Back Pain Solutions

Join us on another episode of The Back Pain Solutions podcast as we delve into the world of back pain management, guided by expert practitioners Ben James and Jacob Steyn. In this enlightening episode, we explore the journey of a 45-year-old business owner who had endured decades of back pain and was seeking guidance on long term solutions to manage his complaint. Discover the importance of taking...

In this episode of The Back Pain Solutions Podcast, we delve into the intricate world of chronic back pain management, exploring the multifaceted approaches that clinicians need to employ to help patients find relief and regain control of their lives. Join us as we embark on a journey to unraveling the complexities of this condition and the tailored interventions designed to address unique needs i...

Our aim with this podcast is to help you to understand the importance that movement, and exercise, plays in your rehabilitation from low back pain. We’ve highlighted the importance of finding a practitioner that will give you the insights you need to be empowered to get back to the activities you love. An important part of this process is finding someone who can effectively coach you to ensure tha...

For most of us with an injury, unless we are a top athlete, the benefits of nutrition is not one of the first things popping up in our heads when thinking about strategies to overcome it. Nutritional advice is often looked at as dubious and judgemental or even cult-like when one follows a strict diet based on principles. Today we hope to clarify the consideration of how your nutritional strategy i...

We sit to eat, watch TV, work at a desk and so much more…...most daily activities involve sitting! In the US, on average people sit for around 10 hours per day and 80% of them suffer from sitting induced back pain. But that is just the tip of the iceberg as a more alarming consequence is that it increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and even cancer! ‘Sitting disease’ is now known...

There is a growing group of chiropractors and other practitioners who are stepping outside the narrative of their prescriptive role and embracing a more holistic approach. This seems to be the result of realising the need to assist the patient in different areas, where needed, in order to help them over the tipping point towards healing. This is often needed when patients experience chronic issues...

The last thing many people think about when they’re suffering from a lower back injury, or any injury for that matter, is whether their fitness levels are good enough to help with the recovery process. Our fitness levels are increased by the amount of cardiovascular intensive training we perform and this is increased by regularly challenging the cardiovascular system through exercise. There are nu...

People often try to achieve their fat loss goals through exercise alone because they don’t want to stop eating the foods that they enjoy or they believe that exercise is the key to weight loss. However, evidence demonstrates a high variability in body weight responses to exercise training which is often misunderstood. Exercise for example can increase appetite and so you may end up eating more cal...

Research suggests that up to 50% of women can experience back pain in the first few months following pregnancy which can last between 6 months and a decade! Post partum back pain usually occurs due to pregnancy related changes in the musculoskeletal system that continue after delivery. There are different factors that can contribute to the risk of back pain such as the type of delivery and potenti...

So, 2021 is here and for many of us we’re still experiencing some kind of lockdown! So, what does the New Year have in store for us? How will you respond to the current environment and how could it affect the management of your back health? In this episode we discuss updates from our respective locations and how this could be affecting the management of back health. We talk about remaining positiv...

2020 has been a year of change, and a year of reflection for us all! Businesses have had to adapt; work has had to change and the way many people have approached exercise has changed. For some people they have simply cancelled their gym memberships, whilst others have taken up exercise at home to become fitter as part of their response to the pandemic. As big advocates of exercise for back health...

Many chiropractic clinics focus on simply removing your pain and then having you become reliant on passive treatment to maintain your musculoskeletal health. Whilst preventative maintenance has been shown to be effective in reducing the incidence of back pain we believe there should still be a focus on ensuring every individual is educated on how they can help themselves, be better educated on the...

The global pandemic has impacted us all across the globe in same way and had a detrimental impact on our back health and mental health as many people have had to adjust to working from home. Poor workstations, a lack of interaction, and uncertainty have all influenced our lives this year and had a negative impact on well-being. As we move forward, there is no doubt that many people will reflect ba...

When I was young, I had one goal and that was to be strong, fast and smart in whichever sport I did. I did waterpolo, swimming, athletics, rugby, cricket, triathlon and tennis. All at quite a high level and others competing for my province at home in South African. In other words, it was very competitive! I was running on hard surfaces and with not the best nutrition, recovery strategy or rest. My...

Lower back pain can come on suddenly or gradually and is sometimes the direct result of a fall or injury. The complex structure of the spine means even small amounts of strain can cause pain or injury. When we consider the amount of effort that our back muscles must exert for example just to lift an object off the ground, then this should be no surprise. This is even less surprising when we consid...

Lumbar spinal stenosis is defined as a degenerative condition in which there is diminished space available within the spinal canal, or spinal foramen, for the neural and/or vascular elements in the lumbar spine. Narrowing within the spine is most often due to age-related changes that take place over time. This is called "acquired spinal stenosis" and is most common in people over 50 years of age....

In this episode, we discuss some of the inspiration behind Smartstrong and the back-pain Solutions podcast. We detail one of the seminars we attended back in 2019, out in Eindhoven, where we spent several days with world renowned back expert professor Stuart McGill where we learnt some of the fundamental principles he takes in the management of back health with his clients, following years of rese...

Insomnia is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. Experiences may vary from struggling to fall to sleep to difficulty in staying asleep as long as is desired. A little google research reveals that the word insomnia has a monthly search of over 1.5 million demonstrating that this is a common issue. Given that insomnia is often followed by day time sleepiness, irritability, low ene...

Walking is often overlooked in the recovery process of lower back injury. The strategy best suited for the individual is of course the one best fit for their specific problem but walking should almost always form part of the rehabilitation process. The effect of walking on the tissues in and around the spine is essential and similarly when we do not get this movement it can have a detrimental impa...

For anyone that is in any way health conscious they will have heard of the benefits of omega-3 fats. There is increasing research demonstrating the health benefits of omega-3 fats, including the reduction of inflammation.  As most diseases have an inflammatory component and given that new physiological data demonstrates their essential role in the human body, it would seem prudent to increase our...

Debilitating back pain is difficult to endure yet is suffered by many at some point in their lives. Patients who have suffered a disc herniation often describe experiencing excruciating pain and fear avoidance as they seek to overcome their injury. Whilst the majority of care seeker stop seeking care within 3 months, around 10% will experience chronic, disabling low back pain whilst some experienc...

Alongside mechanical lower back pain there are several conditions that result in pain, and stiffness, in the back which need to be considered during diagnosis. One condition which targets the lower back specifically is ankylosing spondylitis. Ankylosing spondylitis is a progressive form of inflammatory arthritis which mainly affects the spine but can also affect other joints, tendons and ligaments...

It is now common practice for healthcare practitioners to advise against bed rest and encourage a return to activity when managing lower back pain. Bed rest has long been considered to have deleterious effects on recovery from injury and indeed can increase pain due to the osmotic effects on the intervertebral discs as increased hydration results in additional stretch of the localised soft tissues...

As with many medical procedures, there have been advances is the surgical approach to back care. Spinal surgery once meant large incisions, long recovery periods and extended periods of rehabilitation. Fortunately, advances in surgical approach have improved the process making it less invasive. One such procedure is the microdiscectomy which is performed on patients suffering from a herniated disc...

It is now well established that there are numerous health risks associated with being overweight. From increased blood pressure and type 2 diabetes to sleep apnea and osteoarthritis. Global estimates suggest that over 2 billion adults are overweight, with an estimated 650 million suffering from obesity. This number has tripled since 1976 and most of the world’s population now live in countries whe...