Health warning as lockdown back pain on the rise

A ‘perfect storm’ for back trouble is brewing. Home-working conditions and the impact of lockdown restrictions have led to a big rise in the number of people suffering from pain.

They are seeing a big increase in people with neck pain, headaches, pain between the shoulder blades, pain down the arms, and lower back trouble. Some cases have been severe leading to emergency appointments being required.

“We saw a 30% increase after the first lockdown in the number of patients complaining about pain and discomfort in their neck and back, and it is worse this time around,” says Dr James Barber (Nailsea Clinic). He added, “The problem is seriously affecting many people working from home. Lockdown fatigue is starting to bite.”

He goes on to say, “People who have been shielding and staying indoors have not been able to keep active. Others have had to deal with more caring responsibilities, homeschooling and bereavements. Overall this has led to people being under more pressure than ever before.”

The result? “More back problems, headaches and generalised aches and pains then we usually see in a typical year, and it’s getting worse.”

For Dr Barber, one ailment is seemingly more common than others. “In the last few months a lot of people have been mentioning sore necks and shoulders,” he said. “A lot are related to the fact that they’ve been sitting at home a lot more, perhaps at a workstation that isn’t meant for them. People are using dining room tables – or coffee tables in some cases – and not thinking about their posture or moving around enough. Days on end spent hunched over a laptop without ever leaving the house.”

There is a reason the government has encouraged chiropractors to remain open and continue to treat people. They are in the frontline helping people get out of pain and back on track with their lives. The sooner a problem is nipped in the bud the better. Plus, any new case of back or neck pain could be serious and should be investigated to rule out anything sinister.

Dr Barber goes on to say, “Many people prefer to come directly to our chiropractic clinic as it doesn’t clog up their GP surgery and they know they can be seen quickly, often the same day.”

Do you have any of the following symptoms?

• Upper back pain
• Pain between the shoulder blades
• Neck pain
• Headaches
• Pins and needles
• Tingling that goes down the arms and sometimes reaches the fingers

If so, it’s a sign your body is not coping well and where some professional help can work wonders. Not only can chiropractic care help you get out of pain and back to doing the things you want to do in life, but it can also be preventive, stopping problems from developing later in life.