Physiotherapy in Chester for Back and neck pain
Most back and neck pain isn’t a sign of damage, and most of it gets better. The job is to find out what is keeping yours going, calm it down, and get you moving normally again without it coming straight back.
- Sessions, for most people
- 3 to 6
- For most problems to settle
- 6 to 8 weeks
- You’ll see
- Hannah
Sounds like you?
Backs and necks complain in a few familiar ways. These are the ones we hear most.
You’ll see Hannah. Hannah sees most of our backs, necks and post‑operative patients, and you’ll see her at every visit.
- Your lower back aches by mid‑afternoon and you’ve started choosing chairs carefully.
- You bent down for something, felt it go, and now getting your socks on is a project.
- Pain, pins and needles or numbness runs down one leg or one arm.
- Your neck won’t turn far enough to check your blind spot.
- Headaches start at the base of your skull, usually after a long day at a screen.
- It’s stiffest first thing in the morning and eases once you get going.
- It keeps coming back: fine for months, then a bad fortnight.
Not on the list? Ring Carys, describe it, and she’ll tell you whether it’s one for us.
What we treat most
- Lower back pain
- The everyday kind, with no single dramatic cause. It responds well to movement, a few targeted exercises and some straight talk about what the pain does and doesn’t mean.
- Sciatica and trapped nerves
- Pain, tingling or numbness travelling into a leg or an arm. Slower to settle than a plain backache, but most cases improve without injections or surgery.
- Neck pain and stiffness
- From sleeping awkwardly, from long drives, from a minor shunt in the car some weeks ago. Hands‑on treatment helps here, alongside getting the neck moving again.
- Headaches that start in the neck
- An ache running from the base of the skull to behind one eye. If we think your headaches have a different cause, we’ll say so and suggest you see your GP.
- Desk and driving aches
- A stiff upper back, tight shoulders, a dull ache between the shoulder blades. The fix is usually less about your chair than about how long you stay in it.
- Backs in later life
- Stiffness that has crept up, and a worry about doing less. We work on strength, balance and confidence so you can keep walking, gardening and getting up off the floor.
What happens when you come
A first appointment is 45 minutes with Hannah. You’ll leave knowing what we think is wrong and what we’re going to do about it.
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We listen first
How it started, what makes it better or worse, what you do all day and what you’ve had to stop doing. That conversation does a good share of the diagnosing.
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Then we look at how you move
Bending, turning, reaching and walking, with a check of strength, reflexes and sensation where it’s relevant. Wear something you can move in. Nothing hands‑on happens without asking you first.
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You’re told what we think it is
In plain words, with what we expect to happen and roughly how long it will take. If you need a scan, your GP or a specialist rather than us, this is when we say so.
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Treatment starts the same day
Usually some hands‑on work to ease stiff joints and tight muscles, and two or three exercises chosen to fit your day. They’re written down, so you don’t have to remember them.
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The plan has an end
Follow‑ups are 30 minutes, a week or two apart. We change the exercises as you improve, and we tell you when you no longer need us.
How long it takes
Most back and neck problems settle within six to eight weeks, and people usually see us three to six times in that period. Pain that has been around for years, or that travels down a leg or an arm, tends to take longer: three months is not unusual.
A small number of people don’t improve as expected. If that’s you, we’ll say so and suggest what to try next rather than keep booking you in.
- Most back and neck pain
- 6 to 8 weeks, 3 to 6 sessions
- Long‑standing pain, sciatica and trapped nerves
- Often 8 to 12 weeks, sometimes more
When it isn’t one for us
A few things need a doctor rather than a physiotherapist. They’re rare, but they matter.
Go to A&E or call 999 straight away if you have back pain and any of these:
- numbness or tingling around your genitals or buttocks
- new difficulty passing urine, or controlling your bladder or bowels
- weakness in both legs
Don’t wait for an appointment with us or with your GP.
Severe pain after a fall or an accident needs urgent medical attention first. Come to us afterwards.
Back pain with a high temperature, or with weight loss you can’t explain, is one for your GP or 111 before us.
For anything less clear‑cut, ring and ask. We would much rather send you to a doctor than treat something we shouldn’t.
Three things people ask about backs
Do I need a scan first?
Almost certainly not. Scans show wear and bulging discs in plenty of adults who have no pain at all, so they rarely change what we do. If your symptoms suggest you do need one, we’ll tell you and write to your GP.
Should I rest until it settles?
A day or two of taking it easy is fine. After that, backs recover faster with gentle movement than with rest. We’ll show you which movements are safe to push into and which to leave alone for now.
Will it come back?
It might. Back pain has a habit of returning, which is why the last session or two are about what to keep doing, and what to do in the first couple of days if it flares up.
“I’d assumed I needed a new chair. What I needed was to get out of the one I had every forty minutes, and four visits to Hannah.”
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