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| RADICAL: After suffering with a bad back herself, Jill Maden heard about a new technique. Picture: Stuart Nimmo |
Are you sitting comfortably? In an armchair or at a desk? OK, stop right there. Get up, shake yourself around a bit and get down on all fours. It's time for your daily spinal mobility exercise - a gentle series of stretching and bending moves which, if you perform them at least once a day, should keep the modern-day scourge of excruciating back pain at bay.
Encouraging such exercises is the main aim of BackCare Awareness Week, which starts a week today. Back pain costs the NHS £1bn a year; in the private sector, £565m is spent on it. Depending on which statistics you read, it affects 50% to 60% of the UK population. Human beings were designed to move around and, as our sedentary lifestyles become more entrenched, back pain is expected to become even more of a problem.
Like many sufferers, Jill Maden found that her lifestyle was the root cause of her back pain. The former IT consultant from Glasgow spent long hours working in front of a computer screen, and prolonged periods driving to her work in Perth. A decade ago, she remembers, she was at home alone one night when she felt her back "go".
"The pain was awful," she recalls. "I fell to the ground and spent the night on the kitchen floor before managing to crawl to the phone to call my friend. I spent the next week in bed on painkillers. My hip was sticking out six inches from where it should be - and, even when I managed to get up, I couldn't stand for long. Eventually I was able to go back to work, but after two weeks I sneezed and the same thing happened."
And so a pattern began. "It affected my work and my life because I lived in fear of putting my back out," Maden explains. "Eventually, a friend recommended an alternative therapist, who eased it back within a couple of sessions. But after two months, the pain was back." After two years of this, she began to think the therapy was treating the symptoms while not reaching the cause.
"I had started training as a massage therapist myself by then, and I had heard of a postural alignment technique called the Egoscue Method. No-one practised it in the UK but I signed up for a video programme with a clinic in San Diego. The exercises stabilised my pelvic structure and started to balance out misalignments. I was so impressed that, in 2004, I decided to train as a postural alignment specialist with them. Now I've set up my own clinic, Intouch Advanced Therapies, in Bearsden, near Glasgow. I've also got into motorbikes, which would have been impossible with my back problem."
Edinburgh-based chartered surveyor Andrew Mackenzie had nagging back pain for four years following an encounter in a rugby scrum, which caused neck pain, headaches and dizziness. Neither physiotherapy nor acupuncture solved the problem, but last year he turned to another new method, Technology-Assisted Micro-Mobilisation and Reflex Stimulation, or Tamars. The procedure, carried out at an Edinburgh clinic, involves a hand-held, computer-console-controlled device which clinicians use to administer a non-surgical spinal treatment.
"After three sessions, the pains disappeared," says Mackenzie. "I found I had more energy and my headaches had reduced. Tamars takes a completely different angle on back and neck problems by isolating and treating each joint of the spine as part of a total spinal treatment. It means you don't create a new problem while treating an existing one."
Maden and Mackenzie's back-pain stories are typical in that they show how sufferers can struggle to find a solution. There is a dazzling array of treatments on offer, including physiotherapy, chiropractic therapy, osteopathy, acupuncture, massage and reiki.
Gerry Kielty, who runs the Balance Yoga Centre and Chiropractic Clinic in Glasgow, says the best approach to eliminating back pain is to take steps to stop it happening. "In my view, yoga is the long-term method of remediation, using support from other disciplines. Prevention is better than cure."
What's best for you? The main treatments available
CLASSIC CHIROPRACTIC TREATMENT
What is it?
Developed in the late nineteenth century, it treats problems with joints, bones and muscles and the effects they have on the nervous system. It works on all the body's joints but concentrates on manipulation of the spine. There are various types of chiropractic approaches: the McTimoney method, for example, is based on a body assessment, concentrating on structural misalignments and general wellbeing.
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What training is involved?
Chiropractors undergo a minimum four-year full-time degree course and are registered with the General Chiropractic Council. More medical in their approach, they are trained in radiography and radiology and take blood pressure.
Where can I find it?
It is available on the NHS: ask your doctor. To make a private appointment, contact the Scottish Chiropractic Association on 01505 863151, or visit
www.sca-chiropractic.org
.
CLASSIC OSTEOPATHY
What is it?
Osteopathy is a way of detecting and treating damaged parts of the body such as muscles, ligaments, nerves and joints. Osteopaths treat a variety of common conditions including postural problems, repetitive strain injury, arthritis and sports injuries.
What training is involved?
Osteopaths undertake degree programmes together with clinical training. For the last seven years, it has been illegal to call yourself an osteopath unless registered with the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC). "Bogus" osteopaths have been prosecuted.
Where can I find it?
To make a private appointment, contact the GOsC for osteopaths in your area. Your GP or consultant may refer you. Call 020 7357 6655 or go to
www.osteopathy.org.uk.
BOWEN TECHNIQUE
What is it?
A holistic approach pioneered by Tom Bowen, an Australian Second World War veteran. The practitioner makes a series of gently rolling moves through clothing, using a light touch.
What training is involved?
Practitioners train for a year to gain a Bowtech diploma of proficiency under the auspices
of the Bowen Therapy Academy of Australia.
Where can I find it?
Call 0700 269 8324 or visit www.bowen-technique.co.uk.
PHYSIOTHERAPY
What is it?
Physiotherapists are trained to diagnose problems in the joints and soft tissues of the body. They carry out an assessment of your problem and create a treatment plan. Treatments for back pain include manipulation and massage. Exercise might also be used to increase general fitness or to strengthen the muscles that support the spine. Physiotherapists also offer preventive advice.
What training is involved?
Physiotherapists train for three years. Check the one you see has either MCSP (Member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy) or FCSP (Fellow of the society) after their name.
Where can I find it?
Physiotherapists work in a variety of settings including hospitals, health centres, GP practices, schools, workplaces and private clinics, and also visit people at home. You can contact one through your GP or privately. The chartered Society of Physiotherapists Scotland is on 0131 226 1441 or at www.csp.org.uk.
ACUPUNCTURE
What is it?
Acupuncture, based on the principles of ancient Chinese philosophy, involves inserting fine needles into the body's channels of energy (qi), which in turn stimulate the body's healing response. The idea is to increase the release of natural painkillers in the pain pathways of both the spinal cord and the brain.
What training is involved?
There are two types of practitioners: medical practitioners and traditional acupuncturists.
Many GPs and hospital doctors are beginning to use it as a complementary therapy. The rules governing who is allowed to call themselves an acupuncturist are vague.
Where can I find it?
The British Acupuncture Council provides details of qualified traditional acupuncturists. Call 020 8735 0400 or go to
www.acupuncture.org.uk. The British Medical Acupuncture Society provides a list of doctors qualified in medical acupuncture. Call 020 7713 9437 or see www.medical-acupuncture.co.uk.
ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE
What is it?
Another technique dating from the late nineteenth century, it is said to work by re-establishing the natural relationship between the head, the neck and the back - the core of the body that provides the structural environment for breathing and for the internal organs.
What training is involved?
All instructors approved by the Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique (STAT) have completed a three-year
full-time course. The society says that applications to train are strictly vetted.
Where can I find it?
Contact the STAT by calling 020 7482 5135 or going to www.stat.org.uk
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