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Two Back Pain Diagnoses That Science Doesn’t Support

  • Posted by Covent Garden Physio
  • On 7th January 2020
  • 0 Comments
  • back pain

In my last blog, I covered the most common back pain myth: that you should avoid bending your back.

To summarise, the wisdom for safely lifting heavy objects has been misapplied to all lifting, resulting in people squatting down just to pick up a pen. Rather than reduce the chance of back injury, this increases it through deconditioning your back muscles.

If you want to learn more about why bending is actually good for you, click here.

This time, I’m busting two myths that arise when diagnosing back pain. These are myths not only spread by the general public and bad internet wisdom but also by fellow physiotherapists.

Tight hamstrings DON’T cause back pain

Tight hamstrings are often cited as a cause for back pain, the thinking being that it throws off the position of your pelvis and thus overloads your lower back.

It sounds like the sort of biomechanical imbalance that makes sense. After all, there is often a relation between pelvic tilt and back pain.

However, the evidence just isn’t there. Large scale, reliable research hasn’t managed to find any link between the two in the average person or athlete.

Professional athletes such as footballers will benefit from longer hamstrings in terms of their performance; longer hamstrings allow more momentum into a kick. But there is no association with the incidence of back pain.

Neither does having two different length legs

A difference in leg length is often blamed for back pain as, like tight hamstrings, it is believed to result in a deleterious pelvic tilt.

But a discrepancy in leg length is very easy to find. In fact, it’s far more rare to find someone with legs that are exactly the same length. This means that most people with back pain will have one leg longer than the other, making it very difficult to separate cause and effect.

If you have a leg length discrepancy – even if it is quite significant – you will have had it since your bones finished growing. By the time you’re in your 40s – when back pain is most likely to strike – your body will have had more than 20 years to adapt.

A sudden onset of back pain is very unlikely to be caused by something that hasn’t caused symptoms for decades. Just because your leg length discrepancy is outside of the normal range doesn’t mean that it is going to cause you any issues.

And that’s really the core issue of so many back pain myths, both those accepted generally and the self-diagnoses that we hold individually. Every body has “abnormalities”. Every body, over time, develops degeneracies. Few ever cause pain.

It’s very easy when trying to determine the cause of symptoms to blame abnormalities and degeneracies, but we need to be very careful not to exaggerate their clinical significance.

An analogy I like to use is: when I look in the mirror, I see evidence degenerative change in my face, but that doesn’t mean my face is in pain! And if it was, I wouldn’t blame my wrinkles.

And you shouldn’t blame your other “wrinkles” for your back pain, whether it’s one leg that’s longer than the other or expected disc degeneration in your spine.

What you should do is look at you see one of our physiotherapists so we can put you back on track to a body that hurts less and moves more.

To book your appointment, email info@coventgardenphysio.com, call 0207 497 8974, or book online.


Cameron Tudor

B.PHYSIOTHERAPY PG CERT INDEPENDENT PRESCRIBING, MCSP, MHCPC

 

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  • Two Back Pain Diagnoses That Science Doesn’t Support
  • Common Back Pain Myths That You Probably Believe
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Kevin Kong at Covent Garden Physio is outstanding ! I have seen a lot of physios in my time but Kevin is by far and away the best ! He has taken me from long term back problems which were casuing me huge issues to fully functional again and sorted my knees out too. Don't waste your time and money on random physios.... go see Kevin and get great results !read more
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05:35 26 Aug 20
I recently found myself suffering from a lower back and leg injury that brought with it very bad pain, numbness in my leg and also weakness. Seeing as I have a history of having herniated discs in my lower back, I just assumed that I was having another issue related to the discs in my back and I began to get concerned. Not sure what to do, I spoke to my GP who recommended trying Physiotherapy first to see if that would alleviate my issues and I did an online search and came across Covent Garden Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Clinic. Not only were they conveniently located to where I live, but their reviews were wonderful so I decided to give them a call. My first point of contact was Victoria, the office manager and she was so incredibly kind, helpful and accomodating. She got me in for an initial visit right away and she recommended that I see Scott Branny for my Physiotherapy needs. Scott was so incredibly knowledgeable, kind, attentive and helpful and from my first visit with him up until my last visit, he always knew just how to help me feel better and get me on the road to recovery. Every exercise that he showed me worked magnificently and before I knew it, I was no longer experiencing any pain or weakeness and I was back to myself! I am so thankful and grateful to Scott, Victoria and everyone at Covent Garden Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Clinic for providing such an excellent service and for being so kind and compassionate! I highly reccommend them to anyone in need of Physiotherapy! :)read more
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Cannot recommend highly enough. Physio Anthony Vidis is genuinely a wizard, and has often managed to set me right in a single session. This makes Covent Garden Physio way more cost-effective than other places that might have you coming back week after week - and I have recommended him to many friends. Booking online is easy and convenient, they often have appointments available before/after work - and practice manager Victoria is helpful with bookings short notice. Don't go anywhere else.read more
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My shoulders and neck are broken, well not broken but in a bad way. On a suggestion from a colleague, I went to try this out. I saw Anthony Vidis and within a few minutes he'd already started on a plan. He seemed skilled and knowledgeable, asking a lot of questions before he started any manipulation. The first session left me with a lot more movement and the second session even more so. Less pain and more flexibility has definitely provided a better life experience.read more
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