Support for Your Back

At Spineworks we are here to help when we can.

We welcome approaches via the telephone or email where we will try and deal with your enquiry as quickly as possible.

We should point out that this happens during working hours. Outside these times and at weekends advice should be sought from the usual sources.

Spineworks are corporate supporters of Backcare – The charity for healthier backs

SIMPLYHEALTH BACK CARE APP

The Simplyhealth Back Care app is an easy way to find information, practitioners, exercises and videos to help you manage and prevent back pain. All information and exercises are provided by BackCare.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

I have been told I need injections to mask the pain – what does this mean?
At SpineWorks injections we use for spinal pain are aimed at giving a window of opportunity to settle symptoms. Hopefully they reduce pain so that you can return to a more active lifestyle and return to an exercise program to increase core stability.
I have been told I need to increase my core stability – is this true?
Yes, core stability is the term for building up the muscles around the spine. This is rather like developing a muscular corset around the spine to protect and hold it, allowing controlled movement. During the ageing process discs deteriorate and age rather like car tyres. That is to say after a lot of mileage on a car tyre bald patches develop allowing air to leak which makes them less stable and ‘wobbly’. The discs can also lose height and bulge more which leads to increase wear on the facet joints at the back of the spine. The best way of dealing with this is prevention therefore core stability exercises are very useful.
Do I have to take pain killers as I am worried that they will mask the pain?
It is far better to take adequate analgesia as this of course enables you to be more active in your everyday life. This means that you can take exercise and maintain more muscle tone and lubricate your articular cartilages which line the joints. It allows the discs to move and this turn gives them nutrition. The pain killers prescribed by your doctor will not be that strong that they are likely to harm you. Therefore it is more beneficial for you to be as pain free as possible to allow you to live a normal a life. Again pain does not equal damage.
If I am feeling pain then surely I am damaging myself?
This is a distinct old wives tale. Pain does not necessarily equal damage. Back and neck pain is mostly a musculo skeletal condition and is akin therefore to strain which occurs after exercise or indeed the symptoms that come on after hard exercise. The body can ache and be painful afterwards but no damage has been done and clearly exercise is important to increase strength and tolerance. Only severe pain will stop you doing any exercise at all but generally pain in this context particularly after an exercise program to build up muscles is not causing any damage. It is therefore much more appropriate to exercise hard and suffer some minor symptoms in an effort to prevent problems in the long term. The condition that springs from that is fear avoidance in that because of the fear of doing damage the patient becomes very sedentary and does not exercise at all. This leads to a downward spiral of pain and disability. The ultimate result is couch potato!!
Is there a way of dealing with back pain without recourse to surgery?
At Spineworks we strongly believe that non operative methods should be used to treat low back pain in the first instance. Surgery is regarded very much as the last option once a person has exhausted conservative treatment. With back pain in particular it is important to develop strong core muscles to stabilise the spine thereby strengthening the guy ropes around it. This helps reduce the load on the intervertebral discs and therefore the pain coming from them. The same is true of facet joints. Core stability exercises include Pilates and use of the fitball.

SUPPORT FOR YOUR BACK

The Arthritic Association

Dedicated to supporting people with arthritis to manage their condition naturally.

Location: East Sussex, UK

Email: info@arthriticassociation.org.uk

Telephone: 0800 6523188

Web: www.arthriticassociation.org.uk

Spinal Research

Spinal Research is the UK’s leading and most influential spinal cord repair charity.

Location: Guildford,UK

Telephone: 01483 898786

Web: www.spinal-research.org

Spinal Injuries Association

The Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) is the leading national charity for spinal cord injured people.

Location: Milton Keynes, UK

Telephone: 0800 9800501

Web: www.spinal.co.uk

Royal Association for Disability & Rehabilitation

Disability Rights UK works to create a society where everyone with lived experience of disability or health conditions can participate equally as full citizens.

Location: London, UK

Email: enquiries@disabilityrightsuk.org

Telephone: 020 7250 3222

Web: www.radar.org.uk

Pain Relief Foundation

The Pain Relief Foundation is a UK charity which funds research into the causes and treatment of human chronic pain and is concerned with education of health professionals about pain management.

Location: Liverpool, UK

Email: secretary@painrelieffoundation.org.uk

Telephone: 0151 529 5820

Web: www.painrelieffoundation.org.uk

Pain Concern

We believe that pain is best faced together by the ‘Pain Community’ of people with pain, their family, supporters and healthcare professionals. This ideal is reflected in the make-up of the Pain Concern team.

Location: Edinburgh, UK

Email: helpline@painconcern.org.uk

Telephone: 0300 123 0789

Web: www.painconcern.org.uk

NHS Direct

24/7 nurse-led telephone service.

Location: UK

Telephone: 111

Web: www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk

Global Spine Network

The main goal is to provide people with a comprehensive and unbiased resource for understanding, preventing, and seeking appropriate non-surgical treatment for spine and spine-related disorders.

Email: info@globalspine.net

Web: www.globalspine.net

General Medical Council

Regulating doctors and ensuring good medical practice.

Location: UK

Email: gmc@gmc-uk.org

Telephone: 0161 923 6602

Web: www.gmc-uk.org

Fibromyalgia Association

Raising awareness of fibromyalgia.

Location: Paisley, UK

Email: charity@fmauk.org