BookFor most low back pain, staying active is recommended over bed rest, as Australia's Low Back Pain Clinical Care Standard advises. A physiotherapy assessment sets how much to do, then carries it into supervised gym work when it suits.
Australia's Low Back Pain Clinical Care Standard encourages people to stay active and keep up usual activity, including work, and says prolonged bed rest should be discouraged. An Adapt assessment for back pain starts by deciding which daily tasks stay in.
Back pain and sciaticaContact your GP first, or call 000 in an emergency, if you notice any of these.
New trouble controlling urine or bowel movements needs urgent review.
Numbness in the saddle area or genitals, or new or worsening leg weakness.
Fever or feeling unwell with the pain, or unexplained weight loss.
Pain that started after a fall or accident needs urgent care.
Your physiotherapist decides what stays, what changes and when load is added.
Book a physioWe look at the symptom pattern and set a starting level of activity.
Walking, sitting and work stay in, with changes to how you do them.
Strength work is added when the review supports it, and coaches run it.
Later blocks practise the lifts, long days or sport you are returning to.
Waddell, Feder and Lewis (1997) found bed rest may delay recovery from acute low back pain, while staying active went with an earlier return to work. Your physiotherapist chooses the starting loads at the first appointment.
Early work is often walking, supported hinges or band work, and reviews decide what changes next, which is how gym-based physiotherapy carries the plan.
Keep the daily tasks that still feel manageable and drop the last load increase. Book a review if the flare lasts more than a few days or a warning sign appears.
When to see a doctor firstDr Sam Baylis and John MacAuliffe assess back pain at Adapt and write the plan the coaches run.
Sets which daily tasks stay in and when strength work is added.
Reviews how your back responds, then writes the next load.
Coaches run supervised sessions from the written plan, and your physiotherapist reviews what changed before load is added. Early sessions may use quieter floor work or the stretching room. Book a physio to get that plan written.
Book a physio
Usually yes, with changes to how you sit, lift or move, because the Low Back Pain Clinical Care Standard encourages continuing usual activity, including work, as soon as possible or feasible. Your physiotherapist sets those changes at the assessment.
Physio for CBD commutersNo. Australia's Low Back Pain Clinical Care Standard encourages staying active and continuing usual activity, including work, as soon as possible. A physiotherapy assessment then sets which movements to start with.
There is no set distance. Your physiotherapist chooses a starting amount from how the back behaves and what you already do in a day, then reviews whether that amount stays, increases or is reduced.
Not always. The assessment decides which lifts or classes can stay, which need a lighter version and which wait, so the plan is not a stretch of days in bed while every session is cancelled.
The fee depends on the appointment type and length, and Adapt confirms it before you book. If you have extras cover, any rebate for the physiotherapy consult depends on your fund, policy and remaining limits, which is explained on the fees and rebates page.
Book if the pain is stopping usual activity, has not settled after a short period of staying active, or you need a plan for work or training. See a doctor if a warning sign appears, and contact Adapt if unsure.
Your physiotherapist decides. Coaches run the supervised work from that plan, and the load changes at review rather than on a fixed number of sessions.
Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, 2022
British Journal of General Practice, 1997
Sam Baylis and John MacAuliffe are registered physiotherapists. Their profiles link to the public register.
Last updated on 21 October 2026