of the sciatica nerve. Despite what you’re told and read, nerves are very rarely ‘trapped’. Pain will usually be worse in the leg than in the back and you may also have some tingling, pins and needles or numbness in the leg or foot.

This leaflet provides information, answers and self-help strategies regarding the condition:

Sciatica

See exercises in Self Help section or Click Here for specific sciatic nerve gliding exercises to help reduce your leg pain in addition to the back exercises provided in the Sciatica leaflet.

However, there are some rare cases where it might be related to a specific structure in the back. Click on Further Support for additional information and when to see a healthcare professional. Some people with sciatica may require prescribed medication to help with nerve pain.

Pelvic And Back Pain In Pregnancy

Pelvic girdle pain (PGP) during pregnancy is very common and affects one in five women. In most cases, the pain will resolve after several weeks or months following the birth.

During pregnancy, the stability of the pelvis is affected allowing the joints to move more than normal. This is caused by changes in the muscles and ligaments. As the pregnancy progresses your posture and your pelvis will come under increasing pressure.

Pain can be felt in the pubic, groin, inner thigh and back region. It can be on one side or both sides.

If you experience symptoms that do not improve within a week or two, or interfere with your daily function, you may have PGP and should ask for help from your midwife, GP, physiotherapist or other healthcare professional.

Back pain is also common during pregnancy, especially if you have a history of back pain. Sometimes pain may spread into your thighs and the front of your abdomen.

Most cases of back pain during pregnancy are due to an altered posture, muscle weakness and an increase in joint laxity which normally resolves after pregnancy in 80-95% of cases.

Back pain may start at any time during your pregnancy but is most common in the second half of the pregnancy. Being mindful of your posture, lifting technique, heavy domestic tasks and exercise are a good place to start.

Exercises to strengthen muscles in the back, hips, stomach and pelvic floor region are key to effectively managing back pain during pregnancy. Click Here for exercises that our physiotherapists would recommend.

This leaflet provides information, answers and self-help strategies regarding pelvic and back pain during pregnancy.

Pelvic And Back Pain In Pregnancy

Another problem during and after pregnancy can be stress incontinence due to weakness of the pelvic floor muscles. Click Here for further information on how to carry out your pelvic floor exercises correctly and making lifestyle changes if necessary.

For pregnancy and postpartum related advice, exercises and management of pelvic pain, continence issues, pelvic floor exercises, perineal massage and more, please watch the videos – Click Here

For pregnancy and postpartum yoga exercises to try, please Click Here and see if you are able to complete some of these NHS-approved exercises.

Take our one minute test

This quick questionnaire can help you identify how likely your pain is to persist over the next 6 months and whether you may need some extra support. It has been developed by a team of experts from Keele University – Click here for more information about the tool.

The tool has been shown to be very useful for people with common Musculoskeletal pain to profile individual risk of having a poor recovery and to use as a guide in conjunction with support from a healthcare professional if necessary.

Try out the questionnaire for yourself to see how you score and to get further help and advice. It will also be useful to retake the questionnaire after you have learned more key facts about your pain, either from this website or from a healthcare professional, to re-assess in time whether your back pain problem is improving.

For question 1 – 9, think about just the last two weeks:
Pain intensity 1. On average, how intense was your pain? [where 0 is “no pain”, 10 is “pain as bad as it could be”]

Select one of the options for each question below	Yes	No
2. Do you often feel unsure about how to manage your pain condition?
3. Over the last 2 weeks, have you been bothered a lot by your pain?
4. Have you only been able to walk short distances because of your pain?
5. Have you had troublesome joint or muscle pain in more than one part of your body?
6. Do you think your condition will last a long time?
7. Do you have other important health problems?
8. Has pain made you feel down or depressed in the last two weeks?
9. Do you feel it is unsafe for a person with a condition like yours to be physically active?
10. Have you had your current pain problem for 6 months or more?

High Risk

This test suggests you have some serious concerns about how well your back will recover.

