What is Back Pain?

Back pain is one of the most common reasons people seek medical care. It can range from a mild, nagging ache to severe, debilitating discomfort that impacts every aspect of daily life. While it often affects the lower back, back pain can occur anywhere along the spine, from the neck down to the hips.

The back plays a crucial role in almost every movement we make, from walking and bending to sitting and standing. When pain strikes, it can affect your ability to work, sleep, exercise, and enjoy day-to-day activities.

Back pain can be caused by:

• Muscle or ligament strains from lifting heavy objects or sudden awkward movements.

• Spinal conditions such as herniated discs, degenerative disc disease, or arthritis.

• Nerve irritation, which can cause shooting pain down the legs, often referred to as sciatica.

• Injuries from sports, accidents, or falls.

• Other non-spinal conditions: such as infection, inflammatory conditions of the spine and other causes that need to be carefully considered and excluded.  

Left untreated, chronic back pain can reduce mobility, limit independence, and seriously affect your quality of life.

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How We Can Help

At Well Life Clinic, we understand how debilitating back pain can be, and our goal is to provide comprehensive care that addresses the underlying cause of your pain helping you regain control of your life.

That’s why we’ve developed our Back Pain Clinic, combining expert care from GPs and leading spine specialists to offer you the best possible treatment.

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Why Choose Us

• Speed and Ease of Access: There are no waiting lists, and we operate extended opening hours including evenings and weekends to help you to find a time that works.

• Robust Assessment: Our complete assessment approach includes examination, taking a full history, blood tests and imaging to ensure that we really get to the bottom of why you are experiencing back pain and help you to cure or manage it for the long term.

• Specialist Led Diagnosis: Our GPs work with an experienced Consultant Spinal Surgeon to review all assessment outputs to ensure all possible causes have been considered to get to the right diagnosis and treatment or management plan, without incurring the cost and inconvenience of a specialist appointment.

• Ongoing Support: From diagnosis to ongoing management, we can provide continuous support, monitoring, and adjustment of your management plan to ensure the best results.

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Our Back Pain Service

1. GP Assessment: Your journey starts with an in-depth consultation with one of our experienced GPs. During this session, we’ll discuss your symptoms, medical history, and any potential risk factors that may be contributing to your pain.

2. Blood Tests and Imaging: To understand the root cause of your pain, we’ll perform a range of diagnostic tests, including blood tests and arrange for you to have an MRI scan at a location that works for you.  These tests help rule out underlying conditions like inflammation or structural abnormalities in your spine.

3. Specialist Review: You blood tests results and MRI images will be reviewed by Mr Chrishan Thakar, a leading back pain Consultant from the Oxford Spine Clinic. With years of experience in diagnosing and treating spinal disorders, Mr Thakar will work with your assessing GP to provide a diagnosis of your condition and recommend the best course of treatment.

4. Tailored Treatment Plan: After a thorough evaluation, your assessing GP will create a personalised treatment plan designed to reduce pain, improve mobility, and enhance your quality of life. Whether it involves medication, physiotherapy, lifestyle adjustments, or more advanced treatments, we’ll ensure you get the care you need.