If you had a stone in your shoe you wouldn’t take a pain killer, you would remove the stone (the cause of the pain). Why should it be any different with back pain?

As an osteopath I see patients on a daily basis who are taking painkillers so they can “carry on”. While I fully appreciate lives are busy and people need to work, popping pills to mask the pain could be doing more damage than good.The osteopathic way of thinking is to find the root of the pain and address that- just like finding and removing the stone.  If instead of removing the stone you took a pain killer to enable you to walk, overtime the stone would cause bruising and damage to the foot. If the stone was finally removed a month later, you would still have pain due to the bruising and damage caused- a secondary problem.

sports-pageThe same applies to back pain. For example; Last week I saw a patient who had damaged his back digging in the garden. He needed to go to work as a self-employed window fitter so he took a painkiller. After 4 weeks the pain had got so bad he was taking painkillers 3 times a day, not sleeping, and was unable to stand up straight or walk without a limp. However, he continued at work, making the problem worse and just taking more painkillers. By the time I saw him the original joint strain had been further inflamed by working, the muscles had gone into spasm and the joint was bruised. Further to this his limp was stirring up an old knee injury. What would have been a simple joint problem to treat had become a much bigger picture of pain which would take longer to settle. (and we haven’t even mentioned the implications of long-term painkiller use on your body!)

Pain is the bodies way of communicating there is a problem so listen to it. If a problem is not showing signs of improvement within 72 hours of injury the chances are it needs help.

If you are unsure feel free to speak to one of our osteopaths by ringing The Practice at Ferndown, Dorset on 01202 890044 or email us info@thepracticeatferndown.com

You only get one back so please look after it.

The Practice at Ferndown, Dorset,  have a team of specialised Osteopaths with experience in diagnosing and treating back pain to help get you pain free quickly and effectively.