Backache

is it done by a nice thai lady

Mostly yes, the massages are very rigorous, they don't use oils or crap like that but they do pull and stretch every part of your body and they do work those muscles, and you are clothed either wearing your own clothes or the ones provided by them, you are better to wear the ones provided as they are light and loose fitting, the last time i had one must have been 20 years ago when i was on the building sites and i used to get one every week but i needed it after a 60+ hour week

Thanks for all the replies and debates. I'm a computer engineer/office worker. I have had issues with my lower back in the past, but not for a long while now.

I will pop by a physio tomorrow to see if they are open and how soon they can see me. Getting any sort of referral from my GP is a joke. I understand how busy the NHS are and how much of a great job they do, but the physio I've had in the past was not really fit for purpose and I ended up finding my own physio to help repair turn knee ligaments.

I'll give the grip puppies a look, but I'm not aiming to keep this bike for that long.... Hopefully

Fish

Physio and ost can only treat certain conditions.

If the pain is severe, and i mean proper severe not shandy drinking southern severe then the GP will eventually refer you to a specialist.

You may then be granted a MRI scan.

This is the only way to truly diagnose the issue.

I know this from personal experience after having spinal surgery.

Good luck.

In my experience it is the NHS physio who will gatekeep any onward referral. When my back was at its worst it was gp for anti-inflammatory medicine, physio as expert in musculoskeletal health, it was looking like we might have needed to look towards surgery (luckily not because I actually did my exercises) and it would have been the physio who directed that referral.

In the three counties I have accessed back healthcare in the past ten years this very good example of stepped care has been folllowed.

Best tip is do not dismiss the idea of the exercises from the Physioterrorist, even with backs that feel debilitating and very painful the right exercises can be the solution and. Surgery almost never (in my experience with family and peers) lead to solving the problem just diminishing the impact a bit. Life of bad back is feasible with surgery.

Dependant on the injury.

In my case i required 2 discs removing. Thus, without a MRI scan this would not have been diagnosed.

My physio actually said that without a proper scan he does not know the extent or diagnosis.

If you can't stretch to a physio privately or via a gp maybe see if a sports massage therapist can see you. I get problems in my shoulder that causes upper back pain as there is a nerve trapped. I'm a sports massage therapist and I really wish I could give myself a treatment

I get a lot of back ache, years of abuse, especially in my last job. Still get a sore back after a long ride. I tend to go and see a physio, they know a lot more about musculoskeletal problems than your GP. Odds are your GP will just prescribe an anti inflammatory such as Naproxen or something similar that just masks the issue and doesn't cure it.

+1 from me, could have written that myself

Thanks for all the replies and debates. I'm a computer engineer/office worker. I have had issues with my lower back in the past, but not for a long while now.

I will pop by a physio tomorrow to see if they are open and how soon they can see me. Getting any sort of referral from my GP is a joke. I understand how busy the NHS are and how much of a great job they do, but the physio I've had in the past was not really fit for purpose and I ended up finding my own physio to help repair turn knee ligaments.

I'll give the grip puppies a look, but I'm not aiming to keep this bike for that long.... Hopefully

Fish

Physio and ost can only treat certain conditions.

If the pain is severe, and i mean proper severe not shandy drinking southern severe then the GP will eventually refer you to a specialist.

You may then be granted a MRI scan.

This is the only way to truly diagnose the issue.

I know this from personal experience after having spinal surgery.

Good luck.

you can tell your gp to refer you to specialist, you don't have to wait for the gp to refer you,

on side note not all gp are crap the lot that are specialist and also work in the hospital so give your gp a chance

save a few quid and start with some videos by this guy, he has advice for most back issues. And they work well.

some daily exercises will keep you from getting so stiff. It can be as simple as getting on and off the bike, moving it for storage etc. Those little twists can add up. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe0TLA0EsQbE-MjuHXevj2A

this guy is also great https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2lvPVVm0Mv53QK7vdnC-rw

Stretch!!!

Have a little warm up (ideally skipping or so but failing which windmilling your arms 20 times forwards then backward), roll your shoulders in the same way, neck stretch in all 6 axis twice (don't roll it), touch your toes, child's pose if the floor isn't filthy, reach out forwards and stretch in between your back bones. Do as many of these as you can, ideally all though.

This is my warm up/warn down before/after rock climbing. Works on a bike - trust me.

Do it before visiting a quack.