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AcuPhysioHealth Recommend Phyisio And Acupuncture For Back Pain

Thursday 26 May 2016, 4:45PM

By Beckie Wright

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With accurate assessment and early treatment, most lower back pain injuries will respond extremely quickly to physiotherapy and/or acupuncture, allowing people to quickly resume pain-free and normal activities of daily living. Physiotherapy is one of the most common treatments for back pain and physiotherapists are able to assess their patient’s back and pinpoint where any problem areas may be, identify actions or habits that may be adding to the pain and provide the patient with exercises and advice to reduce pain and prevent further episodes.

ACUPhysioHealth recommend people to also check with their physiotherapist or health provider to find out what preventive exercises and stretches are best for them, as people who do regular exercise have less back pain than those who are inactive. Physiotherapists can also identify the factors contributing to the patient’s specific back problem and design a treatment plan and management programme that’s just right for them. They’ll also check if any underlying health conditions are contributing to the back pain.

At ACUPhysioHealth they can help with assessment and advice on back pain, mobilisation and manipulation as appropriate, specific strengthening and flexibility exercises, designing a pain management plan, exercises to improve posture, education on how to prevent future back problems and advice on returning to work, sport and general activities. They can also give advice on workstation assessments and ergonomic analysis and can refer the patient to other appropriate health providers such as specialists or GPs if needed.

Physiotherapy can make a huge difference to back pain, helping people with treatment and pain management, and most importantly a physio can teach them how to prevent back pain in the future. The consultants at ACUPhysioHealth use an array of treatment tools to reduce patients’ pain and inflammation. These include: ice, electrotherapy, acupuncture, de-loading taping techniques and soft tissue massage. A course of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen may also help in this phase.

They will also commence the patient on a lower abdominal core stability programme to facilitate their important muscles that dynamically control and stabilise the lower back and pelvis, and  will assess the patient’s muscle recruitment pattern and prescribe the best back exercises for their  specific needs.

Acupuncture has been an effective source of pain relief for over 5000 years and while we do not fully understand how it works, acupuncture can assist in back pain relief. People should ask their physiotherapist for advice as most of our ACUPhysioHealth physiotherapists have acupuncture training. Acupuncture does not interfere with existing drug therapy, and people seeking physiotherapy, massage and other modalities often combine their treatments with acupuncture for greater recovery time and better mobility.

For more information please go to http://www.acuphysiohealth.co.nz .