Back and neck conditions
Backs and necks are the single largest reason people come to see us, and the area where the advice people have already received is most often unhelpful. So it is worth saying the useful things plainly.
More information
Most back and neck pain is not caused by damage that needs surgical repair. It is genuinely disabling, which is a different thing from being dangerous, and the two get confused precisely because the pain is so convincing. The great majority of episodes improve, and improve faster in people who keep moving.
Which section below should I look at
If the pain stays in your back, start with lower back pain. If it travels into the buttock and down the leg, often with pins and needles, that is sciatica and it behaves differently. If somebody has told you a disc is involved, or a scan mentions degeneration, read the disc page before you worry about it. Neck pain covers both the morning you wake up unable to turn your head and the stiffness that builds over a busy few months at a desk. Whiplash covers the aftermath of a car accident. Scoliosis is for adults living with an established curve.
Why it keeps coming back
Because the episode gets treated and the reason does not. Pain settles, life resumes, and the strength and movement that were missing beforehand are still missing. That is the pattern behind almost all recurring back pain, and rebuilding those is the part of treatment people abandon as soon as they feel better.
What treatment actually involves
An assessment that establishes what is driving the pain and rules out the small number of causes that need a doctor. Treatment to settle it, which may include hands on work. Then a graded programme to restore movement and build strength. NICE recommends staying as active as you can manage alongside exercise and manual therapy, rather than resting, which is the opposite of what instinct suggests.
The symptoms that need a doctor today
Numbness around the saddle area, loss of control of your bladder or bowel, weakness in both legs, or back pain alongside unexplained weight loss or fever. Any of those needs same day attention from your GP or at hospital rather than an appointment with us, and if you describe them to us we will send you straight there.
“I’d had a nagging back issue that just wouldn’t shift, but Martin at Healthflex Physio was brilliant. He took the time to figure out what was really going on and got me back to feeling like myself again. Super knowledgeable, easy to talk to, and genuinely cares. Would definitely recommend!”
— Dan Kenny
Lower back pain
30–45 minsTreatment for low back pain, whether it started with a single awkward movement or has been building for years, and the strength work that stops it returning.
£62–£72Disc injury and slipped disc
30–45 minsAssessment and treatment for disc related back and leg pain, and a straight explanation of what a slipped disc is and is not.
£62–£72Sciatica
30–45 minsAssessment and treatment for pain that travels from the back into the buttock and down the leg, often with pins and needles or numbness.
£62–£72
Neck pain
30–45 minsTreatment for neck pain and stiffness, including the kind that builds at a desk and the kind that refers pain into the shoulder and arm.
£62–£72
Whiplash
30–45 minsTreatment for neck pain, stiffness and headaches after a road traffic accident or similar sudden movement, with early active rehabilitation.
£62–£72
Scoliosis
30–45 minsPhysiotherapy for adults with scoliosis, focused on strength, movement, managing pain and maintaining function rather than straightening the curve.
£62–£72