Treatment in Sheffield
Big changes have been made to the way back pain is managed in Sheffield.
Through this website we are supporting the city's GPs in giving you the advice you need, along with the right treatment options, to ensure you have access to a high standard of care across Sheffield.
Our main aim is to help you to manage your own back. After all, back pain is so common, you are likely to have episodes on and off throughout your life.
Your GP will help guide your recovery and prevention of further back pain by using the right pain killers as needed, along with some good advice.
When you need extra help they can assist you in deciding what is needed, by considering all aspects of your life such as your work, emotional and physical wellbeing.
But most importantly, we will focus on keeping you in control of managing your own health.
Some of the treatments they may recommend are listed below:
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapists treat and support people with back pain using a variety of methods.
Firstly, they will assess how your back is working and affecting your life, and the level of fitness you need for your usual activities.
They will ask lots of questions, watch how you move and feel your back.
Physiotherapy often uses manual treatments such as manipulation and massage - and can provide you with advice on how to manage the pain, help yourself to recover and how to stop the pain from coming back.
A physiotherapist can also provide you with an exercise programme to suit your health, ability and fitness levels.
Osteopathy
An osteopath has a highly developed sense of touch, which they use to identify problem areas of the body to create the perfect conditions for the healing process.
When first visiting the osteopath you will have an examination, which will take into account your full medical history. You may also be asked to perform a few simple movements that will allow the osteopath to assess the problem.
The osteopath will then use their sense of touch (called palpation) to assess areas of weakness, tenderness, restriction or strain, before making a diagnosis and offering treatment.
Treatment usually involves relaxing and releasing muscles and stretching stiff joints. They may then carry out manipulation using short, quick movements to spinal joints.
Your osteopath may also offer added exercises and health advice to reduce the symptoms.
Chiropractic
Chiropractic is the third largest health profession in the world, after general medicine and dentistry.
Chiropractors use manipulation to help correct faulty spinal joint and muscle movements which can cause nerve problems, leading to pain or other health problems.
By doing this, chiropractors can help with pain relief, and improve the way joints move - helping patients to move easily and feel better quickly. It has a great success rate for low back pain.
Chiropractic manipulation supplements normal activity in allowing you to maintain normal movement while your back pain settles. It may be used by physiotherapists in cases where back pain has not settled with the normal advice of staying gently active and taking pain killers to allow you to do so.
Alexander Technique
The Alexander Technique is a simple, practical and proven method for the alleviation of back pain.
The way we react to stress and tension often causes joint and muscle pain, but with the Alexander Technique you will discover that you have a choice about how you react to life and within a course of lessons you will gain more control of your well-being.
During a one to one lesson the teacher will use their hands very gently (not manipulation) on your neck, head and body enabling you to recognise and release unnecessary tension, giving you more energy for all your activities.
What is learnt in a lesson can be applied to any activity from sitting at a computer with less tension, to gardening or exercising.
The difference between the Alexander Technique and treatment orientated therapies is that you are an active participant and the aim is not just to help you to alleviate your current problem but to teach you the skill to prevent a recurrence.
The Technique will allow your health, vitality and awareness to re-establish naturally.
Please see the web sites detailed below to find out more about the Alexander Technique and for information on teachers in your area that have completed a three-year full time training course.
The Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique - www.stat.org.uk
Professional Association of Alexander Teachers - www.paat.org.uk
