Back Pain Specialists


We specialise in back pain treatment

At Stretch we specialise in the treatment of back pain. We provide personalised rehabilitation following back injury, chronic pain and spinal surgery. We are experts in providing safe and effective exercise programs, including Pilates. Our aim is to get you back to the things that you love, as fast as possible.

 

We’re here to listen to your story and to how you’d like us to help you

Our team, are here to listen to the problems that you are having. We take our time, offering longer than average appointments, as we understand that most of what we need to know about your back pain will come from what you tell us.

 

We will take care of you

We will provide you with comprehensive assessment and treatment. We will give you a clear diagnosis and help you to understand your condition. We will help you to set goals and will explain to you all the treatment options available to help you to get back to the things that you love to do. We will support you throughout your treatment, ensuring that you stay on the path to recovery.

 

 

Our approach

We have a truly empathetic and holistic approach, which is inspired by the ground breaking work of Peter O’Sullivan. His revolutionary cognitive functional therapy (CFT) is an innovative assessment and treatment framework for those with back pain. We use his methods, as we believe that they are the most current and effective way of managing of back pain. We love the fact his work is ever evolving with new research. We have used his framework successfully to help many patients with complex, chronic back pain, enabling them to achieve their dreams of being pain free and back in action enjoying their lives.

We believe that CFT is more successful than any other treatment approaches, as looks at your specific difficulties and how best to address them, taking into account all the factors that might be contributing to your problem. CFT is a very flexible approach, that puts you in control. It looks at how you move, not just when flexing or extending your spine but when you are preforming your problematic daily tasks. For example, if your problem is pain on sitting, common sense and CFT would suggest that this is what we need to look at and help you with. The emphysis of this whole technique is improving your pain during your problem movements, often with life changing effects. CFT also allows other physiotherapy techniques to be used alongside it, in order to improve range of motion and functional limitations.

At Stretch, we use CFT as a concept to assess your movement patterns, the day to day tasks that you are finding difficult and your pain behaviors. We then address any problematic movements, tasks or behaviors, so that you are able to achieve your goals and live more comfortably. We have found that this approach has really revolutionized our practice and has helped us to change the lives of some people with really persistent, non- specific (mechanical) back pain.

Its ethos can also be helpful for those with specific pathology but everyone is different and as such we will adapt our approach to suit your needs. Therefore, whatever the cause of your back pain, you can be assured that we have wealth of knowledge and experience, in order to be able help you.

 

We understand

At Stretch, we understand that being in pain can affect every aspect of your life. We will work with you to minimize any negative effects. We believe that to get you back to the things that you want to do as fast as possible, you need to understand what’s going on, in order to make any changes that we might suggest.

 

Research findings: The science of feeling better

Research shows that back pain can be influenced by complex changes in your physiology, structure, psychology, social circumstances and lifestyle. It has also demonstrated that high stress levels and poor sleep effectively turn pain levels up. Thus, if poor sleep and high stress levels are contributing to your pain, we have strategies to help you. We know that if we can help you to relax and get good nights sleep; your pain will reduce and feel more manageable. You will feel back in control and will start to feel better.

Scientific research has also proven that back pain and your overall wellbeing are intrinsically interlinked. Thus, improvements in one area will have a really positive impact on the other. We have skills in health coaching and can help you to improve not only your back pain but overall wellbeing.

 

We aim to help you to recover quickly

We aim to help you to make a quick recovery, helping you to feel better and stay better! We will teach you how to move comfortably, reducing any fear of movement or threat of re-injury. We will teach you how to self manage your back pain, providing you with advice and exercises to help you feel in control of your symptoms.

 

We only use treatments that are proven to work

Our team only uses treatments that are scientifically proven to work. Treatments available include: CFT, spinal manipulation and other manual therapies, massage, acupuncture, mindfulness relaxation techniques, advice and exercises.

 

We will explain everything

Following a thorough assessment, we will clearly explain your diagnosis and which treatments may be most appropriate for your condition. We will liaise with your GP or Consultant, if we feel that further investigations, analgesic review or Consultant follow up is required.

 

We provide prevention advice

We will also help you to prevent future episodes of symptoms with tailor made advice, home exercise programmes, personal training sessions and links to exercise and relaxation classes.

 

 

Our Background

We have strong assessment and treatment skills. Our Clinical Director specializes in the management of back pain and continues to work in the NHS, as an Extended Scope Physiotherapist, triaging complex musculoskeletal problems. Through her NHS work she provides a diagnosis and treatment plans for patients with chronic pain and complex spinal problems. Within this role, she is able to order diagnostic tests such as MRI and blood tests, to aid her diagnosis and management planning. She works closely with her Neurosurgical and Pain Management Colleagues and has an excellent understanding of neurosurgical and pain management interventions, referring her patients on for surgical or pain management procedures, where needed. She has a Masters Degree in Advanced Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy Practice and is currently taking part in a research project on CFT. Samantha Moss, our Senior Physiotherapist works alongside Ellie and also has training in CFT and the management of complex back pain. She is currently undertaking a Post Graduate Masters’ Degree in Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy. Therefore, our team is able to work with you, if you have mechanical back pain or a more specific spinal problem.