2008 Author: Agneta Lindberg, MSc

When the acute pain is gone or at least has dissipated a new phase of your back treatment starts – the home care phase.

Once you have had your last treatment (for a while) with your physiotherapist or practitioners a new phase of your back treatment starts – the home care phase. This is the time when the acute pain is gone or at least has dissipated, you are back to work and perhaps near normal activity. It is not unusual to feel insecure and worried about sudden pain, at the same time as feeling hopeful about the improvements, comfortable and pain free. The recovery benefits from both psychological and physiological awareness and physical strengthening of deep laying core muscles. This is when attending regular lessons of for example Pilates, back care clinic and regular home training in conjunction with an actual adaptation of how you perform the activities of daily life (ADL) becomes extra important. In your lessons you will learn how to improve  your movement quality, how to engage the muscles that give you support under the supervision of a well trained, experienced teacher. It is in its application to daily life that Pilates (or other movement methods, such as Alexander Technique) becomes really useful, as it is away from the supervised studio environment in which you will spend most of your time.

There are many ADLs that people without pain, and without the experience of back pain, would not spend much time thinking about in terms of the stress they can cause an uncomfortable spine. Have you considered the following ‘normal’
activities?

How do we deal with these ADLs and how do we manage our bodies in order to stay pain free and avoid any aggravation of the issues that caused the pain?

In my experience there are three layers of knowledge that we need.

1. Knowledge of where pain originates from doesn’t have to be precise, exact or in detail but your gut instinct and what your memory tells you.
2. Movements that you must avoid (eg forward/backward flexion, compression etc of spine, leg movements, upper body loading).
3. How to engage your supporting muscles, often called ‘core’ muscles, indicating they lay deep in the body providing  support for the spine, and joints.

You may already have discussed the origins of your pain with your practitioner but it is often useful to consider when and how it initially started. What is your movement and exercise history, can you recall any incidents from early in life when you were in a lot of pain? Can you ask family members if they remember anything that may be useful for you, to help you equip yourself with more details? The purpose of knowing more about yourself is that it can enhance ...

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