Back pain can affect your whole life, restricting what you can do, disrupting your sleep and limiting or stopping you working. It can make everyday actions almost intolerable through a combination of chronic pain and lack of mobility. You may also be making unusual movements because you worry about making your back worse (known as maladaptive coping strategies).
At Joint Reaction, our specialist spinal consultants see many patients with back pain who have been waiting for a referral or definitive diagnosis from elsewhere for months. Our consultants offer a rapid diagnosis and associated scans and tests, so those new patients know what the primary source of their pain is, how it can be relieved and start receiving specialist treatment almost straight away.
The good news is that only around 30% of our patients at Joint Reaction patients need surgery to resolve their back pain. Many can get back to normal activities with effective, personalised private treatment plans including extended specialist physiotherapy sessions and non-surgical interventions such as injections.
For those who do require spinal surgery, access to a rapid diagnosis by one of our consultants and to imaging including MRI, CT and X-ray ensures that our patients wait less time for the specialist surgery they require. They can also have the surgery performed at a hospital near them in Hampshire, Surrey, Berkshire and London with minimal waiting and at dates best suited for their ongoing care and recovery.
Not all patients have health insurance and at Joint Reaction we warmly welcome any patients who are self-funding, offering bespoke solutions for your treatment.
Reclaim your life from back pain with expert diagnosis and treatment for back pain. Enjoy rapid access, consultant-led care from start to finish and a faster, more sustainable return to an active lifestyle.
Why languish on a lengthy waiting list? Contact us for your initial consultation with our orthopaedic consultants within days, not weeks.
Back pain in the UK today
Back pain is remarkably common in the UK. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence suggests that
“Up to 60% of the adult population will have low back pain at some point in their lifetime”(1).
It has been estimated that nearly 31 million workdays are lost annually to non-specific back pain.
Back pain is often the result of muscle or ligament strains sustained when lifting, making sudden movements, or poor posture. However, it can be a symptom of spinal conditions such as herniated discs or stenosis. It can also be the result of underlying health issues including arthritis and cancer, or even lifestyle factors such as stress, being overweight and smoking.
Why an expert back pain diagnosis is so important
At Joint Reaction, our spinal consultants specialise in treating pain resulting from issues with your spine and its component parts including your vertebrae, discs and nerves. At your first appointment, your consultant will spend time discussing the issues you have, to make a preliminary diagnosis and to (usually) have scans of your back taken to show more detail.
Back pain can be due to pressure on your nerves if they become trapped or inflamed, known commonly as sciatica. Other issues can include:
- A ‘slipped’ (prolapsed), bulging or ruptured disc between your spine vertebrae that’s pressing on a nerve
- Spinal stenosis / compression (inflammation that traps nerves)
- Spondylolisthesis (vertebrae fusing)
Our consultants specialise in treatments and procedures that relieve the pressure, freeing the nerves and releasing you from pain. They may also suggest disc surgery (microdiscectomy) or replacement to maintain your mobility.
If you have a back injury or chronic osteoarthritis, you may also require surgery to protect the structural integrity of your spine, such as lumber fusion (2) or interspinous stabilisation.
For a full list of our spinal treatments, see our page here:
Back pain treatments without surgery – physical therapies
70% of our patients at Joint Reaction do not require immediate surgery. Instead, our consultants prepare an individual treatment plan for each patient that usually includes specific exercises and physiotherapy.
Joint Reaction partner with specialist physiotherapists who work under the direction of our orthopaedic spinal consultants to deliver precise and targeted treatments for spinal-related back pain. One of the great advantages about “going private” for your physiotherapy is that you can usually start your treatment almost immediately and have longer sessions, more frequently, and at locations and times to suit you.
If you do have surgery, our bespoke private care packages ensure that after surgery, your treatment continues with suitable rehabilitation treatments, including bespoke post-op physiotherapy.
Back pain treatments without surgery – injections
At Joint Reaction, your consultant may treat your back pain and spinal problems with specialist injections alongside physical therapy. These may include:
- Steroid Epidurals including Caudal Epidurals, performed as day cases
- Nerve Root Injections. Our lumbar, thoracic, or cervical injections target the exact source of inflammation and require an x-ray to ensure precision.
- Facet Joint Injections are used to block pain either temporarily using local anaesthetic, or more permanently using radiofrequency lesioning to “turn off” pain signals.
Back pain and spinal surgery FAQs
Smokers suffer back pain more than those who don’t smoke. Smokers tend to cough more, and this can lead to discs becoming herniated. Smoking can often decrease the flow of blood flow to the spine, which increases your risk of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis of the spine causes the vertebrae to become porous and brittle and more prone to breaks.
Arthritis in the spine can cause the space around the spinal cord to get narrower and squeeze the nerves, known as spinal stenosis.
You can find out all about the specialist spinal consultants here.
Private medical treatment is a faster, more convenient and more personalised route to resolving back pain caused by spinal issues such as trapped nerves, inflammation and damage to the discs or vertebrae. The consultant you meet at your first appointment will be with you all the way through your treatment and your recovery. That continuity of service ensures you receive targeted timely treatment and have a single point of contact for any issues or concerns.
Suffering from prolonged back pain and waiting for a GP appointment?
Contact us to book a private consultation with one of our specialist orthopaedic surgeons. You don’t need a referral and there’s no obligation. You’ll be seen rapidly within a matter of days, and you don’t need to have private medical insurance
For more details, contact us at Joint Reaction.
IMPORTANT: This article on carpel tunnel syndrome is for your information only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice or diagnosis. When you first meet your Joint Reaction consultant, they will discuss any hand and wrist issues, including previous issues, diagnosis or scans you may have.
SOURCES:
(1) National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). (n.d.). Back pain – low (without radiculopathy): Background information – Risk factors. NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries. https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/back-pain-low-without-radiculopathy/background-information/risk-factors/
(2) British Association of Spinal Surgeons. (n.d.). Lumbar discectomy and decompression. https://spinesurgeons.ac.uk/Lumbar-Discectomy-and-Decompression
(3) NHS. (n.d.). Lumbar decompression surgery. https://www.nhs.uk/tests-and-treatments/lumbar-decompression-surgery/
(4) Mayo Clinic Staff. (n.d.). Back pain: Symptoms & causes. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/back-pain/symptoms-causes/syc-20369906