There are so many options for treating low back pain and other injuries in general. It would be hard to touch the surface in a short blog, so I will cover the basic difference between what is called Conservative treatment and what would be termed Surgical treatment.
The most referred to conservative treatment modality in Australia is Physiotherapy, but other options include Occupational therapy, Nursing, Exercise Physiology, and any of the other Allied Health Therapies (this does not include Chiropractic, but that is a discussion for a different day).
First Line Treatment:
We are talking about the evidence based scientific therapies that the medical profession uses to assist them in treating problems, including back pain. This conservative approach is often considered to be the first line of treatment meaning your treating therapist will offer advice/education, exercise therapy (hydrotherapy included) and weight-control advice.
Second Line Treatment:
The next treatment options ot be considered and in conjunction with the first line of treatment are: pain relief medications, manual therapy, braces/ orthoses, shoe insoles and aids (i.e. walking stick). These methods should complement the first line and not be instead of the first line treatment options.
Third Line Treatment:
In some cases, for those with very severe symptoms or the people not responding to the first and second line of treatment, surgical intervention is often considered. Surgical treatments are considered the third line of treatment because they are often more invasive and these techniques would include surgery, which most commonly is discectomy or fusion and any of the different injections that can be administered to the lumbar spine as an example.
At Logan Physiotherapy we provide the most up to date, Evidence-based medical model of treatment available. We stay up to date on the common trends, common modalities, and treatment options available today. We undertake extensive ongoing study into pain science, anatomy, surgical options, radiology, and any other evidence-based study available that is relevant to Physiotherapy.
Recently the team at Logan Physio undertook continued professional development where a neurosurgeon spoke about their experience of surgical intervention. The surgeon stated, “A lot of patients coming for surgery often anticipate the surgery will fix their problem, and surgery more often than not does improve the patient’s outcome, however, the main intention of a majority of the surgeries are to prevent further degradation.”
At Logan Physio we use this model of treatment for all of our patients, it is called a holistic approach where we are treating all of you and not simply concentrating on your knee or ankle problem but every aspect of your health and fitness. We also have specialists that we work closely with that we feel comfortable that they will give you good advice on what your options are if surgical intervention may be required.
