Spinal Health Week: Why am I getting back pain?

Our team of physios in Richmond are seeing an increase in back pain presentations since the COVID lockdown!

Spinal Health Week raises awareness for the importance of spinal health, which can have a huge impact on improving our overall health and wellbeing. At some point in your life it’s likely you will experience back pain.

Let’s talk about the Spine

An interconnected system of bones, nerves, muscles, tendons and ligaments – your spine is central in how the body operates. With 31 segments, your head at the top, your pelvis at the bottom, the spine is immensely pivotal in normal human functioning. It is involved in everything we do! This week is Spinal Health week and we would like to share with you what we are currently seeing in our clinic and how we can best help you to optimise the functioning of your spine and in turn help to improve your overall health!

The spine continues to be a major cause of grief for individuals. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reports the following:

• Over 4 million people reported significant back problems in 2017-2018
• Back problems are the 2nd leading cause of disease burden in Australia
• 86% of the population will experience pain at least once per week.

During this unprecedented time of COVID, self isolation and social distancing, we have seen varied presentations of spinal pain.

These include:

• postural related injuries

• osteoarthritis flare-ups,

• disc degeneration,

• neural compromise

• and many more…

What can cause back pain?

There are so many factors that contribute to these presentations. Age, physical fitness, weight, type of work are a short list of things that can influence an individual’s spinal pain. What we see clinically is that most people who present with spine-related pain have a significant inability to function. Whether it is getting a good night sleep, applying themselves to work or study, exercising or simply doing daily chores, spinal related problems have a significant effect on our day to day lives.

A little insider tip for you – your spine is a robust structure of your body. If you really think about it, if it is involved in everything we do then surely it is built to withstand quite a bit of stress. The key is figuring out what we need to do to build this robustness. To put it simply we may need to work on one (or a combination of the following):

• How can we get you managing your pain better so your day to day activities are not severely affected?
• Can we get you moving better so you can actually do the things you want to do?
• Do you have enough strength and stability in key muscles and joints so that your movements are optimal and not placing too much strain on your spine.

Whether it is one on one physiotherapy, group rehab sessions incorporating clinical pilates or strength and conditioning principles, we are here to support your overall spinal health and ensure you can continue to function to the best of your ability. If you are experiencing back pain and you think it’s your spine, book in to see one of our team members here

KP is the Head Physio at Harlequins Rugby Club, Scotch College Rugby and the Physiotherapist for the Melbourne Rebels Under 18’s.

KP treats a wide range of conditions and is incredibly passionate about helping people understand why they are experiencing pain and how to overcome it.

KP has a special interest in tendon conditions.

In his spare time KP enjoys coaching basketball!

Put a stop to what is causing that headache!

We normally put headaches down to being stressed or having a bad cold but did you know that there are many other factors that may be contributing to your headaches that you might want to rule out.

The most common causes are:

Stress and anger!

Yes! This is a major cause of headache. When we are stressed we tense up our neck and shoulder muscles causing extra stress where these muscles attach into the skull. This extra muscle pull can cause a tight band-like sensation around the back and sometimes the front of your head.

Can Physio really help?

YES!.. and in the meantime try some relaxation techniques like a having hot bath, doing some deep breathing or using a heat pack on your shoulder and neck muscles.

Poor Posture!

Another obvious one..... Sitting for long periods of time in a bad posture is a major cause of headaches. If you sit with your upper back rounded and chin poking out it can cause extra stress across the joints in the middle of your neck where you hinge forwards, which can get stiff and irritated. You will also develop tightness of the muscles that attach into the base of your skull resulting in headache pain. Typically, the pain throbs in the base of the skull and sometimes flashes into the face, especially the forehead.

Can a trip to the physio help with this cause of headache –
First try to avoid sitting for too long and check that you have a good desk/computer set up and a high back supportive chair but if it continues then Physio is your next option!

Sinus pressure or a cold!

Sinus headaches develop due to infection and tension build up in your sinuses. The headache can feel like pain and pressure around your eyes, cheeks and forehead and may feel like a throbbing pain.

Can a trip to the physio help with this cause of headache

Not this one. This type of headache needs to be managed with appropriate medication as guided by your doctor.

But you might not have considered these sources…..

Teeth Grinding:
If you grind your teeth at night you can end up getting really tight muscles in you jaw (TMJ region). Because muscles around the jaw, upper neck and skull work closely together this can lead to referral of achy pain from your jaw up into the side or back of your head.

A physio can assess and treat the muscle imbalances are your jaw to relieve your pain. However you should also make an appointment to see your dentist to work out why you are grinding and manage the cause!

Bad weather:
If you're prone to getting headaches, you could find that grey skies, high humidity, rising temperatures and storms can all bring on head pain. Pressure changes that cause weather changes are thought to trigger chemical and electrical changes in the brain. This irritates nerves, leading to a headache.
Sorry we cant change the weather but we can help with some of the symptoms you develop due to the weather factors like tightness in your neck and jaw that may be making your headache worse.

Strong smells:
Could your housework be making your headaches worse???! Household cleaners, along with perfumes and fragranced air fresheners, contain chemicals that can bring on headaches.
We can’t help with this one either… If you feel that strong smells might be a trigger you should avoid heavy perfumes and strong-smelling soaps, shampoos and conditioners etc and use fragrance-free household cleaning items.