How can you prevent low back pain?

Timely management of low back pain ensures that the pain is quickly alleviated hence permitting you to continue pain-free and usual daily activities.

Effective management is individual-based as this ensures the best long-term outcome and is performed according to the findings upon assessment.

An individual with low back pain may have changes occurring in his/her backbones or muscles which make movement quite painful and a challenge.

The physiotherapist will help the individual to; • Improve mobility • Provide pain relief and learn ways to reduce pain • Strengthen the core muscles so that they can support the spine effectively • Stretch muscles for relaxation • Retrain posture

Physiotherapy management of the condition involves three main components: education, passive treatment and active treatment. The physiotherapist administers passive treatment to relax the individual’s body and also to decrease acute pain or inflammation.

The treatment is called passive because the individual doesn’t have to actively participate in the management. Usually, if you are experiencing so much pain, then you would most likely begin with passive treatment so that the body heals and/or adjusts to the pain.

Nonetheless, one of the goals of physiotherapy is to get into active treatment which includes therapeutic exercises that strengthen your body so that the spine has a better support. Passive treatment

• Deep Tissue and Spinal Mobilisation: This technique targets the muscle spasms and muscle tension around the lower back which tends to build up through activities of daily life.

The individual may also have spasms or muscle tension because of poor posture adopted during the day or while sleeping. The physiotherapist uses direct pressure and friction to release the tension in those particular muscles to reduce pain.

• Hot and Cold Treatment: The physiotherapist usually applies either a hot or cold therapy depending on the duration of the pain - whether the pain has been persistent for more or less than four to six weeks.

• Bracing Pain from your lower back may cause you to adopt an unsuitable posture during your daily routines; however,such posture slowly makes the pain even worse. The bones in your back may begin to press against nearby nerves hence a brace provides the necessary support for the lower back to prevent further damage to your backbone, nerves and surrounding muscles.

The support also takes some of the pressure off the backbone. Bracing is a temporary treatment option for low back pain. It helps control the pain by limiting movement in your back and prevents you from adopting awkward postures.

Long-term bracing isn't typically advisable because it can cause the muscles to weaken and therefore as part of the active exercises, the individual is taken through strengthening exercises so that his/her muscles eventually provide adequate support for the spine. Active treatment:

In the active aspect of physical therapy, the physiotherapist will educate the individual on various exercises to improve range of motion, flexibility, strength and core stability.

The individual is educated about his/her posture — how to move the body so that it doesn't increase the pain or cause further harm to the body. The physiotherapist also assists in developing an exercise routine which incorporates essentials such as range of motion exercise, strengthening and the cardiovascular exercises.

The active treatment aspect of physiotherapy aids the individual to learn self-care which enables him to take better care of his body through good habits. How can you prevent low back pain?

Many individuals who exercise regularly maintain normal flexibility and muscle strength to support their spine and hence are in a good position to avoid low back pain.

You may also be required to adopt safe lifting techniques at home and at work to decrease your risk of developing low back pain.