Aimi: I had physiotherapy after experiencing back spasms

In 2015 I bent down to lift my daughter and, on the way up, I collapsed under a back spasm. I have suffered with my back for as long as l can remember, but this particular incident was both unexpected and excruciating.

After several months avoiding lifting heaving items (and children), it started to feel better, but then I did exactly the same thing again! This time I realised it wasn’t just going to fix itself, so I went to the doctor.

But my doctor was actually very unhelpful. She said it was normal that, after two children, I would have back problems and that I should join a pilates class – thanks very much!

I decided I would find a private physiotherapist as my doctor wouldn’t refer me. I remember feeling a bit nervous before my first session as I was still very much in pain – so much so that I even struggled to sit still in the waiting room chair.

My therapist was called Natalie and she was really helpful, I felt immediately that she would be able to help me. She examined my spine and felt all around my muscle groups then she asked me to try a series of simple exercises – but, as my pain was so severe, I couldn’t do them. So she put together a program for me to do at home to help me strengthen the areas I was struggling with.

Physiotherapy tends to be a combination of ‘hands-on’ care carried out by a physiotherapist, exercise prescription and self-management techniques – which you can continue, long after sessions are over.

I saw Natalie four times. Each time she asked me to show her the exercises I had been practising at home (it only took about two minutes per day). Each time I had improved, so she would tailor the movements to make them slightly harder.

Even now, as long as I continue to do my physiotherapy exercises a few times per week, my back is OK. I would definitely recommend physiotherapy and would go back again if I had pain in other areas of my body.

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