Chronic Low Back Pain, How Do We Fix It?

  • February 8, 2017

More often than not, individuals attend physical therapy for low back pain psychologically defeated. They have heard from their physician, healthcare professional, or neighbor that their chronic low back pain is a result of their herniated disc or degenerated spine, both of which are untreatable without surgery and pharmaceuticals. The truth is, pain is not generated from the spine, nor is low back surgery appropriate in a majority of chronic pain cases.

woman with a chronic low back pain

Picture this: It started as an ache, a small discomfort in your low back after a long day at the office. No biggie, you think, this will be gone by lunchtime. But it doesn’t leave. Two years and five doctor visits later you’re stuck in a cycle of chronic low back pain, wondering whether another round of cortisone injections is the solution. Maybe you’re considering surgery, like a lower spine fusion or a discectomy. Does this sound familiar?

As a society, we have been taught to believe that pain, especially low back pain, is always the result of musculoskeletal damage. Patients see X-rays that reveal arthritis and MRIs that contain bulging discs, and we falsely correlate our pain experience to these findings. Often times as healthcare providers, we encourage this thought by promoting the idea that pain = damage. It’s incorrect! Butler and Moseley write, “(discs) degenerate naturally. Degeneration is a normal part of aging of all tissues. It does not have to contribute to a pain experience.

At least 30% of people who have no low back pain have (discs) bulging into their spinal canal, sometimes markedly.

This fact has been known for many years but it is still not common knowledge among the general public” (Butler Moseley, pg. 54). Additionally “In a systematic study that reviewed medical imaging, more than 90% of imaging in people over 60 years old showed degenerative changes of the spine.” (Brinjikji et. al, 2015) If the disc isn’t causing pain, then what is? And why doesn’t my low back ease up with a warm bath and the latest Adele album?

Take a look at my latest low back pain article on Rehab Renegade and consider physical therapy to restore a painfree lifestyle: http://rehabrenegade.com/back-pain-strengthen-brain/

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