Got your back

Back pain impacts around one in four of us, and is one of the leading causes of doctors visits.

- ANI FISCHER

It began as an unremarkable workday. By lunchtime, I lay sprawled on the vintage office carpet, clutching my thigh and biting my lips to swallow the almighty howl that was unfurling in my throat, alongside a rising sense of fear, confusion and indignity. How had it come to this? I had marched on with optimism! I had switched to flats and embraced a standing desk!

Persistent back pain had been oscillating somewhere between a distracting ache and a breath-stealing grip for months, but I never for a moment thought it could bring me down. A quick, reassuring Google search had confirmed that 80 per cent of people suffer back pain at some point in their lives, and the majority get better with time, sensible movement and a positive mindset. I had given it all of that, but curled up in the foetal position trying to box-breath my way through the fire ranging from buttock to knee, there was no denying that my Google-and-grit approach had fallen somewhat short.

Back pain is one of the most common presentation (155,000) to emergency departments. I chose physio instead, but there was no avoiding an MRI. It revealed a common culprit: Bulging discs in the lower back causing nerve compression (sciatica) and joint arthropathy.

“That’s a general diagnosis, and it’s best to start with conservative treatment to control the pain in the first three months, as indiscriminate surgery can cause long-term problems,” says Michael Shacklock, musculoskeletal physiotherapist, researcher, international educator and founder of Clinical Neurodynamics. “Find a practitioner who wants to help you solve your problem by narrowing down from the general to the specific, who asks plenty of questions, listens carefully, follows clues, is hands-on and works out protective strategies that help you function.”