Case Studies

Case Study 1 - Lower Back Pain

A manual worker had been having low back pain for 6 months, causing him to start waking up in the early hours of the morning.

He had worked at his job for five years with no prior history of back pain. He had been a rugby player all his life including touch rugby.

Examination revealed that this person had a good strong back but there was significant muscle tone in his hamstrings and lumbar erecter spinae, causing muscle hypertonia and therefore pain.

Osteopathic treatment was performed to improve the function of the spine, to reduce muscle tone. Simple exercises were also prescribed to maintain the flexibility gained through the treatment.

What was the key issue in this case? When lifting in the store room he had got in to the habit of arching backwards to lift the boxes above his head on to the shelves. When he changed his technique and started to lift upwards from the legs the problem was resolved.