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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Being Part of the New Health Frontier
In November last year, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport delivered its bipartisan report “The New Frontier: Delivering better health for all Australians” on the approval processes for new drugs and novel medical technologies in Australia.
Australian Health Journal spoke to some of the industry bodies who were part of the Inquiry, for their comments on the process, the report and hopes in the recommendations being implemented.
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Still seeking outcomes after 6th Stoma Appliance Scheme Schedule Review
50,000 Australians have undergone the trauma and challenge of having a stoma inserted. Whilst the Australian Government invests in the appliances and products they need through the Stoma Appliance Scheme (SAS), this list is dated and doesn’t include as many of the products available in other countries. A new report commissioned by the Stoma Industry Association (SIA) shows Australia lagging countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Spain in supporting ostomates (people with a stoma).
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Misinformation impacts routine vaccines
More significant changes in recent years have been health-related misinformation eroding trust in healthcare professionals, leading to people seeking alternative treatments or avoiding medical advice altogether. This can make it more difficult for healthcare professionals to provide effective treatment and care.
Recent vaccines delivered as part of the COVID-19 response, are having a consequential impact on the uptake of routine vaccines.
Australian Health Journal spoke with Dr Paul Griffin, an Infectious Diseases Physician and Microbiologist at Mater Health, and who has been involved in over 150 clinical trials in the field of infectious disease.
Paul talks about the importance of having reputable sources of information that can used to encourage people to understand what is involved in clinical trials and the roles of vaccines.
