A young gentleman presented to us at Rugby Physio for his disabling low back pain and sciatica pain in the right leg and foot. The symptoms initially began just 3 weeks before coming to see us and he recalls jumping up to throw his basketball into the hoop when he felt a “pop” followed by severe pain in his lower back.
He was prescribed naproxen by his GP and advised to seek physiotherapy help. On coming to see us at Rugby Physio, we could see how severe his pain was. We could see how it was affecting his sleep, lifestyle and ability to play basketball. We could see the consequences on his mental health.
At Rugby Physio, we take a holistic approach to treating all our patients that come through our doors.
What we did:
- Took onboard his pain, his concerns, his disability.
- We reassured him, educated him and discussed prognostic factors which could influence his recovery.
- We assessed him including spinal movements, neurological assessments and functional tests.
- We treated him initially with hands on physiotherapy which includes some soft tissue work, gentle joint mobilisations and acupuncture to assist with pain relief.
- We advised him a focused exercise programme to complete in the initial stages of his rehabilitation journey. This included light stretching, gentle walking for 10 minutes and deep breathing.
- Small goals where designed to work on at each physio session.
- Together, rehabilitation goals where set to ensure physiotherapy treatment was focused.
After 4 sessions, he was back to bending his lower back. His neurological symptoms of pins and needles in the foot had alleviated.
Each session we included hands on physiotherapy and there was immediate relief.
He managed to get back to basket ball 7 weeks after his injury, pain free and no longer taking naproxen.
Find out more about low back pain & how Physiotherapy can help