Back Pain Canberra
When you’ve tried treatment but your back still isn’t improving
If you’ve found your way to this page, there’s a good chance you’ve already seen someone about your back pain. You might have tried physiotherapy, chiropractic treatment, massage, acupuncture or different exercise programs. Perhaps you’ve experienced some relief, only for the pain to return, or you’ve been following the advice you’ve been given without seeing the improvement you were hoping for.
It’s frustrating, particularly when you’ve invested time, money and effort into getting better. You may have been given different explanations for your pain, and after a while it can become difficult to know what to believe or what to try next.
I see people in this situation regularly at The Body Lab. Many aren’t necessarily looking for another treatment. They’re looking for someone to take a fresh look at what’s happening and perhaps explore something that hasn’t been considered before.
That’s the part of my work I find particularly interesting.
Looking beyond where it hurts
I’ve spent more than 18 years working with people experiencing pain and movement difficulties, and one of the things I’ve learned is that the location of someone’s pain doesn’t always tell us everything we need to know.
When someone comes to see me about their back, I obviously want to understand their symptoms, their medical history and what they’ve already tried. But I’m also interested in how the rest of their body moves, particularly during everyday activities such as standing, walking, bending and turning.
Your back doesn’t work independently of everything else. Movement is shared between your feet, ankles, knees, hips, pelvis, spine and ribcage. When you walk, for example, your pelvis and spine need to move in different directions at different moments, while your feet and hips contribute to how that movement happens.
Sometimes I notice that certain movements are limited or that someone has developed a different way of accomplishing a task. This doesn’t necessarily mean those movement patterns are causing their pain. Our bodies adapt all the time, often for perfectly good reasons. However, understanding those adaptations can give us useful information about how someone is moving and what we might be able to improve.
Rather than starting with an assumption about what’s wrong, I prefer to investigate what’s happening.
What if there’s something we haven’t explored?
People often arrive with a collection of explanations for their back pain. They’ve been told their core is weak, their hip flexors are tight, their pelvis is out of alignment or their posture needs correcting. Others have had scans showing disc changes, arthritis or degeneration.
Some of these findings may be relevant, but they don’t always explain why someone is experiencing pain or why their symptoms have continued.
I’m not particularly interested in giving you another label. I’d rather spend our time exploring how your body moves and helping you understand what we find.
For example, if your lower back feels restricted when you turn, I’ll be interested in how your pelvis, hips and ribcage contribute to that movement. If bending is uncomfortable, we might look at how movement is shared between your spine and hips. If walking aggravates your symptoms, I’ll want to observe what happens as you move from one leg to the other.
These observations don’t provide an automatic diagnosis, but they give us something practical to investigate. We can explore different movements, make changes where appropriate and reassess to see whether those changes have been useful.
I think that’s an important distinction. Rather than simply telling you what I believe is happening, I want you to be involved in understanding it.
What happens during your appointment?
Your first appointment at The Body Lab is a Comprehensive Restoration Assessment. We begin by discussing your back pain, how long you’ve been experiencing it, what makes it better or worse and what treatments you’ve already received. I’m also interested in what your pain is preventing you from doing, whether that’s exercising, working, sleeping comfortably or simply getting through the day without constantly thinking about your back.
From there, we’ll look at how you stand, walk and move. Depending on what I observe, I may assess movement through your feet, hips, pelvis, spine and other areas to understand how they work together.
I’ll explain what I’m looking at throughout the appointment, and where appropriate, we’ll begin treatment during that first session. This may involve hands-on techniques, guided movement or exercises designed to help you explore movements that are currently difficult. We’ll then reassess to see what’s changed.
There isn’t a standard routine that I follow for everyone with back pain, because people arrive with different histories, different movement capabilities and different goals. Some need help developing mobility, others need to build strength and confidence, and many benefit from a combination of approaches.
I also recognise that not every case of back pain is primarily a movement problem. If your symptoms suggest that further medical assessment or a different form of care would be more appropriate, I’ll discuss that with you.
Finding a way forward
One of the more difficult aspects of persistent back pain is how much it can change your relationship with movement. People gradually stop doing things because they’re worried about aggravating their symptoms. They avoid bending, become cautious about lifting or give up activities they once enjoyed.
Over time, the concern about what might happen can become almost as limiting as the pain itself.
Part of my work involves helping people explore movement again, gradually and at a level that feels manageable. Sometimes that means improving access to a particular movement. Sometimes it’s developing better control or building strength so the body can tolerate more activity.
Progress isn’t always straightforward, and I don’t believe it’s helpful to promise that a particular technique or number of appointments will resolve someone’s back pain. What I can offer is a careful assessment, an explanation of what I find and a considered approach to working towards the activities that matter to you.
A little about me
I’m Riccardo, the movement therapist behind The Body Lab in Ainslie, Canberra.
My background includes acupuncture, biomechanics, movement therapy and many years studying how the body moves during standing and walking. Over time, my work has become increasingly focused on understanding the relationships between different parts of the body rather than looking at individual joints or muscles in isolation.
I’m still learning, and I think that’s an important part of being a practitioner. The longer I work with people, the more I appreciate that two people with similar symptoms can have very different experiences and may need very different approaches.
If you’ve already tried several treatments for your back pain and feel you’re not making progress, I’d be happy to hear your story and explore whether my approach might offer something useful.
You don’t need to arrive with a diagnosis or a clear explanation of what’s wrong. Tell me what you’ve been experiencing, what you’ve tried and what you’d like to get back to doing. That’s a good place for us to start.
Riccardo Galeotti
Movement Therapist | Founder, The Body Lab
Ainslie, Canberra
Getting started
If you’d like to come in, the Comprehensive Restoration Assessment, which includes your initial assessment and treatment where appropriate.
[Book a Comprehensive Restoration Assessment]
If you’d prefer to have a quick conversation first, you can arrange a free five-minute phone call to discuss whether this appointment is suitable for you.