Getting to the source of low back pain

One of the main aliments my clinic treats is low back pain.  One of the most important things to remember about back pain is not to ignore it from the beginning.  The story is most often the same and it goes something like this:

"I started getting sore after sitting all day or I would wake up and my back would be stiff but you know, I'm getting old.  Then I would have spasms like once a year that would put me on the couch.  I would lay down for a day and I would be fine.  Now the spasms are coming more frequent and I have stopped doing things that I like to do."

This story, or a variation of this story, is how the majority of all chronic back pain starts.  It is not an incident or an accident. And it didn't just "start to hurt one day." It was giving you lots of warning signals but you brushed them off until the pain became so great that you had to seek help.

When patients come into my clinic, many of them tell me that they have a herniated or bulging disc so that must be the cause of their problems.  But here is the thing that many people do not know, studies have shown that 70 percent of individuals have a herniated disc, yet many of those people are not symptomatic.

In some cases, surgery to take pressure off the nerve is the way to go because the pain is solely based on the bulging disc and the findings on an MRI.  However, I have seen many people have surgery to fix the bulging disc, and come out with the same pain they had before surgery.  This is because the surgery fixed a problem that wasn't the source of your pain.  Here is where people wind up frustrated, angry and turn to pain management in order to cope and deal with life, thinking that there are no further solutions.

The good news is that pain not caused by a bulging disc is most often fixable, without drugs, injections or surgery.  Most of the time, this pain that is due to muscle imbalances, loss of core stabilization and trigger points/knots throughout the back and the legs.  Getting relief from these muscle issues by your physical therapist or another skilled healthcare professional can return you to a normal, pain-free life.

There are a few simple things that can be done when you first start to feel back pain in order to avoid bigger issues. The video below shows some very basic stretches that can be done when you wake up with stiffness or end the day with a sore back.  Doing these everyday can help loosen up the muscles and restore them back to normal function.  Getting up out of your chair at work to perform these can also help, as your back and muscles suffer a great deal when you sit all day.

Ignoring pain is never a good idea, listen to your body, it knows what is going on.