In today’s digital world, it’s become all too common to experience back pain. Many people are told to get a CT or MRI scan, and when the results come back showing disc bulges, degeneration, or a slipped disc, it can sound alarming. But here’s the truth:

Spinal abnormalities are common, even in people without pain.

The Stats You Need to Know

A landmark 2015 study by Dr. Brinjikji looked at thousands of people with no history of back pain. Shockingly, they found that disc degeneration was present in 50% of healthy individuals in their 30s, and the percentage increased with age.

What does this mean for you? 

It means that what shows up on a scan isn’t necessarily the cause of your pain. 

In fact, scans can often lead people to believe they are “broken,” when the root cause is something that can actually be treated with the right approach.

Figure A: Prevalence of spinal abnormalities in pain-free people (Brinjikji, 2015)

The Real Cause: Whole-Body Muscle Imbalance

At Pain Free Physiotherapy, we’ve found that up to 90% of our patients with lower back pain are actually suffering from a whole-body muscle imbalance — not just a localised problem in the spine.

This imbalance occurs when the upper body (particularly the thoracic spine) and the lower body (especially around the hips and legs) become stiff and tight. The lower back, stuck between the two, is forced to compensate.

Visualising the Problem: The Spring Diagram

To help illustrate this, imagine the human body like a set of springs:

Figure 1. In a healthy body, the central spring (representing your core and lower back) is taut and stable, while the springs above and below (upper and lower body) have more mobility and looseness.

Figure 2. In most back pain cases, the springs representing the upper and lower body are tight, while the core is loose, pulling extra load onto the middle coil (the lower back).

 

This extra load causes the lower back to overwork, wear down, and become painful over time. The issue isn’t the scan finding — it’s the underlying imbalance.

What Can You Do?

The first step to healing isn’t rest or surgery. It’s restoring balance. That starts with:

1. Activating your deep core stabilisers – specifically the transverse abdominis (TrA) muscle

2. Improving flexibility in the upper back and hips

3. Correcting posture and movement habits

Our team specialises in identifying these patterns and designing personalised programs that target the root cause — not just the symptoms.

What Can We Do?

At Pain Free Physiotherapy, our approach focuses on correcting the root cause — not just treating symptoms. Here’s how we can help:

• We perform a thorough assessment to identify muscle imbalances throughout your body

• We teach you how to activate and strengthen your core muscles to better support your spine

• We guide you through tailored movement and flexibility strategies to rebalance your body

Whether you’re experiencing occasional discomfort or chronic lower back pain, we can help you take back control — without relying on medication, injections, or unnecessary scans.

Call us today on 0421 333 609 or visit painfreephysio.com to find out more or book an appointment.

You don’t have to live with chronic pain. Start by understanding your body — not just your scan.

The post Why Your Scan Doesn’t Explain Your Back Pain (And What Really Does) first appeared on Pain Free Physio & Health.

For Spine Osteoarthritis

Exercise Therapy:

Core Strengthening:
Strengthening the abdominal and lower back muscles provides better spinal support. Exercises like planks and bridges are beneficial.

Flexibility and Stretching:
Regular stretching helps improve flexibility and reduce back stiffness.

Low-Impact Aerobic Exercises:
Activities like walking and swimming enhance overall fitness without stressing the spine.

Manual Therapy:

Spinal Mobilizations:
Gentle techniques can help improve spinal movement and relieve pain.

Soft Tissue Work: 
Massage can reduce muscle tension and discomfort. 

Education and Self-Management: 

Postural Training: 
Proper sitting, standing, and movement techniques help reduce spinal stress. Ergonomic adjustments at work or home can also be beneficial.

Body Mechanics: 
Learning how to lift and bend correctly can prevent worsening of symptoms.

Pain Management Techniques: 

Heat and Cold Therapy: 
Using heat packs or cold compresses can help manage pain and inflammation.

Relaxation Techniques: 
Practices such as deep breathing can help with pain management and overall stress reduction.

For Knee Osteoarthritis

Exercise Therapy:

Strengthening Exercises: 
Focus on strengthening muscles around the knee, such as the quadriceps and hamstrings, which support the joint. Exercises like squats and leg lifts are helpful.

Range of Motion Exercises: 
Stretching and gentle exercises can improve knee flexibility and reduce stiffness.

Low-Impact Activities: 
Activities such as swimming or cycling are excellent for cardiovascular health without putting too much strain on the knee.

