Back Pain Treatment & Relief in Central & East London.
Osteopathy London: Expert Care Since 2001.
Osteopathy London: Expert Care Since 2001.
Back pain can be a debilitating experience, impacting your comfort, mobility, and overall quality of life. At Osteopathy London, we understand the profound effect it has on your daily activities. Our highly experienced osteopaths in Central & East London are dedicated to helping you understand your pain and guiding you towards lasting relief, so you can move freely and live fully once again.
Does this describe your back pain?
- Is back pain affecting your mood, energy, or overall quality of life?
- Is your sleep disrupted because you can’t find a comfortable position?
- Does sitting for long periods leave your back feeling sore or achy?
- Do you find it difficult to put on your shoes or bend down because of back pain?
- Do you experience sharp pain when bending, twisting, or lifting objects?
- Do you feel weakness, tingling, or numbness in your legs along with your back pain
- Have you stopped doing activities you enjoy, like walking, gardening, or exercising, because of back pain?
Understanding your back pain: Causes & Contributing Factors
Common Causes of Back Pain
Back pain can often stem from specific structural issues or conditions within the spine and surrounding tissues. Identifying the root cause is crucial for effective treatment. Common causes we often see include:
- Herniated or Bulging Disc: The discs between your vertebrae can bulge, or the gel like material inside them can push out (prolapsed disc). If a disc presses on a nerve this can cause pain or other issues along the course of the nerve. Sciatica is one example.
- Sciatica (Pinched Nerve in the Lower Back): When the sciatic nerve is irritated or compressed, it can cause shooting pain down the leg, numbness, or even weakness in the foot. This often happens due to a herniated disc, spinal stenosis, or tight muscles pressing on the nerve.
- Arthritis and Joint Wear & Tear: Over time, the joints in the spine can wear. This can contribute to us experiencing, pain, stiffness, and inflammation. In some cases nerve irritation, such as sciatica, can result from these changes.
- Piriformis Syndrome: A small muscle in the buttock called the piriformis can tighten or spasm, pressing on the sciatic nerve. This can cause pain deep in the buttock and radiate down the leg.
- Osteoporosis and Compression Fractures: Weakened bones due to osteoporosis can lead to small fractures in the spine, causing sudden or chronic back pain. If a fracture affects a nerve, it can also lead to leg symptoms.
Contributing Factors & Risk Factors
Beyond specific medical conditions, many everyday habits, lifestyle choices, and external events can significantly contribute to the development or worsening of back pain. These factors often place undue stress on your spine:
- Accidents or falls: These can cause injuries to muscle, such as bruising or muscular tears, supportive ligaments, or to bones in the the form of breaks.
- Poor lifting technique and repetitive strain: Lifting something heavier than we are used to, especially with bad technique, can easily strain our backs. Lighter activities can also cause issues when they are new to us and repetitive, for example decoration and DIY.
- Lack of movement and exercise: We thrive on movement and exercise. Many jobs involve long hours sitting between breaks with some movement. Long periods of inactivity leads to weakness, stiffness and vulnerability to injury, more so when our lives lack the regular exercise that builds strength and cardiovascular fitness.
- Stress and anxiety: Feeling stressed or anxious is shown to increase our risk of injury, and make us more sensitive to pain. It's likely also to lead to poorer diets and less exercise overall. It can also disturb our precious sleep.
- Poor sleep: We heal during sleep, and so poor sleep can reduce our recovery from daily challenges, making us more vulnerable to injury and pain. Tiredness makes us more injury prone and is often a factor in falls and other accidents.
Your Path to Lasting Relief: Osteopathy London's 3-Part Back Pain Programme
1. Your New Patient Appointment. What can I expect during an osteopathy session for back pain?
Case History:
Every New Patient Osteopathy Appointment at our London clinic, begins with a thorough case history, from which we get to understand in detail the pain and other difficulties you face as a result of your back issue, as well as your medical history, so that we can assess if your general health impacts upon your condition.
Physical Examination:
A comprehensive physical examination includes: an assessment of your posture and mobility, and tests that clarify the cause of your back pain.
