When I started as a student Physiotherapist 13 years ago it felt as if the management of back pain was having a big overhaul with the doom-monger ‘you will be in a wheel chair’ therapists being swept away by the self management and exercise scientific clean up crew. Now I feel the profession and our allied colleagues (Chiro, Osteo, Sports Therapy) have got a much better handle on things. We have not cured the world of back pain because we never will. Back pain has plagued humanity throughout history with the earliest records dating back to ancient Egypt. I think this specific patient was treated to some traction and something involving a dog, I was never any good at translating hieroglyphics though!
I will be speaking at the Back Pain Show in Birmingham in May. www.thebackpainshow.co.uk In preparation for my talk and demonstration I have been revising what we do and the evidence for it. There are now plenty of taping for back pain studies to read through. One recent OPEN ACCESS article (here) compared the treatment outcome for two groups of mechanical back pain sufferers (15 in each group) with both groups performing McKenzie exercises and only one group receiving Kinesiology tape applied to their lower back. The results show a considerable reduction in disability for the taped group in comparison to the non-taped group, according to Oswestry low back disability Questionnaire.
The lumbar spine application is simple, check out the pics at the top of the page!