Manual Therapy:

Joint Mobilizations: 
Gentle movements can help improve knee joint flexibility and reduce pain.

Massage Techniques: 
These can alleviate muscle tightness and enhance comfort.

Education and Self-Management: 

Joint Protection: Learn strategies to reduce knee stress, such as proper footwear and using supportive devices if needed.

Activity Modification: Adjusting daily activities to avoid excessive strain on the knee can help manage symptoms.

Pain Management Techniques: 

Gait Training: Improving walking patterns can help reduce knee strain.

Body Mechanics: Proper techniques for lifting and bending can prevent additional knee stress.

The post Understanding Osteoarthritis first appeared on Pain Free Physio & Health.

Pain in the low back or around the back of the hips? Painful when you’re walking or just standing? Are you pregnant and have constant hip pain? Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction can often be misdiagnosed as common low back pain. There are many causes of SIJ dysfunction, and women are at higher risk. Why? You need to watch this video to find out more! 腰或臀部疼痛？走路或站立時感到痛？您是否懷孕並且有持續不斷腰痛？ SIJ功能障礙的原因有很多，婦女的風險更高。為什麼？觀看此視頻以了解更多！ #SIJdysfunction #SIJpain #physio #painfree #SIJ功能障礙#腰痛

The post SIJ dysfunction – Hip/Low back pain first appeared on Pain Free Physio & Health.

Look at the difference at the end!! In our Back Pain & Sciatica Workshop, this man had a 15-year history of back pain from diagnosed “disc” herniation and tried many treatments without success. This video shows the process of getting a dramatic improvement in 5 minutes, in the live demo of the Back Pain & Sciatica Workshop.

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The post 5min Back Pain Live Demo With Workshop first appeared on Pain Free Physio & Health.

The cause of lower back pain and sciatica can be outside the lower back and can be different among individuals. Watch the case studies to learn the number 1 reason why your back pain and sciatica pain doesn’t get better with treatments.

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The post True Cause To Your Lower Back Pain first appeared on Pain Free Physio & Health.

The lat muscle can become overused and tight with excessive pulling, lifting or sports. Without proper maintenance, it may result in pain. Muscle rolling is an effective alternative to stretching. Video Demonstrated by Anthony Ton

We’re going to be talking about foam rolling,
especially with the lats here, the muscles on the side of the arm, straight down the torso there.
You can get tight lats with a lot of swimming, a lot of pull-ups, or any sort of activity or work that requires you to do lots
of pulling, essentially.
Now what you’re gonna need is a foam roller and a mat or the ground.
So we’re gonna pop that foam roller on the ground there.
You want this right under your armpit towards the back, not the front.
Then we’ll adjust on it, find a good spot,
roll up, roll down.
When you find a tender spot, you wanna hold it right there.
Now you’re gonna feel a bit of pressure and discomfort if you’re on a tender spot.
But that means that you’re just letting the muscle release.
Now hold it there and roll up and down and find another tender spot.
Now a way you can progress this is by lifting up your hip to give you that more pressure and push and release into that lat muscle.
Now you can roll all the way from the rib cage down here all the way up to the top of your armpit there.
If you do get any pain or symptoms of difficulty breathing, then stop straightaway and seek your health professional.
Thank you for watching.

The post Lat Rolling exercise first appeared on Pain Free Physio & Health.

The post Exercises to treat a hunched back first appeared on Pain Free Physio & Health.

The statement is correct but doing sit up while you have back pain will actually increase your pain considerably. What we mean is that you need to increase your Transverse Abdominus strength. This is a very deep muscle that directly supports your lumbar spine. People with lower back pain often have a very week TVA and therefore they have nothing to stabilising their spine when playing sports or when lifting for example.

This set of muscles are initially difficult to exercise, you will need some instruction from your physiotherapist.

The benefit of exercising these muscles are:

• Increase the strength of your spinal stabilizer muscles, therefore reducing the occurrence of pain
• Improve the strength and tone of your abdomen
• May improve incontinence – or post pregnancy issues
• Prevention of back pain

A lot of these physio exercise require supervision to see if you are activating the correct muscle groups. Pain Free Physio are trained in teaching these exercises and can write you a comprehensive exercise program to assist with your back pain recovery or even just to prevent you from suffering back pain in the future.

The post Back Pain & Abdominal Strength first appeared on Pain Free Physio & Health.