Your diagnosis & treatment plan:
Your diagnosis is clearly explained to you. This includes an understanding of the cause of your pain and a treatment plan designed to bring you rapid and long-term relief.
2. Hands-on osteopathic treatment for back pain.
At your New Patient Appointment and further visits, you'll receive hands-on treatment designed to bring rapid pain relief, tailored for you & your condition.
Osteopathy uses a combination of skills, including soft tissue massage, joint mobilisation and stretching. Where appropriate osteopaths may use techniques that create a "pop" from a quick opening of the joint. This can relax the muscles around the joint and improve mobility.
As well as osteopathy, all of our osteopaths are trained in the use of medical acupuncture in the treatment of back pain and trapped nerves. This can form part of treatment if you wish.
Gentle cranial osteopathy, can be used used by John & Gervais to complement treatment of back pain and other issues.
3. Breaking the back pain cycle.
Advice and exercises both at your new patient appointment and follow-up visits help reduce your pain, and prevent its return.
To break the cycle you can expect:
- Postural and ergonomic advice.
- Depending on your need both stretching & strengthening exercises, as a way to enhance the effects of treatment, and ensure your remain strong and mobile.
- An appreciation of the impact of stress, sleep and other lifestyle factors on your back pain or other issues, and practical advice on how to make improvements.
By combining these steps, we’ll work to build long-term resilience and reduce the likelihood of future back pain episodes.
Success Stories: Back Pain Relief
"I’ve been to a number of physical therapists over the years to help with my back pain, and Gervais is one of the best."
"After sustaining a back injury I have been having sessions with Cerys for the last 6 weeks. She has helped me immeasurably, increasing my mobility, flexibility and eliminating the pain I was experiencing"
"John really successfully helped me with back pain during pregnancy and made the last few months very easy to manage. Very attentive and considerate of my needs."
"Cerys is an amazing osteopath! I was suffering from severe upper back pain that was really limiting my daily activities. After visiting Cerys, the pain disappeared, and I felt much better."
"John was extremely well knowledged and professional. He was able to drastically improve my pain level and mobility after a fall which resulted in two herniated discs."
"I recently visited Gervais for help with my back and neck pain, and I couldn't be more pleased with the experience."
Why Choose Osteopathy London for Your Back Pain?
When back pain affects your life, choosing the right care makes all the difference. At Osteopathy London, you benefit from:
Over 20 Years of Trusted Care: We've been providing expert osteopathy for back pain in Central & East London since 2001, helping many to find lasting relief.
Personalised, Expert Treatment: Our highly qualified osteopaths craft unique, hands-on treatment plans focused on your specific needs and long-term well-being.
Focus on Lasting Relief: We go beyond temporary fixes, aiming to understand and resolve the root cause of your pain, empowering you to live freely once again.
How Many Osteopathy Treatments Will I Need for Back Pain Relief?
The number of osteopathy sessions required to get relief from back pain varies significantly from person to person.
It largely depends on the specific cause of your back pain, how long you've had it, and your body's response to treatment. For acute conditions, patients often experience significant improvement within a few sessions. However, chronic or complex cases may require a more extended back pain treatment duration to achieve lasting results.
During your initial consultation, we'll discuss an estimated back pain recovery time and agree on a tailored back pain treatment plan designed to optimise your healing and help you achieve your goals for relief and improved function.
Ready for Relief? Book Your Appointment
Osteopaths are specialists in the treatment of back pain. Click below to book your first step towards relief from back pain online or by phone.
If you are unsure that osteopathy is right for you, you can arrange a free 15min chat with John.
Osteopathy London's Osteopaths with expertise in back pain treatment
John (Clinic Director)
John provides Osteopathy, Cranial & Baby Osteopathy, and Medical Acupuncture
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Gervais (Osteopath)
Gervais provides Osteopathy, Cranial Osteopathy, and Medical Acupuncture.
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Osteopathy London, 31 Roman Road, Bethnal Green, East London E2 0HU
© John Mallinder