Back and neck pain

Osteopath Hackney - Michael Walker

Back and Neck Pain

Lower back pain has reached epidemic proportions in the western world. Research shows that 60% of the UK’s population will suffer from back pain at some stage during their lives.

The trouble with back and neck pain is that it can do more than just give you a pain in the back. It can create difficulties with walking, sitting, bending and lifting and can sometimes lead to depression. It can also be the cause of pain in the buttocks, groin or legs (commonly called sciatica), in the head, neck, shoulders and arms. It can also be one of the effects of hip, knee and foot problems.

Osteopathic treatment is often the most effective first line of attack in correcting problems caused by back and neck pain. Speedy access to an osteopath can, for acute patients, often avert the possibility of conditions becoming chronic (long term).

Back pain responds well to osteopathic treatment by reducing pain and restoring mobility and quality of life.

Pain Relief

One of the main purposes of osteopathy is pain relief. Osteopathic treatment helps people of all ages who experience pain, tackling complaints from trapped nerves (e.g. sciatica and neuralgia), frozen shoulder, headaches and whiplash injury, to sprains and strains. The osteopath’s role is to alleviate pain and improve the patient’s mobility in order to make life more comfortable.

Pain can affect many areas of the body, but particularly the lower back, head, neck, joints and legs. A lot of long-term, recurrent pain is caused by degenerative changes to the body’s framework. Nobody can reverse this process of ageing, but osteopathic treatment may still ease pain. Pain control is an important part of treatment and osteopaths give guidance on simple self-help methods to use at home.

Whether the pain has arisen through an accident or fall or whether as a result of faulty posture, osteopathic treatment can be very effective in dealing with the problem.

The skilled techniques of osteopathy can often allow you a speedy return to normal activity. If you have had a pain for a long time, and other forms of treatment have not helped, osteopathic treatment can be beneficial, although it may require time and patience.