Meeting with a Physiotherapist Osteopath: COMFORT AND BACK PAIN

We had the opportunity to speak with a healthcare professional, who shared their perspective on back pain and their experience. Here, we share their opinion and advice on the matter.

Can you introduce yourself and briefly describe your activity?

Marc Hamon, physiotherapist since 1993 and osteopath since 2011, I am located in Lanester. I don't specialize in any particular area, but back pain often comes up in my practice.

Do you have patients coming to you for back pain? How much of your activity does this problem represent?

My patients almost exclusively consult for back pain. To give you an idea, this topic accounts for approximately 90% of my osteopath activity and 75% of my physiotherapist activity. The rest of my activity is often related to respiratory relief or work following fractures or sprains.
I also have some patients who come to me for neck pain. In this case, I strongly advise using a memory foam cushion/pillow.

In general, what is the cause of back problems?

The vast majority of patients who come to me for a back problem experience pain due to a wrong movement. It can also be due to overexertion during a move or after gardening.
In all cases, these are mainly isolated pains rather than chronic ones. If the problem is recurrent, I often advise my patients to get an X-ray to detect the source of the problem.

What do you advise your patients to resolve the problem, or at least reduce it?

I advise, of course, to consult a healthcare professional as soon as possible to detect and correct the pain. It can be useful to change their bedding, especially the pillow where, as I said, memory foam can be beneficial.

In your opinion, is it getting worse over time? (Since Covid and the implementation of teleworking, or for any other reason)

I haven't seen a major evolution in my activity. I would say it's relatively stable. It should be noted, however, that I have seen more cases of tendinitis since the Covid period, especially due to teleworking, keyboard use, and poor posture at the workstation.

What criteria should be considered when choosing a chair?

I am not a chair specialist, but I advise not to choose a chair that is too low, which would require significant hip flexion to sit down or get up. I also advise not to stay seated for too long, and to change position regularly. It's important to choose a chair with good lumbar support. The presence of armrests is also recommended to facilitate mobility and optimize your position in the chair.

Does a footrest have any benefit for the back?

Yes, it's an important element because it helps relax muscles and reduce tension in the body, especially since it doesn't create any negative effects in terms of posture in the chair.

We hope you found the answers you were looking for in this article, and that the information shared by this healthcare professional (link: https://www.pagesjaunes.fr/pros/55206574) will help you relieve your pain and choose your recliner!