Back pain is one of the most common reasons people miss training, work or sleep. The good news is that most episodes are mechanical, which means they come from how joints, muscles and discs are loaded rather than from anything dangerous, and most improve with the right treatment and movement.
This guide covers what usually causes it, how we work out what is going on in your back, and what recovery tends to look like.
Common causes
- Joint irritation or stiffness in the lumbar spine or sacroiliac joint
- Muscle strain from lifting, twisting or a sudden change in training load
- Disc irritation, which can refer pain into the buttock or leg
- Long periods of sitting, particularly with little movement through the day
- Weak or poorly coordinated hip and trunk muscles that make the back do extra work
How we assess it
We start with your story: when it began, what makes it better or worse, and what you need to get back to. Then we examine how your spine and hips move, test strength and nerve function, and look at how you perform the movements that hurt.
You leave the first visit knowing what we think is causing the pain, what we think it is not, and what the plan is.
What treatment involves
Treatment is matched to the findings. It may include spinal adjustment or mobilisation, soft tissue therapy, dry needling or shockwave for stubborn tendon or muscle problems, and a graded exercise program so the improvement lasts.
We will tell you how many visits we expect to need, and we review that as you respond. If your back is not behaving as expected, we will say so and refer you for imaging or to your GP.
If you train or compete
Rowers, runners, golfers, weightlifters and footballers all load the back differently. We look at your sport, your technique and recent changes in volume, so that treatment also covers the thing that brought the pain on, not just the pain itself. Where it is safe, we aim to keep you training in a modified way rather than stopping altogether.
