Lower Back Pain
The most common reason people come to us. Most lower back pain is mechanical, and most of it settles, with the right loading rather than rest.
Common symptoms
- , Ache or stiffness across the lower back
- , Pain worse after sitting or first thing in the morning
- , Difficulty bending, lifting or straightening up
- , Muscle spasm or a sense of the back 'locking'
- , Pain that spreads into the buttock
Common causes
- , Long hours seated with poor support
- , Lifting with a rounded back
- , A sudden increase in training or physical work
- , Weak or deconditioned trunk muscles
- , Disc or joint irritation
Most back pain is mechanical
The overwhelming majority of lower back pain is mechanical: muscles, joints and discs that are irritated, not damaged. That distinction matters, because mechanical pain responds well to movement and loading, and badly to fear and rest.
It is also worth knowing that pain intensity is a poor guide to seriousness. A muscle spasm can be agonising and resolve in a fortnight; a slow persistent ache can be the more stubborn problem.
What actually helps
Hands-on treatment settles symptoms and restores movement, which matters because a back that hurts guards itself and stiffens further. But the durable change comes from loading the tissue progressively until it tolerates what your life demands.
We keep the home programme short, two or three exercises. A twenty-exercise sheet gets abandoned by day four, and an abandoned programme achieves nothing.
How we treat it
- , Hands-on joint mobilisation and soft-tissue work
- , Graded loading and core strengthening
- , Dry needling for persistent muscle spasm
- , Workstation and lifting advice
- , A short home programme you will actually do
Typical recovery: Most cases improve substantially within 2–6 weeks
See a doctor urgently if you have
- !Loss of bladder or bowel control
- !Numbness around the groin or inner thighs
- !Progressive weakness in a leg
- !Back pain following significant trauma
- !Unexplained weight loss or fever with back pain
These are not physiotherapy problems. Go to a doctor or hospital rather than booking with us.
Treatments that help
Common questions
Should I rest my back?
Not for long. A day or two of relative rest during a bad flare is reasonable, but prolonged rest weakens the muscles supporting your spine and makes recovery slower. Gentle movement is nearly always better.
Do I need an MRI?
Usually not. Scans of pain-free adults routinely show disc bulges and degeneration, so imaging often finds things that are not causing your pain and leads to unnecessary worry. We will tell you if we think a scan is genuinely warranted.
Why does it keep coming back?
Because the episode was treated and the cause was not. If the pain settles but the underlying weakness, posture or loading habit stays the same, recurrence is the expected outcome.
Is my mattress the problem?
Rarely the main one. A very old, sagging mattress does not help, but replacing it seldom fixes back pain on its own.
Book a physiotherapist in Nairobi
Clinic appointments in Westlands, or a physiotherapist at your door anywhere in Nairobi. Same-week slots.