Lizzy Quinn is a Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist with 20 years experience focusing on people with spinal pain. Australian Health Journal spoke with Lizzy on the complexities of persistent lower back pain in women.
Lower back pain in women in their 30s, 40s, and 50s is complex to treat due to the combination of physical and emotional factors, and health professionals need to stay updated on best practices and science to provide the best recovery platform for patients. These women typically have busy lives, pressures, and expectations.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) website states, ‘Mental and behavioural conditions commonly co-occur with musculoskeletal conditions. Compared with people without musculoskeletal conditions, for people aged 45 and over with mental and behavioural conditions were 1.9 times as likely in people with back problems, 1.6 times as likely in people with arthritis and 1.5 times as likely in people with osteoporosis’.
Lizzy believes women with persistent lower back pain need treatment that considers their emotional and physical pain due to the complexity of their lives. Women with lower back pain often try various treatments without realising the impact of their emotional state on their symptoms, making long-term recovery difficult.
Changes in the spine as we age are normal, but the language used in MRI reports can make it concerning for patients, without a healthcare professional providing a through explanation of some of the terms.
Lizzy states, “MRI findings generally provide little information on how to recover from lower back pain, and only a small number of people actually need imaging straight away. For the majority, it won’t change their treatment.”
Getting a lower back MRI may lead to unnecessary worry as normal age-related changes are often misinterpreted as serious issues.
As far as the body is concerned, the brain cannot tell the difference between physical pain and emotional pain, making lower back pain complex to treat.
Lower back pain may be driven by tissue sensitivity and hyper-sensitisation in the brain, rather than just joint issues.
Emotional distress can reactivate sensitisation in the brain, that can cause persistent lower back pain, especially when combined with emotional distress. Sensitised pain centres in the brain, can prolong lower back pain even after physical healing.
Educating patients about the complexity of lower back pain is important, but GPs have limited time to do so, making it challenging for them to convey the message to their clients.
Without this awareness, patients will fail to understand the main drivers of lower back pain that are vital for long term recovery.
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Inaugural report into Australasian Paramedicine Workforce Survey report to aid workforce planning
In a milestone for paramedicine, the Australasian College of Paramedicine earlier this year released the first report of a landmark three-year study identifying and exploring trends that affect the Australasian paramedicine workforce.
The inaugural Australasian Paramedicine Workforce Survey report 2023-24 explores the demographic, career trajectory, work motivations and conditions for those working in clinical, management and educational capacities within the paramedicine workforce of Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. -
World first in rural and remote nursing
In March 2023, the Australian Government released the National Rural and Remote Nursing Generalist Framework 2023–2027. The Framework is a world first and describes the unique context of practice and core capabilities for rural and remote Registered Nurses in Australia.
The Framework was developed by the Office of the National Rural Health Commissioner and Australian Health Journal spoke with National Rural Health Commissioner, Adjunct Professor Ruth Stewart, and Deputy National Rural Health Commissioner – Nursing and Midwifery, Adjunct Professor Shelley Nowlan, on the importance of rural and remote nursing and of the Framework itself.
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Diary of a Paramedic in a primary health care clinic
Alecka Miles is a lecturer at Edith Cowan University and works as a paramedic in a multidisciplinary team at Dianella Family Medical Centre in Metropolitan Perth, Western Australia.
Community paramedic roles have a history in Australia, dating back to 2007 in New South Wales and followed by similar initiatives in South Australia and New Zealand. Alecka’s position emerged after she sought to evaluate how paramedics could integrate into general practice, ultimately leading to a job offer post-COVID lockdown in 2020. Her skills, particularly in cannulation, proved valuable as healthcare shifted towards primary care.
