Have you encountered discomfort in your lower back? Have you also faced nerve-related pain linked to lower back discomfort? Lower back pain can be incapacitating, significantly disrupting your daily activities. If you don’t seek appropriate treatment, this type of pain can persist for an extended period.

The illustration presented above displays an X-ray of my lower back from 2011. During that time, I was dealing with lower back pain accompanied by sciatica. Sciatica is a form of nerve pain that travels down the leg, in my case, reaching all the way to my foot. It causes substantial discomfort when sitting, walking, jumping, lifting – essentially during most activities, except when lying down in a curled position on the floor with a pillow between your knees.

For the past ten years, I’ve been employed as a Chiropractor, Clinical Pilates instructor, and Personal Trainer. Interestingly, I sustained this injury right at the beginning of my career.

Following the injury, I underwent treatment from various colleagues for several months. I followed the standard treatment protocol: attending physiotherapy and chiropractic appointments twice a week, in combination with exercises to do at home.

Moving ahead by a year, I still experienced minor lower back pain and moderate sciatic symptoms. At this point, my doctor recommended consulting an orthopedic specialist as the conventional chiropractic and physiotherapy treatments had not yielded positive results. In his view, the only remaining option was spinal surgery, such as a discectomy.

Given my educational background – a bachelor’s degree in Science and a Master’s in Clinical Chiropractic – and my experience of about a year in the field, I recognized that surgery should only be considered as a last resort. Hence, I opted for a different approach to my recovery. After experimenting with various rehabilitation methods, I stumbled upon a gym that specialized in clients with chronic back pain. The approach was simple: two appointments per week for 10 to 12 weeks. Each session consisted of 10 minutes of physical therapy, involving massage and adjustments, followed by 20 minutes of one-on-one exercise guidance in the studio.

After undergoing six weeks of this treatment, I found relief from both lower back pain and sciatic symptoms.

Fast forward a decade, and I’ve personally treated numerous clients using the same protocol at my clinic in Preston. The clinic is equipped with multiple treatment rooms and various exercise tools that are utilized in conjunction to alleviate lower back pain.

Over time, I’ve developed a proven rehabilitation protocol tailored specifically for lower back pain, with or without accompanying sciatica. Each session comprises 20 minutes of hands-on therapy and 20 minutes of guided gym exercises, occurring twice a week for a duration of 6 to 10 weeks.

Through extensive research into lower back pain and more than a decade of patient interaction, I’ve concluded that a straightforward protocol incorporating both hands-on treatment and resistance-based exercise prescription is the key to swift recovery. Monitoring strength enhancements is crucial, as these improvements should correlate with reduced pain levels. Home exercises can be ambiguous and might sometimes trigger symptomatic flare-ups due to incorrect technique.

My own experience, coupled with aiding thousands of clients dealing with lower back pain and sciatica, has provided me with invaluable insights over the years. Having experienced this injury in my early twenties, I have a profound understanding of the reality of lower back pain accompanied by nerve-related discomfort. This perception of pain cannot be fully grasped from textbooks or solely through patient descriptions.

The silver lining in my personal encounter with lower back and sciatic pain is that it has made me a more adept practitioner. If you are currently grappling with lower back pain and/or sciatica, I am enthusiastic about assisting you with my distinctive treatment approach. You can schedule an appointment with me through our online booking system, or don’t hesitate to contact me via email at andrew@advanced-health.com.au.

Best regards,

Andrew Cunningham

Chiropractor

Clinical Pilates Instructor, Personal Trainer

Provider No: 4238214F

NDIS Prov Reg No: 4050009771 A

dvanced Health 4/107 Plenty Rd Preston 3072

Phone: 9484 9185

Website: www.advanced-health.com.au