Living with back pain you don't understand
The hardest part is usually not the pain. It is not having an explanation.
Back pain has a way of quietly re-organising your life. You stop lifting things. You think twice about the stairs. You find the one position on the sofa that works and you stay in it. And when someone asks how you are, you say "fine," because explaining it has become exhausting.
What wears people down is usually not the pain itself. It is not knowing. You may have been given painkillers and told to keep active. You may have tried stretches you found online, or had a course of treatment somewhere that helped for a fortnight and then wore off. Nobody has sat down, asked enough questions, and examined you properly enough to say what is actually going on.
That is a reasonable thing to want, and it is where treatment should begin.
What causes back pain, and when to get it looked at
Most back pain is mechanical. It comes from the joints, discs, muscles and ligaments of the spine and the way they move together, which is why it often flares after a lift, a long drive, or a period of sitting badly. Lower back pain is the most common presentation, and it can refer into the hip, buttock or leg, which is what people usually mean by sciatica.
It is worth being assessed if pain has lasted more than a couple of weeks, keeps returning, wakes you at night, or comes with numbness, pins and needles or weakness in a leg. Those last symptoms are not necessarily serious, but they do change what needs examining.
How we approach back pain at our Sheffield Chiropractic Clinic
Assessment first, and a plan built around what we actually find.
Our first appointment is an assessment. We take a full history, examine how your spine and surrounding joints move, and test for the nerve involvement that changes the picture. Patients regularly tell us this is the most thorough examination they have had for their back, and that is deliberate.
Care at our Sheffield clinic is led by Lone Kristensen, BSc(Chiro), DC, MCC, who graduated as valedictorian from the Anglo European College of Chiropractic in 1993 and has over 30 years in practice, with particular experience in rehabilitation, extremity work and sports injuries.
In your chiropractic treatment sessions for back pain you can expect:
- Hands-on spinal manipulation and soft tissue treatment, matched to what the examination finds
- Rehabilitation and movement advice so the improvement holds between appointments
- Onward referral to local GPs, orthopaedic consultants and neurosurgeons, with X-ray or MRI arranged when it is genuinely needed
What to expect in your first treatment visit
Step 1: Assessment
Step 2: Treatment
Step 3: Review
What treatment for back pain can give you back
- An explanation you can act on. Knowing what is causing your pain, and what will and will not help, ends the guesswork.
- Movement without bracing for it. Bending, lifting and sitting through a working day without organising your whole life around your back.
- Sleep that holds. For many patients, uninterrupted nights are the first thing to return.
Chiropractic
Chiropractors specialise in the diagnosis and treatment of mechanical disorders of the joints, muscles and soft tissues, particularly those of the spine and their effect on the nervous system.
The chiropractor is a specialist clinician. Five years of training mean highly developed diagnostic skills, and as a professional consultant he/she can determine whether manipulation is appropriate for the condition, or whether the patient should be referred for other types of treatment or further investigation.
Lone Kristensen
Book NowFrequently asked questions
The things patients ask us most before booking a first appointment.
No. Chiropractors in the UK are primary contact practitioners, so you can book directly. We are happy to liaise with your GP if you would like us to.
We will not put a number on that before examining you, and you should be cautious of anyone who does. After your assessment we will give you a realistic estimate based on what we find, and we reassess as you go.
Spinal manipulation is not usually painful. Some patients feel mild soreness for a day or so afterwards, similar to after exercise. We explain what we are going to do before we do it, and we work within what you are comfortable with.
Yes. Pain, numbness or pins and needles referring into the buttock or leg is common with back problems, and testing for nerve involvement is part of the standard assessment.
We do not bill insurers directly. Patients pay at the appointment and many claim back through a health cash plan such as Westfield Health. It is worth checking the terms of your own policy.
Ready to find out what's causing your back pain?
Book an assessment at 83 Infirmary Road, Sheffield.
You do not have to keep managing it and hoping it settles. Book an assessment at our Infirmary Road clinic and start with a proper explanation. We have been treating back pain in Sheffield for over 20 years, and across the Rotherham practices for nearly 30.
