We know that unlocking stiff spinal joints takes about 6 to 8 weeks of regular care. We know that our rehabilitation exercises will not achieve their potential for 12 to 16 weeks. We know that we may have to use several different techniques to get people better. We may need to prescribe orthotics, a new chair, a new mattress or even a change in lifetstyle.
Even though it is what you want to hear, one thing we won’t do is tell you that it will be easy and you’ll be better after one or two treatments.
When a bad back goes bad it very rarely happens instantly even if the pain comes on instantly. Minor injuries over many months or even years cause damage to delicate spinal joints and muscles. This affects spinal joint movements and can cause weakness in other areas.
These niggles ease off in a few days and are forgotten. The niggles often become more frequent; they may hurt more than before and they take longer to go. Slowly the elastic tissues of the back stiffen up until the back cannot bend and twist normally and then PING! Acute and severe pain develops. It may have been just putting on your socks and tying your shoelaces. Your joints were vulnerable and could not perform a basic task because the stiff joints had reached a certain level.
Of course it is true that every once and while someone crawls in to see us in agony and skips out all straightened up again but that is rare. Of the thousands of people we see each year we only see that sort of response in one or two. Usually these bad back cases have a very specific joint locking that has come on recently in the last day or two and no previous history of back pain. For most however it takes several sessions and some hard work to get a good improvement.
If you have back pain and our get better slowly approach appeals to you then we would love to hear from you. We will work with you to get you better as quickly as we can. Give us a call to make an appointment. Your back will love you for it.
