Back Pain

One of the most difficult things to deal with in health care is back pain.  Statistics tell us that 80% of Americans will have a significant episode of back pain at some point in their life but that other 20% probably has had an episode of back pain that was not bad enough to seek health care but still a problem.

More U.S. dollars are spent on back and neck care than any other medical condition yet we seem to be making little headway in fighting the pain and disability they bring.

The gamut of things that are used to treat back pain boggles the mind.  In physical therapy, it's a big part of what we do. 

My clinical practice for most of the last 25 years has focused on extremity orthopedics (Prior to that, it was pretty much everything orthopedic).  

Knees, shoulders, feet, ankles.  Sports injuries.  But because of the demand, I'm seeing a lot of patients with back pain these days. 

So what do we do with those patients?

Dealing with back pain is a complex, complicated affair.  Lots of treatments give you temporary relief.  I can help most patients feel better.  But what we are trying to do in physical therapy is to provide you with effective, lasting treatment.

Sometimes we help the patient to manage their back pain.  Back pain that has been severe and constant that becomes mild and infrequent--well that is often a successful outcome. 

Sometimes the back problem is structural to the extent that we can't help you.  A lot of times, surgery can.  Effective surgical interventions save a lot of people from lifetime back problems.

It is my opinion that there are several key ingredients to treating back pain.  Most of them are on you.

#1  Exercise daily.  As in every day.  Walking is usually great for back pain.  Consult a professional.

#2  Lose weight (if you need to).  Back pain is not strictly the curse of the obese but it doesn't help.

#3  Build core strength.  What is core strength?  Basically your trunk.  Pretty much everything from your armpit to your kneecaps.

#4  Eat better.  In sports, we have a saying "garbage in, garbage out."  Good health demands good eating.  Fewer carbs, fewer desserts.  Abandon sodas.  Read ingredients.

#5  Sleep!  Most of us don't get enough (I don't).  But proper rest is essential to dealing with the physical demands of the day.

#6  Watch less TV.  Do you really need to sit more?

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.  It is the only thing that really works.

In a lot of ways, your physical therapist becomes your partner in health care.  It's our job to recognize the many challenges (not everyone can afford to eat well, not everyone has time to exercise every day) and strategize with you about how to overcome those challenges.

October is National Physical Therapy month.  Sure, this has been a little self-serving but my profession has done a good job of leading the research on what truly works with back pain.