If you hurt your neck or back, unless your accident was so severe that you need surgery, your pain should naturally resolve within two weeks. If it hasn’t, or you are having repeat episodes, something needs to change. There are a multitude of things that could be preventing a complete recovery, which you may be able to identify yourself with the help of this article, or you may need the help of a Back In Motion Physiotherapist to assess and help remove the cause.
- Firstly, the biggest physical factor to having ongoing or repeat episodes of neck or back pain is having weak neck or back muscles. Modern lives are sedentary lives. We don’t use our bodies enough and we sit too much, making us weak. This means we hurt ourselves more easily when we do do something physical like garden, move furniture, or take up exercise again. The answer? Identifying the weak muscles, and then a smart, structured and appropriately progressed exercise program, prescribed by your Physio.
- Another common cause is tight muscles or stiff joints. Again, these problems are another fact of modern, sit-down lives. The answer? Identifying the tight and stiff structures and then learning how to loosen and stretch them.
- Poor Motor Control is another common cause of pain that won’t go away. This is a bit hard to explain, but if your brain doesn’t control how you move in an efficient way, your muscles or joints will continue to be stressed with poor postures or poorly controlled movement. To exaggerate the point, think of really inco-ordinated beginner tennis player trying to play tennis versus Roger Federer. Who’s more likely to hurt themselves?
- Another factor is your spine being out of alignment. The forces going through it will be uneven, hence the injured or irritated tissue will continue to cause you pain. This is not usually a big factor, and is often over-blown and over-blamed for neck or back pain. But in some people it can still be a contributing cause that’s worth addressing.
- Other health issues can make it harder for your body to get over an injury. This includes medical issues such as diabetes and arthritic conditions, but also lifestyle factors like being overweight or smoking. These can and do impact neck and back pain, so if these effect you, make sure you address them.
- Workplace factors can be another contributing cause of ongoing or repeated neck or back pain. From what you do at work, to how you sit and use your computer, to how you lift things if you do manual labour, to stress and workplace relationships. These all need to be looked at and addressed if they are part of what’s preventing you from complete recovery.
- Mental health issues can be the biggest factor of all. If you suffer depression or anxiety, you are more likely to having ongoing or repeated pain. Whilst Physiotherapists do not treat mental health issues directly, a regular exercise regime is often the best medicine. And of course with the help of your GP we can assist in referring on to the best practitioner to help.
- And lastly, amazingly, simply believing your problem will be ongoing has been shown by research to be perhaps the most common cause of ongoing pain. Because pain doesn’t only come from tissue damage. Pain can exist due to your brain thinking you’re in danger of tissue damage. Because pain evolved to protect us from getting damaged . This is a whole topic within itself. But the answer? See your Physio, have the exact causes of your ongoing or repeated neck or back pain identified and addressed, and put your mind at ease. This can be in itself the most important and powerful way to stop feeling pain.
There’s a lot there. And I’ve only just scratched the surface in explaining each individual cause. In many people there isn’t just one cause, but a combination of causes for ongoing or repeated neck or back pain. But don’t worry – if you see a Physio who has the knowledge base and takes the time and care to sift through all possible causes of your pain, it will resolve. Start by exercising and being healthier and more positive about your pain, and then come and see a Back In Motion PHysio for a complete and holistic assessment and action plan.