Lower back pain
Lower back pain slowing you down? Learn the common causes, self-help that works and how physiotherapy at Tylurs com aids recovery. Book an assessment today.
Physiotherapy is often a sensible first step for problems that affect how you move, whether that is a back that seized up overnight, a knee that aches on the stairs or a shoulder that will not lift above your head. The conditions treated with physiotherapy at Tylurs com range from sudden sports injuries to aches that have built up slowly over months or years.
Use the body-area guide below to find your condition, and check when it is better to see a doctor first.
How physiotherapy helps muscle, joint, nerve and sports conditions
Different tissues need different kinds of help:
- Muscles and tendons recover best with the right amount of load. After a strain or with a painful tendon, your physiotherapist sets exercises that are challenging enough to rebuild strength without flaring things up.
- Joints that are stiff or arthritic often respond well to hands-on mobilisation combined with strengthening, which helps muscles support and protect the joint.
- Nerves that are irritated, as in sciatica, usually settle with positions and movements that ease the symptoms while you keep as active as your pain allows, building back up gradually.
- Sports injuries need a staged plan that moves from protecting the injury to rebuilding strength, speed and confidence for your sport.
Across all of these, advice matters as much as treatment: knowing what is going on and what you can safely do reduces worry and keeps you active.
How your physiotherapy assessment works
Your first appointment starts with a conversation about how the problem began, what makes it better or worse and how it affects your day. Your physiotherapist also asks screening questions about your general health as a safety check.
They then look at how you move, test strength and flexibility, and may gently examine the painful area. By the end, you should understand the most likely cause of your symptoms and the plan. Our guide to your first physiotherapy appointment explains the visit in more detail.
Conditions treated with physiotherapy, by body area
Back, neck and posture
Lower back pain affects most people at some point, and sciatica causes pain that travels from the back into the buttock and leg. We also treat neck pain, including whiplash, and posture-related pain from desk work or long drives. Our back and neck pain treatment brings these together.
Shoulder and elbow
Frozen shoulder causes pain and stiffness that build up gradually and, according to the NHS, can take months or even years to settle, while tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow cause pain around the elbow when you grip or lift.
Hip and knee
Hip pain can come from the joint itself or from the tendons and bursae (small fluid-filled cushions) around it. Knee pain includes osteoarthritis, runner’s knee and ligament problems.
Sports and soft tissue injuries
Ankle sprains and hamstring strains are common in sport and everyday life. Plantar fasciitis causes heel pain that is often worst with your first steps in the morning, and tendinopathy can affect the Achilles, knee, hip, shoulder or elbow. Our sports injury rehabilitation service covers all of these.
Physiotherapist or GP: who should you see first?
For most muscle and joint problems, you can see a physiotherapist without a referral. Physiotherapists are trained to spot signs that something needs medical attention and will refer you to your GP when needed.
See your GP first if you feel generally unwell, have lost weight without trying, or have pain with no obvious cause that is steadily getting worse or is worse at night. A doctor is also the right person for questions about medication.
When to seek urgent medical help
Physiotherapy is not an emergency service. Call the emergency services or go to your nearest emergency department straight away if you have:
- numbness around your genitals or bottom, new problems peeing or controlling your bladder or bowels, or numbness or weakness in both legs, which can be signs of cauda equina syndrome (pressure on the nerves at the base of the spine)
- after an injury, a crack heard at the time, a limb that has changed shape or points at an odd angle, or skin that is numb, cold, blue or grey
- back pain with chest pain, or pain after a serious accident such as a car crash
- pain and swelling in one leg together with breathlessness or chest pain
- a drooping face, weakness in one arm or slurred speech, which are signs of a stroke
Get urgent medical advice the same day, from your GP or an urgent care service, if you have:
- throbbing pain and swelling in one calf or thigh, especially after surgery or a long journey, which can be a sign of a blood clot (DVT)
- an injury you cannot put weight on or walk more than a few steps on
- severe pain that starts suddenly or gets worse quickly, or pain with a high temperature or feeling shivery and unwell
The NHS pages on back pain and sprains and strains set out these warning signs in more detail.
Book an assessment for your condition at Tylurs com
If your condition is listed here, or you are not sure what is causing your pain, Tylurs physiotherapists can assess you and explain your options. While you wait, try our exercises for lower back pain or our guide to ice or heat after an injury. When you are ready, book your physiotherapy assessment.