Back Pain  

Back pain can be worrying and debilitating, and with so many treatment options available, it’s often hard to know where to turn. Our approach is different. While we recognise the important role of the spinal structures—the muscles, joints, discs, and nerves—we focus on the whole person, not just the pain. We take the time to understand how back pain is affecting you physically, but also how it impacts you emotionally, psychologically, and socially. This deeper understanding allows us to create a personalised treatment plan designed to achieve the best possible results for you.

Do I need treatment?

Not all cases of low back back require a physical treatment as symptoms typically resolve on their own with the correct self management strategies. It is beneficial to see us early into your flare of pain so we can rule out serious causes and provide you the tools to ease your pain and keep it away long term. Ignoring symptoms can lead to long term pain that persists due to adapted movement patterns and potential fear avoidance of pain provoking activities. We are highly skilled at assisting you to restore these movement patterns which are key to getting you back to your valued activities pain free.

How do we treat back pain?

We use a person centred approach that explores the true root cause of your pain. This goes way beyond the structural causes and investigates the cognitive functional aspects of back pain that often hold the key to a sustained recovery. We combine traditional approaches such as joint mobilisation and soft tissue work which can be effective in the short term, however our goal is to provide you the tools needed so you no longer need our services!

How long does treatment take?

This depends on your diagnosis, history of pain and complexity of your case. No two people are the same which makes it hard to give a concrete answer however we provide gold standard, evidence based care that aims to reduce treatment dependancy and will be fully transparant from the initial consultation about your predicted trajectory.

Do I need a scan?

The majority of back pain doesn’t require a scan as the expert clinical assessment provided by our team is sufficient to diagnose the problem. In the minority of cases when nerves don’t calm down and orthopedic interventions are considered, we are well placed to arrange scans and get you to the right provider. Scans are also warranted in the rare case of serious suspected conditions and we are able to write a clinical letter and organise the scan for you free of charge, usually on the same day.

Do I need surgery or Injections?

Invasive options are the last resort for back pain and at the Chester Back Pain Clinic we strive to make sure you avoid it by providing robust conservative measures with a multimodal person centred approach. We have experience working in second opinion clinics in the NHS where many patients we treated were told they needed invasive options. Having a more hollistic diagnosis and better understanding of their pain they were able to avoid it and reduce their pain without these riskier and costlier procedures.

Neck Pain  

Neck pain can be worrying and debilitating, and with so many treatment options available, it’s often hard to know where to turn. Our approach is different. While we recognise the important role of the spinal structures—the muscles, joints, discs, and nerves—we focus on the whole person, not just the pain. We take the time to understand how back pain is affecting you physically, but also how it impacts you emotionally, psychologically, and socially. This deeper understanding allows us to create a personalised treatment plan designed to achieve the best possible results for you.

Do I need treatment?

Not all cases of neck pain require a physical treatment as symptoms typically resolve on their own with the correct self management strategies. It is beneficial to see us early into your flare of pain so we can rule out serious causes and provide you the tools to ease your pain and keep it away long term. Ignoring symptoms can lead to long term pain that persists due to adapted movement patterns and potential fear avoidance of pain provoking activities. We are highly skilled at assisting you to restore these movement patterns which are key to getting you back to your valued activities pain free.

How do we treat neck pain?

We use a person centred approach that explores the true root cause of your pain. This goes way beyond the structural causes and investigates the cognitive functional aspects of neck pain that often hold the key to a sustained recovery. We combine traditional approaches such as joint mobilisation and soft tissue work which can be effective in the short term, however our goal is to provide you the tools needed so you no longer need our services!

How long does treatment take?

This depends on your diagnosis, history of pain and complexity of your case. No two people are the same which makes it hard to give a concrete answer however we provide gold standard, evidence based care that aims to reduce treatment dependancy and will be fully transparant from the initial consultation about your predicted trajectory.

Do I need a scan?

The majority of neck pain doesn’t require a scan as the expert clinical assessment provided by our team is sufficient to diagnose the problem. In the minority of cases when nerves don’t calm down and orthopedic interventions are considered, we are well placed to arrange scans and get you to the right provider. Scans are also warranted in the rare case of serious suspected conditions and we are able to write a clinical letter and organise the scan for you free of charge, usually on the same day.

Do I need surgery or Injections?

Invasive options are the last resort for neck pain and at the Chester Back Pain Clinic we strive to make sure you avoid it by providing robust conservative measures with a multimodal person centred approach. We have experience working in second opinion clinics in the NHS where many patients we treated were told they needed invasive options. Having a more hollistic diagnosis and better understanding of their pain they were able to avoid it and reduce their pain without these riskier and costlier procedures.