This may be related to feeling low and anxious generally or by being afraid that you might have done something serious to your back.

It might help to discuss your concerns with a doctor or physiotherapist if things are still not improving over the next few weeks after following the advice and exercise in the Self Help section.

Also, visit the section on Persistent Pain for more information and support.

99 times out of 100 your back pain is not related to a serious condition. Allowing yourself to move normally, without too much worry, will help your back to return to normal. Painkillers often help you to move normally, while your back recovers.

If you are feeling low or anxious, whether this is related to your back pain or not, and you would like further help and information, visit NHS website – Health in Mind.

Alternatively, Click Here for an interactive online self-help programme to help manage symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Medium Risk

This test suggests you may have some doubts about how well your back will recover.

This may be related to feeling low and anxious generally or by being afraid that you might have done something serious to your back.

99 times out of 100 your back pain is not related to a serious condition. Allowing yourself to move normally, without too much worry, will help your back to return to normal. Painkillers can help you to move normally, while your back recovers.

You might also want to access the Essex Lifestyle Service for further support and help on making healthy lifestyle choices and live healthier lives as this could be contributing to your back pain.

Low Risk

Congratulations! You most likely have the right ideas about your back pain, and feel in control of how you manage your recovery.

We all know an episode of back pain is very annoying, and at times extremely painful. Carrying on as normal and continuing to bend and move your back allows the quickest recovery, and stops your back stiffening up.

Keep going as you are, although read this short leaflet for more information and advice to get better even quicker.

Please select all options.

Back Pain Beliefs Calculator

You can also complete this short questionnaire created by NHS 24, which can help measure your beliefs about back pain and if these beliefs are affecting your recovery. Keep a note of your current score and try the questionnaire again after you have looked at the information on the website.

Statement	Completely Agree Completely Disagree
There is no treatment for back pain	☆☆☆ ☆☆
Back pain will eventually stop you from working	☆☆☆ ☆☆
Back pain means periods of pain for the rest of one’s life	☆☆☆ ☆☆
Back pain makes everything in life worse	☆☆☆ ☆☆
Back pain may mean you end up in a wheelchair	☆☆☆ ☆☆
Back pain means long periods of time off work	☆☆☆ ☆☆
Once you have had back pain there is always a weakness	☆☆☆ ☆☆
Back pain must be rested	☆☆☆ ☆☆
Later in life back pain gets progressively worse	☆☆☆ ☆☆

Please select all options.

Low Score

The lower the score then the more likely it is that your beliefs about your back pain are limiting your recovery.

Worrying that you will never return to normal will not help your recovery. It may in fact slow things down.

Most back pain does improve with time and is rarely due to any serious illness or disease.

There is plenty you can try to help yourself get back to normal.

A good place to start this recovery is by looking at the information in the Self Help and FAQs sections for back pain and Self Help and FAQs sections for persistent pain. Don’t take back pain lying down.

High Score

The higher your score then the more likely it is your positive beliefs about your back pain are helping your recovery.

This is great news! Having positive beliefs about recovery and getting back to normal helps you maximise your recovery.

Keeping active and not letting back pain take over your life does help you get back to normal quicker.

It would still be worthwhile to take some time to look at the advice on this website and see if you can help yourself even more.

High Score

Please Select Some Values

Evidence has shown that people who understand their Musculoskeletal health problem and take an active involvement to help themselves have a much better outcome.

Here are some really helpful leaflets, videos, exercises and useful links to other websites that have been approved by our physiotherapists so that you can start getting better today.

This information is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment if required. All content is for general information purposes only.

Click Here to access our getUBetter app, which is an easy, safe and effective way to support your recovery.

Leaflets

Source: Keele University

Low Risk Musculoskeletal Pain

Source: Tasmanian Health Organisation South

Cauda Equina Syndrome

Pelvic And Back Pain In Pregnancy

Sciatica

Pelvic Floor Exercise Booklet