For many years, there has been conflicting advice about what to do when your back hurts. The “old-school” method of long term, complete rest has been thankfully put to bed, however sometimes, in the short term, rest has its place, and is needed to let your muscles...
Deep heat, ice packs, hot water bottles, freeze spray, heat pads …we’ve all heard of these different types of heat/cold therapy to help with pain, but sometimes it gets confusing as to which to use and when. As a general rule of thumb, if you have had a new injury and...
This image is an MRI of a patient’s lumbar spine (lower back), showing a significant disc bulge. You can see the disc slipping out of place and squashing the spinal cord (white bit) – can’t you? This must be painful, right? And surely it could slip further and cause...
Most of us have some element of stress or anxiety in our lives. Whether caused by work, study, home life, family or health concerns. This blog will look at the links between stress and back pain – how stress can contribute to back pain, discuss how stress...
The image on the left shows a “normal, healthy” spine. The one on the right shows…you’ve guessed it – an arthritic, degenerated one. I have treated many patients with spinal images like the one on the right. One particular patient stands out. She came into the...