Low back pain can arise from a range of contributing factors rather than just one specific structure. Often there are multiple reasons for lower back pain — it’s important to understand the structures as well as the cause of the complaint to give you appropriate management and the tools to move forward with confidence.
Our approach is to identify what may be the cause of your pain, address what is contributing to your symptoms, and help you build confidence in movement and activity by slowly progressing strength and tolerance within your pain limits.
Common Types of Low Back Pain
Acute Low Back Pain
Acute lower back pain is a sudden onset of pain with movement. Typically it can come from a combination of bending forward with rotation, or it can gradually build up after overloading the lower back. It doesn’t always take a significant trauma — it can be from something as simple as putting on socks. Often this type of pain involves more than one structure: discs, facet joints, muscles and sometimes adjacent structures such as the hips or sacro-iliac joints.
Sometimes acute pain can refer down the leg — this is known as sciatica or radiculopathy.
Chronic and Long-Term Low Back Pain
Chronic or persistent pain has been present for a longer duration and involves a different approach to management. Chronic pain is a complex process — while there can be an underlying structural issue, the nervous system and muscles can also become overly protective over time. In these cases, a slow graded approach with a focus on building confidence and resilience to movement is needed.
We also recognise that other processes such as arthritis or disc degeneration may be present. Our focus is on giving you support that genuinely helps — and in cases where additional allied health or pain management input would benefit you, we will let you know.
Pelvic Pain or Sacro-Iliac Joint Pain
Sometimes the lower back is where pain is felt, when the problem actually exists elsewhere. When your body has adapted to complaints such as hip arthritis or sacroiliac joint dysfunction, pain can be felt in the back while the source is in a different location. For this reason, we also assess and ask about other areas of stiffness, weakness or pain to better understand your full picture.
Common Causes of Low Back Pain
The lower back plays a large role in transmitting force between the lower and upper body. When areas are weak, balance is poor, or there is prior injury, the muscles may not be providing adequate support. Common contributing factors include:
- Weakness of the abdominal or hip stabilising muscles
- Ergonomic factors: heavy labour, desk posture, repetitive lifting, poor lifting technique
- Being sedentary for prolonged periods
- History of previous trauma to the lower back
- Sensitised nerves that interpret normal stimuli as pain — common after a long history of back pain
- Changes to muscle, disc or joint structures over time
- Instability of the lower back
- Movement patterns that overload the back muscles and underutilise the core
When Should You Seek Treatment?
Many episodes of lower back pain settle on their own, but there are times when an assessment can help guide management and reduce ongoing issues. Consider seeking assessment if you experience:
- Pain that persists and is not improving after 1–2 weeks
- Recurrent episodes of low back pain
- Pain spreading into the glutes or down the leg
- Increasing stiffness or restriction in movement
- Uncertainty about how to manage your symptoms
If you are unsure, an assessment can help clarify what is contributing to your symptoms and how to best move forward.
How We Support Low Back Pain
Screening and Assessment
We thoroughly screen your complaint and work to understand why it is there, along with the factors that led to your symptoms. We review your back history, prior procedures and what has been effective or ineffective in the past — to guide the next steps in management.
Manual Therapy
Manual therapy is a useful tool for managing the tightness and stiffness that may be contributing to your symptoms. Techniques may include traction, soft tissue massage, dry needling, muscle energy technique and joint mobilisation, as well as treatment of the hips or pelvic muscles where relevant.
Education and Exercises
Our focus is on giving you tools to manage your own symptoms. For acute complaints this is often a faster recovery timeframe, while persistent or chronic complaints may require a longer course of care. We provide advice, guidance and strategies to prevent flare-ups — with exercises tailored to the underlying drivers of your symptoms, whether that is stability, hip mobility or core strengthening.
When to See Your Doctor First
Some symptoms require GP or medical assessment before seeing an osteopath. Please seek urgent medical attention if you experience:
- Weakness of the legs, or foot drop (difficulty lifting the toes when walking)
- Issues with bladder or bowel continence, or difficulty with toileting
- A severe lower back trauma, fall, or injury while on blood-thinning medications or with low bone density
- Pulsating pain in the abdomen, abnormal bowel habits or blood in the stool
- Pain that wakes you at night
- A rash alongside your back pain — particularly a strip-like rash along the body
- A history of cancer, unexplained weight loss, night sweats or deep bone pain
If you are uncertain, it is always better to seek a GP assessment first. We can work collaboratively with your GP or specialist once it is appropriate to do so.
Ready to get some answers?
Book an appointment with one of our osteopaths at Flinders Health and Wellness Clinic on the Mornington Peninsula.