6 Common Back Pain Myths
At Physio Labs we love hearing the surprise of clients coming in saying they “actually feel better” or “this is the best I have felt in years” Most people with back pain try:
The most common misconceptions I hear every day from people with low back pain are: |
1. My Back is stuffed and will be like this forever
This is wrong, Patients seem to think their back is different to the rest of their body. To put this in context If you pull your hamstring playing soccer or roll an ankle playing netball, you wouldn’t automatically expect that it will never get better. Your back is exactly the same. Research does show an increased rate of re-injury but this can be reduced with the correct treatment. From my experience this has more to do with incorrect treatment, poor management and incorrect rehabilitation. Injuries heal! Your back is strong and designed to move. Injuries are very rarely permanent and only a very very small percentage of them require surgery. 2. When I hurt my back I need to lie down Bed rest has actually been shown to be worse for back pain than active recovery. It prolongs your recovery time, and actually increases the chances of recurrence. It delays your rehabilitation and you also end up stiffer, weaker and more sensitized to your pain. Try and stay active (even if you can only tolerate a little bit of activity) and try to move normally. |
3. I need a scan for my back to see what’s wrong
Recent studies have shown that early imaging for acute low back pain is actually associated with slower recovery and increased health care costs. People who have NEVER had back pain also have findings that people might interpret as ‘damage’ on scans. The brain is a powerful thing and early scans (and poor understanding of what those scans actually represent) medicalises patients, this convinces them that there is something ‘wrong’ or ‘damaged’ when in fact they probably had exactly the same findings before they suffered from pain (eg. Disc bulge or arthritis). Numerous studies have shown that findings on MRI/CT/x-ray do not correlate to pain or loss of function. See the graph on the right as an indication of just how common this is: |
4. My Back is weak
Your back/spine is an amazing design which allows great strength while maintaining mobility and protection for your spinal cord. Not only is there a lot of thick strong bones but there is lots and lots of connective tissue and ligaments, as well as muscles around your spine to keep it functioning well. You can transmit and tolerate significant amounts of weight through your spine. Your back is strong and designed to move. if you have recurring low back pain, you may be suffering from deconditioning of the muscles around your back, or loss of functional movement control. You may also be avoiding certain movements and actually aggravating your pain by doing so. People need rehabilitation to ensure they get back to 100% strength and function after any injury, and back injuries are no different. Your spine itself, however, will heal and recover. |
5. My back is ‘out’ and needs to be put back in… that’s why my back hurts
At Ormeau Physio we hear this everyday, while the description of something going ‘out’ in your spine is an easy way to describe and understand a complex problem, it is actually physiologically incorrect. As you saw in the image above, there is significant ligaments and soft tissue structures stabilising your spine. Your ankle does not go out so why should your back Your joints simply cannot go ‘out’ and ‘back in’. Not without dislocating them (which would hurt a lot more).
” but what about when I have my back cracked?” I hear you ask. “doesn’t that mean it is going back in?”
Well, no. Think about another part of your body – your knuckles. Chances are you, or someone you know, cracks their knuckles regularly. Were their knuckles ‘out’? Or subluxed/dislocated before you cracked them? Are they ‘back in’ now?
No. Cavitation (the technical term for cracking) occurs when you stretch two synovial joint surfaces apart quickly. It affects the surface tension between the two joint surfaces, and the pressure and volume within the joint. This results in a ‘crack’.
(And before any of you get too picky, yes sometimes something in your body could possibly be dislocated/subluxed, and will crack when it is enlocated. But that’s not what we’re talking about with back pain though).
6. My back aches all the time and there’s nothing I can do about it
If you’ve read some or all of this you now know there is lots of things that physios can help with.
My general advice for people with acute back pain is to stay active and seek a physios help ASAP within the first 48-72 hours is optimal.
Even if your back will “fix itself” As I mentioned, the rate of recurrence is quite high, which has a lot to do with good management and proper rehabilitation following the initial injury.
If you have had more than 2 episodes in a calendar year it is a good idea to see your physiotherapist to get an idea of what you’ve done and what needs to be done to get better. We can also help to speed up that recovery time, and ensure you aren’t one of the unlucky ones with ongoing low back pain (or recurrent pain).
The key to good management and the fastest recovery is accurate assessment and diagnosis. You can then identify the optimal management for your individual situation to recover as fast as possible and reduce the risk of recurrence as much as possible.
Unfortunately, too many people either just take pain killers (especially codeine) and do nothing about it. Or you get caught up in the myths and end up taking longer to get better. A back injury is really no different to any other injury. People often just don’t get the correct rehabilitation.
If your back pain is constant, recurring or stopping you from doing things please get in touch and see how we can help you get back to normal faster.
At Ormeau Physio we hear this everyday, while the description of something going ‘out’ in your spine is an easy way to describe and understand a complex problem, it is actually physiologically incorrect. As you saw in the image above, there is significant ligaments and soft tissue structures stabilising your spine. Your ankle does not go out so why should your back Your joints simply cannot go ‘out’ and ‘back in’. Not without dislocating them (which would hurt a lot more).
” but what about when I have my back cracked?” I hear you ask. “doesn’t that mean it is going back in?”
Well, no. Think about another part of your body – your knuckles. Chances are you, or someone you know, cracks their knuckles regularly. Were their knuckles ‘out’? Or subluxed/dislocated before you cracked them? Are they ‘back in’ now?
No. Cavitation (the technical term for cracking) occurs when you stretch two synovial joint surfaces apart quickly. It affects the surface tension between the two joint surfaces, and the pressure and volume within the joint. This results in a ‘crack’.
(And before any of you get too picky, yes sometimes something in your body could possibly be dislocated/subluxed, and will crack when it is enlocated. But that’s not what we’re talking about with back pain though).
6. My back aches all the time and there’s nothing I can do about it
If you’ve read some or all of this you now know there is lots of things that physios can help with.
My general advice for people with acute back pain is to stay active and seek a physios help ASAP within the first 48-72 hours is optimal.
Even if your back will “fix itself” As I mentioned, the rate of recurrence is quite high, which has a lot to do with good management and proper rehabilitation following the initial injury.
If you have had more than 2 episodes in a calendar year it is a good idea to see your physiotherapist to get an idea of what you’ve done and what needs to be done to get better. We can also help to speed up that recovery time, and ensure you aren’t one of the unlucky ones with ongoing low back pain (or recurrent pain).
The key to good management and the fastest recovery is accurate assessment and diagnosis. You can then identify the optimal management for your individual situation to recover as fast as possible and reduce the risk of recurrence as much as possible.
Unfortunately, too many people either just take pain killers (especially codeine) and do nothing about it. Or you get caught up in the myths and end up taking longer to get better. A back injury is really no different to any other injury. People often just don’t get the correct rehabilitation.
If your back pain is constant, recurring or stopping you from doing things please get in touch and see how we can help you get back to normal faster.