The Injury Hub
Back Pain: Info, Symptoms & Treatment.
Our Chartered Physiotherapists across Ireland are experts in the causes, symptoms and treatment of back pain.
The Injury Hub: Back Pain
What causes back pain?
Back pain can be caused by problems with either discs, joints, muscles and ligaments or most often a combination of these. It is usually the result of acute trauma/injury or poor postural habits and the resulting accumulation of stress on the spine.
However, there are other rarer, more serious causes of back pain that can result in progressive inflammatory processes affecting bones and joints.
How We Can Help.
Symptoms, Treatment & How We Can Help Your Recovery.
Learn about common back pain & back injury symptoms, effective treatments, and how our expert team supports your recovery journey every step of the way.
Symptoms Of Back Pain
Back pain for many people is often experienced as a pain or discomfort located between the lower ribs and buttocks with or without the addition of leg pain.
Symptoms can range from muscle ache to shooting pain, limited movement, altered walking and difficulty standing straight. If sciatica occurs along with the back problem, nerve pressure is experienced as pain that radiates down the leg and possibly into the ankle or foot. Pins & needles and numbness can occur too.
Acute low back pain generally lasts for a few days to weeks and is usually as a result of trauma or arthritis. Low back pain that persists for longer than 3 months is considered chronic.
Causes Of Back Pain
Often back pain is a result of a sudden incident or injury, continued poor postural habits, or can be simply the accumulation of physical stress on the spine. However, there are other causes too, such as inflammatory conditions, or, in rare but more serious cases, problems such as progressive diseases affecting bones and joints.
How can physiotherapy help back pain? It has been widely acknowledged that physiotherapy is a safe and efficient way to treat back pain, and our team of experts are trained to diagnose the problem by carrying out comprehensive assessments. A recent study showed that patients who underwent early physiotherapy treatment and adhered to it following an onset of acute lower back pain resulted in substantially lower costs and reduced use of health care resources over a two year period.
A personalised treatment plan for your particular problem will be put in place by your physio, which may involve a combination of lifestyle advice and education, a tailored exercise plan, deep tissue massage, dry needling and postural advice, to restore a normal range of motion, strength and full function.
Back Pain Treatment
As back pain is often multifactorial, our Physiotherapists are highly trained to diagnose problems in the joints and soft tissues of the body. They will carry out a comprehensive assessment and treatment plan to help successfully manage your particular problem.
Manual therapy such as spinal manipulation/ mobilisation and massage are often used to alleviate symptoms and manage this condition in the acute stage. A home exercise programme will be devised to help restore muscular strength and re-educate accurate movement patterns. Your physiotherapist may advise other activities such as pilates or yoga to help with the long term care of your back.
Our Chartered Physiotherapists and Certified Acupuncturists may also help to relieve your back pain through the use of acupuncture or dry needling. For more information please see our pages on acupuncture or dry needling.
Our Expertise
Our Physiotherapists have a great deal of specific clinical experience in the treatment of back pain and back injuries. Back pain can be caused due to a number of different reasons so our Physiotherapists will assess your condition and find the most appropriate treatment for your pain.
There are many different structures in the back that can cause pain; such as, the disc, ligaments, muscles, and nerve tissue. Our Physiotherapists will endeavour to find the underlying reason why that structure was damaged which allows you to address the root of the cause rather than treating the symptoms.
Our Chartered Physiotherapist will aim to educate you about your back so you can best understand the benefits of the treatment and how to manage it long term if needed.
Our patient’s health journeys
How Much Does It Cost?
Please refer to our individual clinic location pages for pricing information.
What Are Your Clinic Hours?
Monday – Friday: 8am to 8pm
Saturday: 9am to 5pm
Sunday: Closed
*Please note, opening times can vary between clinics
Where Is This Service Available?
This service is available in any of our nationwide clinics.
Am I Covered By Health Insurance?
We work with all major insurers – Vhi, Laya and Irish Life. We recommend you check your own policy for its terms and conditions to see what cover you have.
How Do I Contact You?
Our Patient Services team is available to help you Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, and Saturdays from 8:00am to 4:00pm.
Call Us: 01 611 1740
Spectrum Physio
You’re In Good Hands.
We’ve treated over 250,000 patients across our nationwide clinics.
