Specialist Lower Back Physiotherapy

Lower back pain can affect how you sit, move, sleep, work and exercise. Symptoms may follow a clear injury, develop gradually or recur through repeated periods of improvement and flare-up. 

Specialist lower-back assessment and rehabilitation are available at our Emsworth and Rowlands Castle clinics, delivered by Mike Saegert and Kathryn Palmer. Both are experienced spinal clinicians working at Band 8 specialist level and assess the full range of lower-back conditions, including persistent or recurring pain, sciatica and nerve-related symptoms, disc-related presentations, osteoarthritis and problems that have not improved with previous treatment.

Our focus is on detailed assessment, clear diagnosis and evidence-based rehabilitation, with imaging, pain-management pathways and onward specialist referral considered where clinically appropriate.

More Than an Exercise Programme

Our spinal clinicians provide specialist assessment, diagnosis and rehabilitation, with access to imaging referral and interpretation and coordinated onward referral to pain-management, spinal injection or surgical services where clinically appropriate.

Why Lower Back Problems Need Specialist Care

Lower back pain is rarely the result of a single structure in isolation. Symptoms may reflect mechanical joint loading, disc sensitivity, nerve irritation, muscular guarding or previous episodes that have altered movement behaviour.

Imaging findings such as disc bulges, degeneration or facet joint change are common — even in individuals without pain. What determines recovery is not simply what appears on a scan, but how the spine behaves under load.

Generic advice or overly cautious rehabilitation can sometimes prolong symptoms by reinforcing protective guarding or fear of movement.

Specialist assessment evaluates irritability profile, neural involvement, segmental mobility, load tolerance and movement patterns. This helps identify the factors most relevant to your symptoms and allows rehabilitation to be tailored accordingly rather than relying on standardised back exercises.

Accurate assessment can help build confidence and guide more appropriate rehabilitation.

Explore Lower Back Conditions

Select the condition or rehabilitation pathway most relevant to you below to find out more. If your condition is not shown, we can still help. If you are unsure what is causing your symptoms, a specialist assessment can help identify the most likely source of your pain.

What makes our lower back service different

Lower back assessment and rehabilitation is delivered by experienced physiotherapists working in Band 8 specialist roles within the NHS alongside their private practice. Their clinical work includes complex spinal presentations, nerve-related symptoms, persistent pain, post-operative rehabilitation, imaging pathways and close collaboration with medical and surgical teams. 

This depth of experience is particularly valuable when symptoms have persisted despite previous treatment, the diagnosis is not immediately straightforward, or decisions need to be made about imaging, pain management or onward specialist referral.

Many individuals attending for back pain have already received general advice or exercise programmes without lasting improvement. This is rarely because the spine is “damaged beyond repair.” More often, the mechanical and behavioural drivers have not been thoroughly assessed.

Specialist evaluation examines how your spine behaves during bending, lifting, sitting tolerance, load transfer and neural tension. It also considers fear of movement, previous flare patterns and protective muscle guarding.

Rehabilitation is structured around graded load exposure, movement refinement and restoration of confidence.

For disc-related or nerve-sensitive presentations, management respects irritability while maintaining controlled movement. In facet-driven pain, rehabilitation focuses on restoring mobility and balanced muscle activation. In persistent mechanical back pain, progression builds tolerance to daily and occupational load rather than avoiding it.

Programmes are individualised. Progression is guided by symptom behaviour and functional milestones rather than fixed timelines.

Care is guided by advanced clinical reasoning and specialist experience rather than protocol-driven or generic rehabilitation approaches.

Where clinically appropriate, we can request and interpret MRI to help clarify the diagnosis. Imaging findings are considered alongside your symptoms, examination and response to movement rather than relying on the scan report alone.

We can also liaise with local pain-management and spinal services when interventions such as facet-joint injections, nerve-root blocks or a specialist spinal opinion may be appropriate. This integrated approach helps ensure that rehabilitation, further investigation and onward referral are coordinated around your individual clinical needs.

Book Your Specialist Lower-Back Appointment

Specialist lower-back appointments are available at our Emsworth and Rowlands Castle clinics. Both clinicians provide specialist assessment and rehabilitation across the full range of lower-back and lumbar-spine conditions.

Assessment includes detailed evaluation, clear explanation of the likely source of your symptoms and an individually tailored treatment and rehabilitation plan.

Prefer to Speak to Us First?

If you are unsure which clinician to book with, would prefer not to book online or have a question before arranging your appointment, please contact us and we will help direct you to the most appropriate specialist.

Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 0330 133 9090

Or complete the enquiry form below and we will get back to you.