Lumbar Strain
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Individualised Care
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Whole-Body Approach
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Progressive Rehabilitation
Lumbar Strain Treatment in Epping
Our multidisciplinary team provides lumbar strain and lower back pain treatment to patients across Epping, South Morang, Wollert, Mill Park, Donnybrook and surrounding suburbs. Whether your pain developed after lifting, bending, sport, repetitive work or a sudden awkward movement, we focus on identifying the structures and contributing factors involved before developing a personalised treatment and rehabilitation plan.
A lumbar strain involves injury or overstretching of the muscles and tendons of the lower back, while a lumbar sprain involves the supporting ligaments. Both can develop through similar mechanisms, including direct trauma, repetitive lifting and bending, overuse, fatigue or sudden unguarded movement.
At Muscle Joint Bone, we assess your lower-back movement, muscle function, hip mobility, strength, lifting mechanics and activity demands to understand what may be contributing to your symptoms and guide your recovery.
What Is a Lumbar Strain?
A lumbar strain is a soft-tissue injury involving the muscles or tendons of the lower back. A lumbar sprain involves the ligaments that help support the lumbar spine. Both injuries can occur when these tissues are stretched or loaded beyond what they can comfortably tolerate.
Symptoms may develop immediately after an incident or shortly afterwards. Pain is usually felt around the injured area and may be accompanied by tenderness, stiffness, muscle spasm or reduced mobility. In some cases, discomfort may also extend into the upper back, buttock or back of the thigh.
Because lower-back pain can have several possible causes, assessment helps determine whether a muscle or ligament injury is likely and whether other structures may also be contributing.
LUMBAR STRAIN ASSESSMENT & TREATMENT
WHEN SHOULD YOU SEEK TREATMENT FOR A LUMBAR STRAIN?
Mild lower-back strains may sometimes improve with relative rest and activity modification, but persistent or recurring symptoms should not be ignored. If pain is affecting work, sleep, lifting, exercise or everyday movement, a professional assessment can help identify what is contributing to the problem.
Common signs you should seek assessment include:
- Lower-back pain that persists or repeatedly returns
- Pain following lifting, bending or twisting
- Local tenderness around the lower back
- Muscle tightness or spasm
- Stiffness or reduced spinal movement
- Difficulty standing upright or changing position
- Pain extending into the buttock or back of the thigh
- Difficulty returning to work, exercise or normal activity
If lower-back pain is limiting your activities, our multidisciplinary team can assess your movement, muscle function, spinal mobility, hip strength and physical demands before developing a personalised treatment and rehabilitation plan.
A CLOSER LOOK AT YOUR SYMPTOMS
COMMON LUMBAR STRAIN SYMPTOMS
LOCAL LOWER-BACK PAIN
Pain is commonly felt around the injured area of the lumbar spine and may become more noticeable during bending, lifting, twisting or prolonged positions.
MUSCLE SPASM
Protective tightening or spasm of the surrounding muscles can make the lower back feel tense, guarded or difficult to move.
LOWER-BACK STIFFNESS
Reduced mobility may make bending, standing upright, rolling in bed or transitioning between sitting and standing uncomfortable.
TENDERNESS
The injured muscles or surrounding tissues may become sensitive or tender to touch, particularly shortly after an acute injury.
PAIN WITH MOVEMENT
Certain movements such as bending forward, twisting, lifting or returning upright may reproduce symptoms.
REFERRED ACHING
Pain can sometimes extend beyond the immediate injury site into the buttock, upper back or back of the thigh.
Our Treatment Approach
Rather than simply focusing on short-term pain relief, treatment aims to address the factors contributing to your lumbar strain while progressively restoring lower-back movement, strength and tolerance for everyday activity.
Depending on your presentation, treatment may include:
- Activity and load modification
- Hands-on treatment
- Soft-tissue treatment
- Lumbar mobility exercises
- Hip mobility work
- Core and trunk strengthening
- Hip and lower-limb strengthening
- Progressive resistance exercises
- Movement and lifting retraining
- Work-specific rehabilitation
- Exercise rehabilitation
- Return-to-gym programs
- Return-to-sport rehabilitation
Because Muscle Joint Bone brings multiple disciplines together, your care may involve Physiotherapists, Osteopaths, Chiropractors and Exercise Physiologists working collaboratively through different stages of treatment and rehabilitation.
Lumbar Strain Treatment
MORE THAN PAIN RELIEF. REBUILD YOUR LOWER-BACK CAPACITY.
WHY CHOOSE MUSCLE JOINT BONE
Lumbar strain is often influenced by more than the painful muscles themselves. Our multidisciplinary team looks at the lower back, hips, pelvis, trunk strength, movement patterns and physical demands that may be contributing to repeated overload.
IDENTIFY THE CAUSE. NOT JUST THE PAIN.
Effective treatment begins with understanding why your lower back has become irritated. We assess spinal movement, strength, hip mobility, lifting mechanics and activity demands to identify contributing factors and develop an individual treatment plan.
ONE TEAM. MULTIPLE DISCIPLINES.
Your recovery can be supported by Physiotherapists, Osteopaths, Chiropractors and Exercise Physiologists, allowing treatment, rehabilitation and return-to-activity planning to be coordinated within one multidisciplinary clinic.
BUILD CAPACITY. NOT JUST SHORT-TERM RELIEF.
Our rehabilitation approach focuses on progressively improving lower-back strength, trunk control, mobility and physical capacity so your body is better prepared for lifting, work, training and everyday movement.