Is back pain recovery really as simple as just doing a few exercises?

In reality there is a lot more to improving back pain than just knocking out a few exercises you may have seen online. The absolute crucial first step is a consultation. Why? We need to try and establish the cause or aggravating causes of your pain.

You cannot blindly just try out a few exercises and hope for the best without having a benchmark to work from. How does it work then?

On top of the standard physical activity readiness questionnaire that all clients receive and return to me via email with a signature, I use one of the many specialist questionnaires available to me that you simply answer honestly based on what you are feeling, pain level, outlook etc. This can be done via phone or video call. This is the first step in moving forward and listening to each individual.

We then have a chat about your daily activities. What aggravates your pain. Is there a set time of day it hurts more or less? What is your occupation? What are your hobbies and interests? Have you had a past injury or trauma? Any related medical history I need to know about? Has your doctor or specialist given you recommendations and if so this can help in how we move forward.

Occupational health can help and advise with workplace improvements such as desk and chair positioning, keyboard strain and advice regarding manual careers.

Not all screening tools or exercise assessment is suitable for every individual as every individual is different. Hence building a picture about yourself can provide a lot of advance information.

It is not my job to diagnose back pain but help you improve it based on prior knowledge and assessment. ✅

There are certain 'test' exercises we do to see what you can and cannot do. Again, not all will be appropriate depending on the individual. We can check gait, muscle imbalance and see what is likely to work for you combined with lifestyle strategies.

You may have a bias to flexion or extension which dictates what exercises we wont be doing.

The key is adherence as improvements wont happen overnight. You could be looking at several weeks even months depending on the severity. We review your progress after 6 weeks or so, and in theory at the 12 week mark. Improvements can be quicker but can be a little longer.

The idea is that you keep to some form of appropriate activity discussed between myself and you during your time with me and long after my services are dispensed with. Any queries? ⬇️

info@grahamfit.com