John is a 42 year old man who developed pain in his lower back immediately after moving house. He couldn’t recall any specific injury but did quite a lot of lifting, carrying and bending down during the move. At the time he felt a few twinges but didn’t think anything of it. However over the subsequent few days the pain increased steadily and became very severe and began radiating down the back of his thigh at times.

He was otherwise well apart from being a bit overweight. He had a few episodes of back pain in the past but it was never severe enough for him to seek treatment. He did no regular sports or exercise apart from chasing after his two children who are both under 4. His job is office based and he sits for most of the day.