Ben Jones Physiotherapy in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | Medical and health

Ben Jones Physiotherapy

Locality: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Phone: +6159683030

Address: 381 Belgrave-Gembrook Road 3782 Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Website: https://hillsphysiotherapy.com.au/

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24.01.2022 Leading on from the last post, I've just seen another bit of research (Jacobs et all. 2020) showing that those who got an MRI with acute non-specific lower back pain (no red flags) had the following: 13x increase in surgery 20% increase in opioid prescription $2500 increase in associated medical costs... That study had 405,695 participants so that's a lot of funding for the medical industry! Again, knowing what we know about scans and how normal abnormalities are, below are some of the key influencers of pain becoming persistent/chronic: -psychological factors (depression/anxiety, stress, fear avoidance behaviours and pain beliefs) -lifestyle factors (poor eating and physical activity habits, poor sleep) -social factors (work place issues/job dissatisfaction, poor social relationships, hyper-vigilant family members) This is where the words we use can make or break someone (and also getting a scan or not getting a scan). Our bodys are strong and pain is a product of the person and the context they're in at that time; how much is cracking someone or getting them doing core strength exercise going to help if their back pain came on after they were made redundant, went through a heavy divorce, and lost their best mate? Practitioners need to look at the person as a whole and stop looking at the body as a mechanical beast. People need reassurance and encouragement to continue being active as much as they can, not to be told you have a bulge or degeneration or your backs outa whack. Did you know it takes 335kg to compress a spinal disc by only 1mm? So if anyone has told you/a family member or friend they have a slipped disc, tell em they're dreamen!

21.01.2022 So, back pain! Around 70% of you have or will have a bout of it at some point in your life. It can be super painful or not too bad, but interestingly enough only 1-2% of back pains can be attributed to a structural cause. So keeping this in mind, how important is getting a scan? Here's the kicker, studies have shown time and time again (also at most other joints in the body) the huge number of "abnormalities" on peoples scans that have ZERO back pain. Rajaswaren (2014) found... that 96% of athletes under 22 years had "abnormalities" on a scan, with another study finding that 37% of 20 year olds have degeneration in their spine, and 30% have disc bulges (Brinjikji 2015). Again, those people didn't have back pain, so what on earth can we achieve with getting a scan once the red flags have been cleared? Aside from ruling out anything sinister, nocebo! Everyone's heard of Placebo where basically "if you believe a treatment works, it works", however Nocebo is the total opposite and scans for back pain can be the perfect example of it live in action. If someone with clinical power (ie, a GP, a physio, chiro, specialist etc.) tells you " you have a disc bulge at L3/4 and mild-moderate degeneration throughout your Lumbar spine", of course you will freak out and likely your pain will rise and you certainly won't want to bend over and touch your toes in a hurry. We know now that using scans in the wrong context can actually lead to worse outcomes in the individual (still case by case scenario). So our plan is always to clear the red flags (such as unknown rapid weight loss, numbness in the saddle area or even a drop foot), reassure people their body knows what it's doing and the pain will eventually ease, and continue to move and be active as much as the pain allows without any fear of harm. Backs are mega strong and robust so be reassured that in over 98% of cases there is nothing structurally wrong to fear, they are just massive pains in the butt! I'll sneak up a post soon on what are the key influences/risk factors on back pain, and that's where it starts getting interesting, and even a bit hairy! See more

09.01.2022 Now would be a fairly appropriate time to look at the perks of walking seeing as it's lock down time again! Many don't give walking the praise it deserves, nor prioritize it enough. Active approaches and doing your part are generally the best thing for rehab, rather then having a dependence on a practioner to "fix you" in 30 minutes (many may claim this....). Remember, there are 10,080 minutes in a week and you may only see a practioner for 30minutes (or sometimes less) so the plan should be to always give people the tools and education to help themselves and drive there own recovery. Now get out there and follow your nose!

07.01.2022 Here's a funny one from Kristian Ekstrom. Two things can happen when you seek help for a 'standard' lower back or neck pain: Option 1: "we have ruled out anything sinister and your scan shows normal age related changes. Stated are 2 mild disk bulges that we expect to see in a very large percentage of the population with no pain and these have likely been there very long before your back pain episode. Lets manage the pain and get you back into work and daily activities as pain... allows." Option 2: "I'm shocked you don't have more pain. Your scan is showing extensive degeneration and 2 disk bulges that are pinching your spinal cord. At this stage I want you to see a specialist for this as this may require surgical intervention based on my experience. Don't bend over or lift anything from the ground as you may do more harm." Hmmmmm.... If you no anyone with back pain currently or previously please by all means get them to like this page because I simply cannot believe the amount of fear and worry that can be put into people by a few words. Unfortunately it's a toss of the coin as to which response you get from the above. If you get option 2, prognosis for recovery will be far from ideal but option 1 should leave you walking away feeling relieved and reassured and ready to get out again for your 5km walk for a maximum of 2 hours per day! #backpain #physiotherapy #emerald

06.01.2022 Here's an awesome infographic on lower back pain which summarises beautifully the key triggers/influencers. What's super cool though is just how many of those are quite easily modifiable to an individual so in an ideal world, every practitioner would be asking about these things instead of continuing to treat your spine. Remember, without your brain you can't experience the pain!

01.01.2022 Are you motivated, or are you disciplined? Everyone knows what they need to do, if it's going for that daily walk I keep crapping on about, or if it's getting up three times a week to do a quick body weight circuit, or even busting some moves on an online dance/fitness class. Don't use the excuse of "I can't/couldn't get motivated". Simply (but not so simply really) shift your frame of mind and just BE DISCIPLINED instead and you'll never not do something! Give that a whirl!