References

Clinical guidance

• NICE. Low back pain and sciatica in over 16s: assessment and management. Red flags, acute management, medication use and referral thresholds. nice.org.uk/guidance/ng59
• StatPearls / NCBI Bookshelf. Evaluation of acute low back pain in adults — causes, red flags, and acute care including muscle spasm. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538173
• American College of Emergency Physicians. Re-evaluating red flags for back pain. acep.org
• Emergency Care Institute, NSW. Acute low back pain — immediate self-management, red flags, recovery and escalation timelines. aci.health.nsw.gov.au
• MyHealth Alberta. Back spasm: care instructions — plain-language self-care, rest, heat, muscle relaxants and when to seek review. myhealth.alberta.ca
• Spine-Health. Back pain red flags: emergency room versus physician consults. spine-health.com

Where the wider method is sourced

The longer-term Backhealer material — fascia, motor control and pain neuroscience — is documented separately with its full citation list at backpainexposed.com.

How this site is maintained

Every page carries a last-reviewed date. When guidance changes or I change my mind, the page is updated and the date moves. Where clinical opinion is genuinely divided — the exact role of heat, how long rest should last, when manipulation is appropriate — the page says so instead of presenting one view as settled.

Found something here that's wrong or out of date? Tell me and I'll fix it.