The right diagnosis first
A structured assessment that names the mechanism, rather than treating 'back pain' as one condition.
Physiotherapy
Back Pain Treatment
Most backs do not need protecting. They need loading correctly.
- 45 minutes
- Session length
- 8 to 12 sessions
- Typical course
- 10 minutes daily
- Home work
Overview
Back pain is the most common reason people come to us, and the most commonly mismanaged. The instinct is to rest, brace and avoid — which works for a few days and then starts to cost you, because a back that stops moving gets stiffer, weaker and more sensitive, not safer.
Assessment separates mechanical pain from the small proportion of cases that need onward referral, and identifies whether your pattern is flexion-sensitive, extension-sensitive or load-sensitive. That distinction changes the entire treatment plan, and it is why two people with 'back pain' leave with completely different programmes.
Consider this if
- Pain that eases with walking but builds with sitting, or the reverse
- A sharp catch when bending, lifting or getting out of a chair
- A dull band across the lower back at the end of every day
- Recurring episodes that settle on their own, then come back worse
What it does
Back Pain Treatment
Faster settling
Manual therapy and directional preference exercise to bring an acute episode down quickly.
Real capacity
Progressive loading so the back tolerates lifting, sitting and your actual work — not just the clinic bed.
Fewer recurrences
Most back pain returns. Building strength and movement confidence is what changes that pattern.
Inside a session
Screen
Clearing the small number of presentations that need medical referral before any hands-on work starts.
Locate
Segmental testing and movement direction testing to find what provokes and what relieves.
Treat
Manual mobilisation, soft-tissue release and the specific direction of movement that settles your pattern.
Load
Graded strengthening through the hips, trunk and posterior chain, progressed session by session.
Common questions
Do I need a scan first?
Usually not. Imaging findings like disc bulges and degeneration are extremely common in people with no pain at all, and a scan rarely changes the treatment plan. If the assessment finds a reason to image, we will say so and refer.
Should I be resting?
Only briefly, and only in a genuinely acute episode. Beyond a day or two, staying still makes recovery slower. We give you movement you can do safely instead.
Is my back damaged?
Pain and damage are not the same thing. Most back pain is a sensitivity and load-tolerance problem, not a structural one, and it responds to graded loading rather than protection.
This page is general information, not a diagnosis or a treatment plan. What is right for you is decided at assessment. If your symptoms are severe, worsening quickly, or follow an injury, seek medical care first.
Also in this discipline
Not sure this is the right one?
That is what the first consultation is for. Ninety minutes of assessment before anything is recommended — including recommending nothing.