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Back Pain

Back pain may be due to many causes, including

  • Bad posture.
  • Strains to muscles and ligaments.
  • Wear and tear of joints.
Image of a back with the spine illustrated

Do’s

  • Ensure you lift correctly.  Place one foot in front of the other and bend at the knees. Lift your weight close to your body.
  • Make sure you stand correctly, tucking your bottom and tummy in.
  • Sleep on a bed with a firm base.
  • Make sure you sit with sufficient support for your back.
  • Stay as active as possible and return to normal activities as soon as possible.
  • If the pain is very bad to start with, you will need to rest for a day or so, but get active as soon as possible.
  • Take regular painkillers, which may be prescribed by the A&E department/Urgent Treatment Centre, or you can buy at your local pharmacy.
  • Do the exercises below after the first 24 hours.

Don’ts

  • Don’t slouch or stoop.

You should seek urgent medical advice/attend A&E if you have back pain and develop any of the following:

  • weakness of your legs
  • numbness or tingling in your legs
  • numbness or tingling around your genitals or buttocks
  • difficulty peeing
  • loss of bladder or bowel control
  • a high temperature (fever)
  • unexplained weight loss (www.nhs.uk/conditions/unintentional-weight-loss)

Back Exercises

Standing, support your back with your hands, lean backwards until you feel a stretch. Hold for five seconds and repeat 10 times.

Lying on your back with knees bent. Put your hands on top of each other under the small of your back.  Let the weight of your lower back press on your hands. Hold for five seconds and repeat 10 times.

Lying with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Lift your knees one at a time towards your chest.  Place your hands behind the knee and draw towards your chest. Hold for five seconds and repeat 10 times.

Lying on your back with knees together and bent. Slowly roll your knees from side to side keeping your trunk still.  Hold for five seconds and repeat 10 times.

If your back pain is not starting to improve after 7-10 days please self-refer to your local physiotherapy team if you are registered with a Gateshead, Newcastle or Durham GP or request your GP to refer you if you have a Sunderland GP, information can be found below:

If you are a registered patient of a Gateshead or Newcastle GP, the Tyneside Integrated Musculoskeletal Service (TIMS) will be your physiotherapy provider: https://www.tims.nhs.uk/

If you are a registered patient of Durham GP, the county Durham integrated MSK service will be your physiotherapy provider: https://patient.inhealthcare.co.uk/selfenrol/v2/form

If you are a registered patient of South Tyneside and Sunderland, the Sunderland integrated MSK service will be your physiotherapy provider: https://sunderlandims.co.uk/

Contact details

For advice, call the Emergency Department secretaries on 0191 445 2946 (Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 17:00).

For urgent advice out of hours call 111.