You know what it's like!
You innocently bend over to pick something up just like you've done a thousand times before without a problem and you feel a muscle grab in your back and instantly you know you're in trouble.
Trying to straighten up is more than a little painful so you quickly seek out the nearest chair and sink into it, wondering if you are ever going to be able to get out of it again.
You start remembering all the things you had to do... and now can't.
"I won't be able to do the lawns tomorrow,....... that's not so bad,...... I'll have to sit and watch sport on television all day, ....great, oh but I won't be able to go to Johnny's soccer in the morning like I promised him, ...........and gee I've got that big meeting interstate in two days".
Trying to move tells you that all is not good and you reach for the telephone to ring your doctor friend. " I've never had a back pain before doc, in fact we used to make fun of the guys at work who complained of back pain, told them they were soft, but this is incredible, every time I try to move it's agony."
"You've probably just pulled a muscle if moving is the only time you get pain. It's quite common,” you're told. “You should just put ice on the painful area to settle the inflammation down and rest for a few days, then come and see me Monday if it still hurts and I'll have a look at it."
"A couple of days resting suits me fine doctor but can you assure me it will go away by then, I've got a golf game to play next week and the last thing I need is an extra handicap."
A couple of days later your pain is feeling marginally better, the inflammation is gone because you've hardly moved for two days. Getting to the doctors is no fun and for the whole trip your back continually aches. By the time you get there it is quite inflamed again and during examination the area looks red and feels hot.
"It seems to be just a muscular problem. Get these prescriptions filled and take them for three weeks. Rest up as much as possible and don't do anything that aggravates it so, no golf or other exercise that uses your back muscles. Walking is ok it if doesn't give you pain. If it's no better after the 3 weeks then come back and we can try something else."
As you leave with your diagnosis....."muscular strain" , you can only hope his approach will do the trick. You've got your scripts for anti-inflammatory tablets to "relieve the pain" and analgesics, "to relax the muscles".
It's not that a doctor ever intends to waste your time and money or give you drugs that are not good for your general health. It's just that for years medical practitioners have believed, and told their patients, that 80 to 90% of lower back pain attacks will clear up on their own in 6 to 12 weeks regardless of the treatment they receive or even with no treatment. They believe that giving you some drugs to take for that period of time will help to keep you up and about and more comfortable while the problem rights itself.
Unbeknown to many MD's, this belief has been dispelled by a study that appeared in the British Medical Journal some years ago. The study concluded that this myth came about as a result of figures based on the MD's appointment book. The fact is, when the majority of patients go to an MD for lower back pain and the treatment does not effectively address the problem, the patient does not return for further treatment.
Naturally, the doctors took this to mean their patient had recovered. They never considered their treatment had been ineffective and the patient was looking elsewhere for a solution and didn't want to be rude or complain.
"What the heck, the healthcare program paid the bill so it's easier to just move on without a confrontation. After all, the doctor has been helpful in the past and he has been looking after the family for years."
The problem is that too many people are thinking this way and the message isn't getting back to the MD's. The authors of the study also found that,
"Three months after the initial consultation with their general practitioner, only a minority of patients with low back pain had fully recovered. In fact there was little increase in the proportion who had reported recovery by 12 months, emphasising the recurrent and persistent nature of the problem. However most patients with lower back pain did not return to their doctor about their pain within 3 months of their initial consultation, and only 8% continued to consult for more than 3 months.
If the doctor had told you this at the time of your consultation you may well have asked for some anti depressants to go with your anti -inflammatory and analgesics. In fact you may still need them because, if you are one of the unlucky majority whose pain settles in and becomes either chronic or recurring, you will be undertaking a long and depressing search trying to find a solution for your problem. This, just to return to the life that you remember when you were doing all the things you wanted to, without worrying about how you would feel the next day.
If on the other hand your doctor was one of the few who is well informed and told you that back pain does not clear up on its own and the commonly prescribed treatments are not providing a solution, the question then becomes, "Where do I go to find a cure?"
The drugs are great if they make you feel fine in the short term, although they can affect the quality of your work and your health. But after taking them for 3 weeks the pain is still there and the doctor is saying it's time to try something else like physiotherapy, chiropractic, acupuncture or massage, the choice will vary depending on the doctor.
You probably found that the physiotherapist prescribed exercises and stretching which aggravated your problem and a chiropractic adjustment only lasted for a short time if it didn't irritate it.
Acupuncture doesn't seem to do much at all and although the massage feels good when they stop, it's painful while it's being done. But none of them provided long term relief and in no time your pain returned. You are still unable to do any exercise, sit down or stand up for long periods without discomfort. I would also bet that you have begun to feel really tired lately as well...and all you did was bend down to pick something up, what was all that about ?.........." What are those anti-depressants called again?"
While you are going around seeing people about your pain you start to realise that every therapist is very confident they can fix your problem, they know exactly what's wrong and " will have you up and about in no time ."
But, unless you are one of the lucky few, you will find that they are all making promises they are unable to keep and after many visits and spending a lot of money with each one, you begin to worry about your long term prognosis. "Is it just me? Am I the only one who doesn't get better?" ... continues
To download your own FREE copy of 'The Bad Back Book' along with 2 FREE bonuses "How to Fix Pain Using Massage and Bodywork' plus get access to a 70 minutes talk Steve Lockhart did on the subject at a recent workshop CLICK HERE.
Next Chapter: Feeling the Pain. Return to Contents page.