6 Back Pain Myths Which Cause Repeated Back Pain

Are you experiencing back pain? You are not alone.

Here are some statistics. According to a survey held in 2014 and 2015, 1 in 6 Australians has back pain. According to Global Burden of Disease 2010, low back pain is the single leading cause of disability worldwide. But, the good news is you can completely recover and lead a healthy life. We are here to help you.
While anyone can get back pain, do you know what is making back pain tougher to heal? It’s incorrect treatment and improper maintenance. All this is because of certain myths that people carry. Just by getting them right, you can have a healthy back forever!

​Here are six most common myths around the back pain that I often hear from my patients:
1.    My Back is stuffed and will be like this forever
2.    When I hurt my back, I need to lie down
3.    I need a scan for my back to see what’s wrong
4.    My Back is weak
5.    My back is ‘out’ and needs to be put back in… that’s why my back hurts
6.    My back aches all the time, and there’s nothing I can do about it
 
Let’s get them busted by getting to the basics.
Talking about the structure of your back, the back is designed to be strong and flexible. You have a backbone which is medically known as the spine. Your spine is a series of bones held together by your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and discs as you can see in this picture.
Getting to the terminologies,
*A muscle is a bundle of fibrous tissue which helps you produce movement and keep the position of different parts of your body. No muscle means, just a lump of bones, with no position. Trapezius, latissimus dorsi, teres major, and teres minor are few of the major muscles of your back.
*A tendon is a flexible cord made of fibre which attaches your muscles to your bones.
*A ligament is a band of flexible but tough fibrous tissue which connects your bones such as in a joint.
*A disc is flat and circular connective tissue. It connects the vertebrae/ bones of your backbone.
​
 Any issue with your bones/ muscles/ tendons/ ligaments/ discs present in your back can give you back pain.
While right treatment helps you heal your injuries and brings you entirely back to normal, wrong treatment can severely damage your back and keep you off work for long.
 
Right treatment begins with finding the root cause of your back pain.
Strain or sprain are the most common causes of back pain. While an injury to your muscle is known as strain, an injury to your ligament is known as a sprain.

Here are the most common causes of back pain:
1.    Accidental injury such as a fractured vertebrae/ a ruptured disk
2.    Diseases such as arthritis, osteoporosis, and infections such as kidney infection
*Arthritis is a disease where there are inflamed joints. Pain, redness, higher temperature, and difficulty to move are few of the signs of inflammation.
Osteoporosis is a disease where bones are brittle and easily prone to fracture, and this is because they have lost calcium.
3.    An improper posture at work or posture changes such as sleeping in a wrong way or lifting something heavy can also cause strain/ sprain.
 
Risk factors
Now talking about the risk factors, risk factors are specific factors that can make you more prone to back pain. If you exercise lesser than you should or if you are overweight or if you are a senior citizen, you carry a higher risk of a backache.
 
Here are few facts about your back pain
Back pain can be mild or severe.
For some of you, it may come and go, but for others, it may be so severe that it interferes with your day to day lives.
 
When should you see your doctor?
Sometimes when you have severe back pain, it may go on its own. But, may come back after some time. If you experience two such episodes, it’s a great idea to see your physiotherapist who will treat you accordingly to make your back stronger. This will make sure you have no to fewer episodes of back pain, your back pain is less intense and not going towards the worse side.
 
Treatment

1. Do not take rest! 
The first thing that you should remember about treating your back pain is, it gets worse with rest. Though challenging, move as much as you can and this, in turn, helps you heal.

2. Apply heat/cold 
You may want to opt for the over the counter medicines. However, pain relievers/ painkiller medicines can only give you temporary relief. Instead drink warm to hot water. Apply heat or cold to the paining area. They relieve pain by acting in a similar way that analgesics/ painkiller medicines do.

3. Go for rehabilitation 
If your back aches with your usual, day to day activities, your muscles may be deconditioned. If your muscles are not active enough, they start losing the muscle mass, and this is known as deconditioning. You can bring back your muscle with the help of your physiotherapist, and we call it rehabilitation.

4. Treat your injury 
If you have an injury, make sure you meet your doctor/ physiotherapist. They can locate the exact site of injury and treat you right to avoid further damage and to promote faster recovery.

5. Act fast 
If you experience acute/ severe pain which doesn’t let you move but is not the result of an injury, make sure you meet your doctor at the earliest. If you can reach your doctor within 48 hours, you can recover faster.

6. You don’t need a scan/ surgery 
Very few cases of back pain need an investigation such as scans. We recommend that only when it’s utmost needed. Surgery is very rarely required.

7. Exercise regularly 
Remember to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, and this will help you keep an ideal weight and will help you with a stronger back.
 
Now that you have an idea about the mechanism, causes, and treatment of your back pain, let’s get your myths busted:

1. My Back is stuffed and will be like this forever 
Though most of the patients feel that, it isn’t true. Your back is a part of your body. It’s like any other body part, say a rolled ankle. As the rolled ankle heals, your back also heals. You may carry an increased risk of injury but we can make sure you don’t.

2. When I hurt my back, I need to lie down 
Bed rest delays your healing and increases the chances of repeat aches.

3. I need a scan for my back to see what’s wrong 
Most of the times, you do not need a scan. On the contrary, a scan can damage your back. Research says scans may not be reliable especially in the early stages of back injury. Many a times, the scan results for a normal healthy individual may indicate an issue though the individual is completely alright. That is why we recommend a scan only when it’s utmost needed. If you order a scan unnecessarily, you might be tricking your brain to believe that something is wrong. Human brain is more powerful than we assume.

4. My Back is weak 
Your back is powerful and is designed to move. If it aches with usual activities, you may be having deconditioned muscles. When you experience deconditioning, you may be avoiding certain movements and that itself can worsen your deconditioning. We can help you bring your muscles back to normal.

5. My back is ‘out’ and needs to be put back in… that’s why my back hurts 
This is incorrect physiologically. Your back is held in place with so many muscles, ligaments, and tendons that it does not dislocate. If it does as in rare cases such as an accident, it is going to hurt you much more than you can imagine.

​6. My back aches all the time, and there’s nothing I can do about it 
​Stay as active as you can and meet your doctor as soon as possible. If you reach your doctor within 48 hours, you can recover faster. Rehabilitation and right management is the key.
 
If you want to get well soon and prevent further episodes of back pain meet us at Physio Labs. We have a dedicated team of experts to help you with various treatment options such as physiotherapy, acupuncture, massage, and Pilates. 

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