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7 Back Pain Mistakes Keeping You In Pain... |
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| By Jesse Cannone |
Back
Pain? Neck Pain? Sciatica?
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In working with tens of thousands of clients over the years, the folks at
the
Healthy Back Institute have found that there are a number of common mistakes
people make in trying to find relief from back pain.
Here are the top seven mistakes we make that cause back pain...
Mistake #1: Continuing to do what doesn't work
Why would anyone keep going to a health care professional for months and
months without seeing any improvement? Beats me. But before coming to us,
one of our clients actually went through 70 treatments with a chiropractor -
and got no relief at all.
Our advisory panel suggests that you don't go beyond a three-month period
without improvement before considering making a change. It's not the number
of treatments as much as it is the need to be seeing steady gains.
At the very least, you should insist on getting a monthly evaluation of your
progress. You need to be clear that there is a plan of care, and that a
proper diagnosis has been made.
Mistake #2: Not dealing with pain the first time
Many people will experience back pain that lasts a few days and then they
forget about it when the pain disappears, rather than making the effort to
identify and address the cause of the pain.
Here's an example. About 10 years ago, my mother had her first bout of back
pain. She had back spasms for a few days, then the pain went away and she
went on with her life. Two years later, it came back - much worse than
before. It got so bad she couldn't work. If she had dealt with it in the
beginning, I doubt that it would have come back. Even if it had, it wouldn't
have been nearly as bad.
When you have a fall or some other accident, it's easy to figure out why
your back hurts. But in most cases, your back pain could be caused by any
number of things. You need to know what conditions are developing in your
body and more important what is causing those conditions are developing in
the first place.
Mistake #3: Thinking you're too fit to
have back pain
You may eat right, exercise regularly, and be in good health, but that
doesn't mean you can't experience back pain. Having been a personal trainer
for many years, I've seen lots of people in excellent shape who suddenly
found themselves with lower back trouble.
The reality is that people who exercise frequently are just as likely - if
not more so - to develop back pain. Certain groups of athletes - runners,
cyclists, swimmers, dancers, gymnasts, bodybuilders - are prime candidates
for back problems.
Cyclists, for example, almost without exception have serious muscle
imbalances in the lower body - primarily their quads, hamstrings, hip
flexors, and glutes. This is because the constant repetitive motion of
peddling a bicycle overworks one set of muscles while under working other
muscles.
The same thing can happen to non-athletes. Even if you don't do any of the
above-mentioned activities, your workout program can create muscle
imbalances if you're concentrating too heavily on certain areas of your body
and neglecting others. Fit or not you will be in trouble.
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FREE Guide #2:
Most cases of sciatica can be wiped out in just days and often with just a handful of simple exercises and stretches... but you have to know which exact ones YOU need to do. Learn about the 4 primary causes of sciatica, how to find out which is causing your pain and which treatments will work for your specific situation. |
Mistake #4: Treating only the symptoms
The majority of the treatments people receive for back pain - cortisone
shots, anti-inflammatory drugs, ultrasound, electrical stimulation, and the
like - address only the symptoms. You must understand that pain is merely a
signal that something is wrong. Even if you get rid of the pain, the problem
is still going to be there.
Here's an illustration: Suppose the oil light comes on in your car. You
could put a piece of duct tape over the light - which would eliminate the
aggravation. But it's not going to solve the problem. Your engine is still
going to need attention. And its only a matter of time before it will shut
down unless you do something. It's the same with pain.
You're hurting because your body is going through abnormal changes and those
changes are causing abnormal postural condition and those abnormal postural
condition are causing your muscles, joints and ligament to function under
increased stress and strain and they will eventually fail causing a
condition to be very painful, like a herniated disc.
Mistake #5: Not understanding that back pain is a process
Most of the time, back pain and sciatica take weeks, months, or even years
to develop. But you're not aware that there's a problem until something
starts to hurt. Rarely is back pain the result of a one-time incident.
Barring an injury, it just doesn't happen overnight.
Consider this story from Steve Hefferon:
When his child was learning to walk, he put up a baby gate at the foot of
the stairs. Being lazy, Steve would lift his leg over the gate rather than
opening it and walking through. He did this more than 30 times a day.
