You Need To Consider Doing This If Your Backache Is Not Improving With Exercise

Backache can feel like an unrelenting burden, hindering your ability to perform even the most basic activities—whether it’s bending down to tie your shoes, sitting at a desk, or standing for long periods. Whether caused by muscle strain, poor posture, or an underlying condition like a herniated disc or arthritis, backache can leave you feeling frustrated and exhausted, robbing you of your freedom and comfort.

The emotional toll of backache is often just as heavy as the physical pain. The constant discomfort, combined with the worry that the pain may get worse or become chronic, can lead to anxiety, irritability, and a sense of helplessness. If exercise hasn’t provided lasting relief from your backache, it may be time to consider exploring other treatment options that target the root cause and offer you real, long-term solutions.


Exercise: A Common Approach to Treating Backache

Exercise is often recommended for individuals suffering from backache because it can help strengthen the muscles that support the spine, improve posture, and increase flexibility. Core-strengthening exercises, stretching, and low-impact activities can reduce strain on the back, alleviate discomfort, and prevent future injuries.

However, while exercise can be effective in many cases, it may not always provide complete or lasting relief, especially if the backache is caused by more complex issues like spinal misalignment, degenerative disc disease, or nerve compression. For some individuals, exercise alone may not address the underlying cause of the pain, leaving them feeling stuck and unsure of what to do next.


Why Getting a Clear Diagnosis Is Crucial

Backache can be caused by a variety of factors, and understanding the exact cause is essential for finding the right treatment approach. Here are five common causes of backache:

  1. Muscle Strain – Overuse, improper lifting, or sudden movements can overstretch or tear muscles in the back, leading to pain and discomfort.
  2. Herniated Disc – A slipped or bulging disc can put pressure on nearby nerves, causing pain, tingling, or numbness in the back and legs.
  3. Spinal Stenosis – Narrowing of the spinal canal can compress the spinal cord and nerves, causing pain and limited mobility.
  4. Osteoarthritis – Degeneration of the cartilage in the spine can lead to pain, stiffness, and a reduced range of motion.
  5. Sciatica – Compression or irritation of the sciatic nerve can cause pain that radiates from the lower back down to the legs.

In addition to these common causes, two less common but potentially serious causes of backache include:

  1. Fractures – A break in the vertebrae or other bones in the back can cause severe pain and limit mobility.
  2. Infections – Infections in the spine can cause inflammation and pain, requiring urgent medical attention.

The Need for Imaging to Get a Precise Diagnosis

It’s important to recognize that backache cannot always be fully diagnosed based on symptoms alone. Imaging techniques such as X-rays, MRIs, and ultrasounds are necessary to assess the condition of the spine, discs, muscles, and surrounding tissues. These tools provide healthcare providers with a clearer view of what’s causing the pain and help them create a targeted treatment plan tailored to your specific condition.


The Pain Relief Clinic: Your Partner in Finding a Clear Diagnosis

At The Pain Relief Clinic, we understand how backache can limit your mobility and disrupt your daily life. With over a decade of experience, we specialize in offering non-invasive diagnostic services to uncover the root cause of your pain. If exercise hasn’t provided lasting relief, we can arrange for affordable scans, typically within one working day.

Medisave can often be used to help cover the cost of these scans, making them more accessible for you.

We also assist with insurance claims, including accident insurance, travel insurance, and company insurance, ensuring that you can access the care you need without added financial strain.

Once we have a clear diagnosis, we can provide targeted treatments, solutions, and non-invasive technology to help alleviate your backache and restore your mobility.

Ready to take control of your backache? Send us a message today to arrange an appointment and take the first step toward lasting relief from backache.

What To Expect When I Visit The Pain Relief Clinic

A typical visit will involve our doctor first understanding your medical history, concerns and previous experience with other pain treatments.

For patients who have consulted many people but have yet to receive a clear diagnosis, selecting an affordable imaging scan might be recommended to confirm the cause of your pain..

Some patients have already done scans with other doctors for their pain condition but are still not clearly told what they suffer from.

Dr Terence Tan is happy to offer you a second opinion and recommend how best to manage your condition.

We also see patients who already have a confirmed diagnosis from specialist pain doctors, but are "stuck” because treatment options offered are not practical or acceptable.

We can help by discussing options that you might have potentially never been told of.

A common experience is when a patient has already consulted a specialist doctor for pain management and is told to consider orthopaedic surgery which they find too aggressive.

Or they may have seen doctors for their pain and were prescribed painkillers with potential side effects which made them feel uncomfortable.

Many of our patients have also first tried complementary treatments or acupuncture with traditional Chinese pain doctors.

They look for a second opinion after finding any relief experienced from other treatments to be temporary or requiring repetitive treatments, which add up to time and cost.

Especially in such situations, we emphasize using non-invasive medical technology you likely have not been told about .

This can make a big difference to your results.