Back and neck pain are the leading reason to visit your physiotherapist. This is one of the reasons the rehabilitation part of the treatment is so important. It requires a careful assessment of contributing factors leading to poor spinal health including change of postural habits or other unhealthy contributing factors. Whether the discomfort is caused by repetitive movement, poor posture, stress or trauma, our team consultation will work towards a diagnosis and manage the source of neck or back pain.
Assessment
Back and neck injury management involves starting with an initial assessment to identify the contributing factors and possible sources of pain.
In the assessment of back and neck pain you can expect:
- A thorough discussion of the events that lead to your injury
- A review of any previous relevant investigations such as scans or x-rays
- A physical examination to guide the clinical diagnosis
- A working diagnosis (preliminary opinion of the problem)
From here we can work together to treating and managing your problem.
Treatment
Treatment of back and neck pain involves manual techniques, exercises and education around posture and movement awareness. In this stage you can expect:
- Manual techniques such as joint mobilisation or massage to release muscle spasm or mobilise stiff joints.
- Development of appropriate exercises to address the contributing factors
- Change of postural habits or other unhealthy contributing factors
- Regular reassessment to ensure optimal health is obtained and maintained