One
afternoon, he was cutting the grass and felt a radiating pain in his butt.
The next time he cut the grass, the same thing happened. He eventually
figured out that the awkward movement of stepping over the gate time after
time had created a muscle imbalance. Driving to work, sitting at a desk, or
performing some other seemingly routine activity can do the same thing.
By now you're probably wondering: What exactly is a muscle
imbalance?
Try this analogy: You're driving your car down the road and your front end
is out of alignment. This is going to cause your tires to wear unevenly.
This can also happen to your muscles.
To take this a bit further, let's do something we call the Glute Squeeze
Test (Do not attempt this if you've had a total hip replacement).
Stand up and put your heels together, with your toes pointing out - like a
duck (at least at a 90 degree angle). Now, clench your butt muscles. Reach
back and feel how tight they are. Relax. Next, turn your toes inward as far
as you can. Now, with your toes touching, try to tighten your butt muscles.
You can't tighten them nearly as much, can you?
The reason is that your muscles are in an unfamiliar position - they're
simply not used to working this way, so they're not as strong. This should
give you some idea of what a muscle imbalance is like.
If you correct the imbalance, the condition that's causing the pain will go
away. The good news is that it's easy to find out where these muscle
imbalances and postural dysfunctions are on your own body. In 30 minutes or
less if you know what to look for.
Once you know where these imbalances are, you can work toward correcting
them by doing a combination of targeted exercises, stretches, and self
treatments specifically designed for your condition. Another important thing
to keep in mind: X-rays, MRIs, and CT (cat) scans do not reveal muscle
imbalances or postural imbalance...
Mistake #6: The "I've Tried Everything" Syndrome
You tell yourself that there's nothing out there that you don't know about,
that surgery is the only option left, or - even worse - that you'll just
have to learn to live with the pain.
I can almost guarantee you that you haven't tried a head-to-toe assessment,
which is absolutely essential for identifying your muscle imbalances. I'd be
willing to bet that your doctor, chiropractor, or physical therapist hasn't
done them.
I've worked with a lot of chiropractors, so I have a pretty good idea how
most of them operate. Maybe 10 to 15 percent of them will do a head-to-toe
assessment. The rest do a single manipulation - and nothing else. This will
probably work for a while. But then you're going to find yourself having to
go back three to four times a week - until the insurance runs out.
Mistake #7: Not taking control
No one knows your body as well as you do, and nobody cares about your health
as much as you do. Even if you're working with a great professional, you
still need to educate yourself.
Unfortunately, most people don't know much about how their own body works,
let alone what actually causes back pain and how to get rid of it. Patients
who are knowledgeable get better and faster results. Make the decision to be
active in your own rehab.
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FREE Guide #3:
Herniated Disc Healing Miracles Diagnosed with a herniated disc? Been told by your doctor that surgery is the only option? Then you'll definitely want to read this guide because you'll learn about the real cause of herniated discs and how to heal them and get lasting relief without dangerous medications or risky surgery. |
Here's what you need to do:
1. If what you're doing isn't working...STOP!
Whatever treatment you're trying, you must see steady improvement.
Otherwise, you need to make a change.
2. Deal with the problem NOW
Waiting will only make things worse.
3. Recognize that fit people have muscle imbalances, too
Athletes, in fact, may actually be at greater risk.
4. Treat the symptoms AND the cause
Getting rid of pain is not the way to long term relief.
5. Remember, it's a process
Your condition didn't happen overnight, and it's not going to go away
overnight.
6. Be open-minded and positive
If you try something new and believe it will work, then it just might.
Negative thoughts guarantee failure.
7. Take control and take action
Don't go to a doctor and sit there with your mouth shut. If they throw a
word at you that you don't understand - ask what it means.
In the end, the power is in your hands...
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Success Story "50
Years of Chronic Back Jerry
Tarman had suffered from chronic back pain on and off for over 50
years. Like most people, he had tried it all... chiropractors,
physical therapy, he even overdosed on tylenol but nothing gave him
lasting relief until he discovered muscle balance therapy. |
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