The core message is that staying positive can help you to cope better with chronic pain. Your attitude and beliefs about your pain can affect the outcome and duration but that doesn’t mean you are imagining it.
We should avoid negative thoughts such as “I’ll never get better”, “they should find out what the cause is”, “no-one understands”, “it’s not fair”, “if only…” and encourage more positive thoughts such as “this will pass”, “I will concentrate on what I CAN do” and develop a tool-box of techniques such as relaxation or exercises. Remember that you are the only person controlling your thoughts so you can choose to follow a negative or positive thought pattern or not. Most people have a similar pain threshold but stress in your life will lead to a reduced pain tolerance.
Chartered Physiotherapists are qualified to assess you and your back pain and help you to develop coping strategies, manageable goal setting and pain management skills. Our objective is to find not just a quick fix but a long term solution to manage your pain to prevent it from taking over your life and recurring in the future.
Most back pain is not due to any serious disease; you can safely move without doing yourself any damage. Just because it hurts it does not mean you are doing yourself any harm. Of course, after acute injury pain is a signal and warning but this is not the case in chronic pain. Your body gets stuck in a cycle of pain that is no longer helpful or related to the underlying injury. A couple of days rest in the acute stage is acceptable but any longer may prolong your pain and disability. This is because you will get stiff, weak, maybe depressed or anxious and find it harder to get going the longer you leave it. It takes 6 times longer to build up a muscle than it does for it to waste. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that it will be easier next week or next month. It won’t. Backs need movement.
A Chartered Physiotherapist can provide any necessary treatment eg mobilisation/manipulation, acupuncture, electrotherapy and give you all the advice you need on resting positions and pacing yourself as you return to normal activity. We have the time and skill to tailor this advice especially to you, your problem and your life style. The advice we give to an athlete/ sports enthusiast is different to what we would say to an office worker, a mother of young children or an elderly person living alone.
To see a physiotherapist privately you do not need to be referred by your doctor.