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Everyone talks about it but no one talks about what happens when you have a bad back...

Sometimes, even ...   more »

You need to make sure you are stretching the right area if you want to see the results you desire!   more »

Sometimes your pain is froma body part that is the victim of criminal behaviour of some other part of you.. don't forget movement is king. If you can't move properly you will be punished.   more »

Although I obviously would like to see patients in my office I think that any organisation that promotes patient self education should be supported.

One excellent group is Dr Hamilton Hall's Canadian back institute (www.cbi.ca/main.cfm).

Dr Hall has always written excellent books that are plain speaking and informative.  Likewise his website offers information including an online self assessment package to help you to understand what might be going wrong and how to deal with what you find the source of your complaints to be.

Years ago, before I was a physio myself, I got tired of having problems and finding that the information I needed wasn't available. Treatments were not always helpful ( I tried chiropractic, massage etc) and too often a passive approach left me soon back in pain again and wondering what to do.

Its worth giving Dr Halls site a view and seeing if what he tells you helps you to understand things a bit better. I know in my case it was very beneficial.

Best wishes and good health!

Ross

Its funny how the way you see the events you have been involved in determines how much you suffer.  The ...   more »

Often when someone gets an injury, particularly when it is in the back, there can be spasm/tightness/cramp sensations. 

It may ...   more »

Sometimes people have something hurt and there is good reason to avoid the pain because of recent injury from trauma.  ...   more »

Everyone seems to suffer from back pain at some time in their lives. As a chartered physiotherapist I see alot of people who can be helped with little intervention. Sometimes it is as simple as learning a bit about how what you feel relates to the type of problem you might be suffering with. 

Just to start out I would like to get people thinking about pain and see what their thoughts are.  It can be daunting to be in pain and not sure what to do. 

The first concept that is often missed is that hurt does not equal harm. If you pull your finger back you feel discomfort even though nothing has been damaged. Martial arts like aikido and jiu jitsu use this type of pain to control people who are attacking them without necessarily damaging them.  If you have been in a cast for 6 weeks and you start to move then there will be pain as the tissues have tightened, become sensitive or because they have become stuck dowon on adjacent tissues.  Often a simple stretching program will help to loosen things. In this type of situation then you need to move towards the pain to loosen things up and get your body moving again.

I am sure many of us have felt this in the past. Often  this type of pain may resolve within 7-10 days of stretching things out.

This is my first blog so patience please if I don't make things as clear as I would like them to be. I am happy to hear any constructive comments that will help people to understand what I am trying to get across.

Cheers from the UK.

Ross