Sciatica  

Sciatica is a term used to describe pain that travels from the lower back into the leg. This can also be felt in the shoulder,arm or hand and is referred to medically as Radiculopathy. It can feel sharp, burning, or like an ache, and sometimes comes with tingling or numbness. What’s important to know is that not all “sciatica” comes from the same source. Sciatica is an umbrella term that encompasses three types of pain that all have different management strategies: 

  1. Nerve Root Pain: this can be due to a herniated disc or age related changes in the spine that cause constant shooting, burning pains in a specific path down the leg and is often accompanied by muscle weakness, pins and needles, numbness and tingling.
  2. Referred Pain: Pain is “referred” from anatomical structures in the spine. In this case, the limb pain isn’t caused by direct pressure on a nerve, but the brain still “feels” it in the limb. This type of pain usually feels more diffuse and achy, being elicited by the discs, muscles, ligaments, tendons or other structures in the spine.
  3. Nociplastic Pain: In some people, the nervous system itself becomes hyper-sensitive and amplifies pain signals in the absence of damage. This doesn’t mean the pain is “in your head”—it’s very real—but it reflects changes in how the body processes pain, rather than a single injured structure. It is common for people with this type of pain to be labelled with “sciatica” when their pain is far more complex and needing specialist care.

How important is an accurate diagnosis?

A specialist clinical assessment and diagnosis can not only be beneficial for getting the right treatment but it can also save the patient alot of money! Inaccurately diagnosed nerve root compression (incorrectly referred to as “trapped nerves”) costs patients in unnecessary passive treatments and can instil fear in patients who have stopped doing what they love due to constant worry that something is trapped or damaged. At Chester Back Pain Clinic we are experts at assessing leg pain and have a proven track record at providing the accurate diagnosis people need in order to get back to their normal pain free life.

Do I need treatment?

Not all cases of sciatica require a physical treatment as symptoms can resolve on their own with the correct self-management strategies. It is beneficial to see us early into your flare of pain so we can rule out serious causes and provide you the tools to ease your pain and keep it away long term. Ignoring symptoms can lead to long term pain that persists due to adapted movement patterns and potential fear avoidance of pain provoking activities. We are highly skilled at assisting you to restore these movement patterns which are key to getting you back to your valued activities pain free.

How do we treat sciatica?

We use a person centred approach that explores the true root cause of your sciatica and firstly ensures an accurate diagnosis. Depending on the source of the sciatica we offer everything from logical individualised advice, rehab exercises and manual therapy. As with our approach to back and neck pain, our goal is to provide you the tools needed so you no longer need our services!

How long does treatment take?

This depends on your diagnosis, history of pain and complexity of your case. No two people are the same which makes it hard to give a concrete answer however we provide gold standard, evidence based care that aims to reduce treatment dependancy and will be fully transparant from the initial consultation about your predicted trajectory.

Do I need a scan?

The majority of sciatica doesn’t require a scan as the expert clinical assessment provided by our team is sufficient to diagnose and treat the problem successfully. In the minority of cases when nerves don’t calm down and orthopedic interventions are considered, we are well placed to arrange scans and get you to the right provider. Scans are necesary in the rare occurence of serious spinal conditions that may significantly change the course of someones life. If we suspected this we are best placed to refer to the right healthcare provider and would write a referral letter free of charge.

Do I need surgery or Injections?

Invasive options are the last resort for sciatica and at the Chester Back Pain Clinic we strive to make sure you avoid it by providing robust conservative measures with a multimodal person centred approach. We have experience working in second opinion clinics in the NHS where many patients we treated were told they needed invasive options. Having an accurate diagnosis and better understanding of their pain they were able to avoid injections and reduce their pain without these riskier and costlier procedures.

Cauda Equina Syndrome 

Cauda equina syndrome (CES) is an uncommon but serious neurological condition affecting the cauda equina, a group of nerves at the lowest point of your back that control your legs, bladder and bowel function and supply sensation to the skin around the bottom, back passage, genitals and inner thigh. CES occurs when this group of nerves are compressed. The most common cause of compression is when a disc in the lower back occupies the same space as the nerves. Any delay in the diagnosis of cauda equina syndrome can impact recovery and could lead to permanent damage, such as bladder and bowel incontinence or paralysis of the legs.

 

Cauda Equina Syndrome symptoms with pain radiating down one or both legs and/or severe lower back pain (any combination, ATTEND YOUR NEAREST A&E);

Loss of feeling pins and needles between your inner thighs or genitals.

Numbness in or around your back passage or buttocks.

Altered feeling when using toilet paper to wipe yourself.

Increasing difficulty when you try to urinate.

Increasing difficulty when you try to stop or control your flow of urine.

Loss of sensation when you pass urine.

Leaking urine or recent need to use pads.

Not knowing when your bladder is either full or empty.

Inability to stop a bowel movement or leaking.

Loss of sensation when you pass a bowel motion.

Change in ability to achieve an erection or ejaculate.

Loss of sensation in genitals during sexual intercourse.