Misconceptions of low back pain and neck pain.

Fact – 80% of us will experience back and neck pain in our lives.

A further 10% of those people will continue to experience back pain over their lifetime. Most episodes of back pain although extremely painful, may resolve within a few weeks. But what you do in those few weeks can make a difference. Because simply waiting for your pain to go by itself may increase the risk of complications and recurrence of your problem later on.

Treating the symptoms of your pain does not solve the problem.

Management of neck and back pain should always try to identify the cause of the problem. Often treatment looks at controlling inflammation, or stopping pain perception. This is only masking the symptoms, and does not treat the underlying factors that may be causing your complaint. I often compare injury management to a building structure. When cracks appear on the third floor of a building there is an immediate need to paint and fix the cracks, however the cracks are being caused by something elsewhere. The body works in the same way, each muscle, joint or bone is connected and their position and tension affects the position and tension of surrounding tissue.

General exercise and movement is very useful in improving your outcome.

Surgery is rarely indicated for non-serious causes of back pain, yet is often over performed.

“Treatment should not focus on the symptoms, rather it should identify the cause.” – 

Misconceptions –

“It just happened for no reason” – Your problem did not just happen.  Something has lead the your pain starting.  Overuse, poor posture, weakness and poor biomechanics are the obvious causes. –

“ I have arthritis, that’s why I am suffering” – Although in some cases Arthritis can be painful it does not have to be causing your pain.  In fact most people have arthritic joints and have no pain. –

“Exercise makes it worse” – Typically exercise can agitate back pain. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. Start of slowly and comfortably building up to an intensity that you can tolerate. There is no prize for rushing. –

“I’m always in pain”  – Your pain is a complex thing. Did you know that often your back has healed but you may still feel pain. Pain is related to mood, attitude, beliefs and stress. Learn to focus on other things and your pain will change. FACT. –

“Surgery is the only option” – Most people who have surgery still experience back pain. Surgery should be reserved for cases where there is significant motor weakness, deficit or serious spinal pathology.