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How Physical Therapy Can Prevent Injuries – Prevention Is Better Than Cure.

Customised physical therapy is a proven and useful way to ease low back pain and is also key in prevention. Back pain is extremely common and according to a survey published in 2000, 49% adult population of the UK report low back pain lasting for at least 24 hours at some point in the year (Palmer KT, Walsh K, et al. Back pain in Britain: comparison of two prevalence surveys at an interval of 10 years BMJ 2000;320:1577-1578).

Back pain is the largest single cause of disability in the UK, with lower back pain alone accounting for 11% of the total disability of the UK population.

Referrals for spinal surgery are increasing year on year and a growing number of patients are waiting longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment. Wide variations exist in surgical rates between centres, and there are a significant number of treatments with a poor evidence base.

From a review of the service the NHS provides, it was clear that that there were three main issues impacting on this area of work:

  • The current pathway of management for low back pain is not planned, has little reference to the evidence base and contains significant delays at every step.
  • Rehabilitation of patients with back pain is poor and very variable.
  • Large variation in surgical indications and rates between centres, which is unexplained. This in turn drives large variation in activity and cost between CCGs.

The volume of spinal surgery is spiralling – the NHS in England spends £200m per annum on spinal surgery and there are currently approximately 10,000 adult patients each year that have elective spinal surgery. In an addition, there are large numbers of patients being given injections with low evidence of effectiveness.  Reducing these ineffective but costly injections alone would save the NHS £9m a year.

By taking preventative measures and by having regular physical therapy, Rushden Chiropractic can help you avoid surgical treatment.

Click here and come and see us at Rushden Chiropractic, we can help you with prevention and expertise in your journey to pain free living.