Got back pain?

Have you experienced back pain? It is something that most of us will deal with at some point in our lives.

How we care for back pain has evolved a lot over the years - but it can be tricky to know if your healthcare provider is updating their knowledge and practices. 

We know now that receiving care that is NOT current best practice has the potential to cause harm and impact your recovery.

YOU have the power to make choices about your healthcare providers and find someone that you connect with, feel supported by, AND can trust they are up-to-date with their recommendations. 

Luckily we have quality standards published by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare to make sure we are all on track. The most recent guidelines that they published were in 2022. If you are interested you can check them out here: 
https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/publications-and-resources/resource-library/low-back-pain-clinical-care-standard-2022

There are a few key markers that you can use to figure out if your healthcare is in line with the standards.....

1. Are they asking questions about your life?

Not just about your pain - but also about how is it impacting your life? What are you missing out on because of the pain? How is it affecting your mental health and relationships with others? How is it affecting your sleep? What do YOU think is causing your pain? 

2. Are they asking about your whole body health?

It is SUPER important that we rule out serious causes for back pain - a good clinician will ask you some "odd" questions that might seem strange. Things related to your bowel and bladder function, your sensation in your genital region, any family history of skin disease or gut issues, your gut and eye health, your childhood or adolescent experiences of pain and injury, any recent weight changes....all of these questions might seem strange but they can be clues to things that we need to refer out for additional support and interventions. 

3. Are they too quick to send you off for an XR or MRI?

Imaging like this is now only recommended to rule out serious causes of back pain - which is only 5% of cases! If your health pro is sending you off for imaging without a thorough assessment make sure you ask them why! "What information in the scan will change how we manage my pain" is a great question to ask! We only want to get scans if the findings will impact what we do next.

4. Are they providing you with info on the risks and the benefits of scans and treatments?

Here are some great questions to ask them direct from the Standards....

5. They should be encouraging you to keep moving

Good clinicians should support you to get back to doing the things you love or need to do!
Total bed rest and avoiding all exercise or movements are not recommended for most low back pain. 
Waiting for the pain to be all gone before getting started is also not recommended. 
Finding someone to support you build your tolerance and gradually increase your activity is in line with the current recommendations.

6. Sometimes more mental health support is needed

If your pain has been around for a long time it is totally reasonable that your mental health may be affected. We also know that our thoughts, beliefs and emotions have an impact on our pain experience. Your clinician should be asking you about this, and offering referrals to great mental health providers if this is something impacting you. 

7. Medication should be used to help you get moving, not eliminate pain

The aim of taking medicines is to reduce pain enough to help you stay active, rather than to completely stop the pain. Medicines are only one part of pain management. They are most effective in the short term to help get you moving and support you while you learn active self-management strategies. It is important to remain physically active and continue with physical activity and self-management strategies after you start any medicine.

I hope this was helpful!

Remember that when it comes to your pain and health you are in charge!

Feel free to ask questions of your providers, and dig into something that doesn't feel right!

If you have any questions or something came up for your reading this feel free to hit reply and let me know.

If you would like individual guidance with YOUR pain we would love to support you at AOK Keep Moving.
You can book in for your Initial Physio session here: https://www.aokkeepmoving.com/
(ps all of our services are also available online!)