The Back Pain Manifesto

If you have back pain, I can make you feel better.  You can walk out my door with less pain than you arrived with.  I can virtually guarantee it.

But that relief is temporary.

I'm more in the business of lasting, effective treatment programs.  And that means that under my care, your program is going to be based on exercise, body mechanics, nutrition, and fitness.

Do those things and you will be better.  And if you continue to do your exercises, use good body mechanics, eat right, and stay fit, you will stay better.

You might be surprised to know that most folks don't choose that route.  They want something passive--something where they lay down, get some kind of treatment, and are cured.  In 2-3 visits.

It doesn't work that way.  It takes effort.  And dedication. 

In a discussion about what it takes to stay healthy, a friend argued that I had a job that gave me the time to exercise and an income level that let me do healthy things.

That has very little to do with it. 

Check in with my alarm clock.  It says 4:30 AM.  That's because I've always exercised early.   Get it done before the day gets started.

Right now, it's 6 AM and I'm looking across the gym at a room full of mostly women who are doing a CrossFit class at Cherokee.  Many of them have young children at home so this is the only time they can exercise. 

Check with my boss.  This time of year, I'm working 60+ hours a week (it is football season after all).  During my slow period, I'm still working about 50 hours a week.  So no, my job doesn't give me the time to exercise.  I make it a priority.  I make that choice.

I don't watch television.  When people talk about their new favorite TV show, I have no idea what they're talking about because I don't have a favorite TV show. 

The way I see that equation is that you can either have back pain or favorite TV shows.  Your choice. 

If you would rather watch one of the dozen or more CSI shows, the nighttime soap operas, or something about drug addicts or zombies than feel good, so be it.  My brain doesn't have room for all that.

Sometimes I don't sleep enough but that too is my choice.  I've got too much going on and am perfectly willing to give up an hour of sleep to paint, play with grandkids, ride my bike, paddle, spend time with my wife, do things around my farm, watch a sunset...get the picture?

Again, it's all about choices.  If a little more sleep in the morning is more important than whether or not your back hurts, that's your choice.

There are plenty of people getting rich off of you because you want a quick fix.  You want to walk in and maybe get "adjusted" and that's all it takes.   Or get a prescription for one of those -codone drugs. 

It is never that simple.

And by the way, saying that your pelvis is "misaligned" or that your hips are "out of alignment" is one of the biggest farces perpetuated on the public that history has ever known. I keep a cartoon of two guys laughing hysterically with the caption "my reaction when someone tells me they got their pelvis realigned."

And pain medication relieves pain.  It doesn't correct the problem. 

You want that magic pill that once you take it everything is fine and you go on with your life.  If only life were really that simple.

Somebody told me this week about her daughter  (a teacher) who was allowing a chiropractor to inject her muscles with sugar-water.  First of all, if that chiropractor is doing that, it is highly illegal.  Second, how can a college educated person allow this to be done to their body?  Is there any part of that which even approaches sanity?

You want your back pain to go away? 

#1  Lose weight.  You're overweight.  Probably.

#2  Get good core strength, admittedly hard until you get #1 under control.  Start by walking.

#3  Exercise daily. Daily.  I've got another cartoon that says "if you don't have time to exercise an hour a day do you have time to be dead 24 hours a day?"

#4  Eat better.  If it contains white flour or white sugar, stay away from it.  Dietary fat is not the culprit--carbohydrates are.

#5  Turn off the TV.  Do you really need to sit around any more than you do already?

That's it.

It really isn't that hard but it takes persistence.  You must diligently do all those things.  You must consistently do that which will make you healthy.

The choice is simple.  Either take care of yourself, taking ownership of your health, or keep having back pain. 

One of my frustrations as a physical therapist is that I can work someone through all this, teaching them how to take care of their back and emphasizing a set of exercises that they can do at home.  

Maybe even get them on the road to better fitness and weight control. 

They leave me essentially pain-free with a concrete plan to stay that way. 

And then 2 years later they show up with the same problem. "Are you still doing the exercises I taught you?"  Uh....no.

They had the tools to stay healthy and pain free but for a million different reasons (excuses) they didn't follow through.

So they keep returning with the same problem.  Or get frustrated and start trying things to which there is no scientific basis. 

And about that...before you start some treatment out of the mainstream, check it out.  Get online and look it up.  If there is no scientific basis for it, why would you consider it?

If all it has going for it are testimonials and no research to back it up, smart people would stop right there.  Sure, we don't know everything, but if there is proof positive that it doesn't work or even that it might cause long term negative effects, why go there?

Ask the tough questions.  Expect tough answers. 

It's all on you.