09/09/2017
What a pain in the ….Back
Ever wake up with excruciating back pain that made you feel miserable? Join the club. Nearly 80% of the country experiences an episode of acute low back pain. This type of back pain is the second leading cause of disability in US adults. It will often lead to missed days at work and limit the activities you do daily. One research article estimated that per year, there are 149 million days of work that missed due to back pain (1). This comes at a huge expense cost to our country. The estimate is that back pain costs the US 100-200 billion dollars annually (2). There is some ambiguity in estimating direct, indirect and total cost, however the truth is that back pain is a substantial burden on people and society. So you and 8 out 10 people will have back pain, is there any hope on making a recovery? Yes, the plus side is that 95% of these episodes will recover within as little as a couple of days anywhere up to a month. It is very rare to have back pain that lasts longer than 3 months, if the factor causing the pain is properly managed.
What kind of treatments do people seek? Often times people seek treatment via visiting the ER or urgent care, obtaining spinal injections, getting a prescription medication, a referral to a physical therapists or they visit their local chiropractor. Data suggests that back pain is increasing and some speculate this to be due to our increased amount of seated jobs and decreased physical activity. One slogan currently in circulation states, “sitting is the new smoking”. Sadly, the numbers seem to confirm that as we have become more “advanced” with our computer jobs, we suffer from less physical activity. Less physical activity seems to be “breaking our backs” more than than physical labor.
What can you do to support your own back health? Studies continue to show that maintaining a healthy and regular exercise routine is still essential in maintaining overall health. If you find yourself waking up with an episode of acute back pain, try and figure out which direction it hurts to move. If bending forward to tie your shoes is painful, bring your leg up on a chair so you don’t have to bend forward. Try bending backwards or to one side. Did that help decrease the pain? If so try doing 5 reps in that direction to decrease symptoms. The next step would be learning to bend at the hips instead of with your back. As a local chiropractor, I can’t tell you how many times I retrain people how to sit, stand, and bend with proper biomechanics. We have often trained ourselves out of moving with healthy habits, as it is energetically favorable. By learning to move efficiently you decrease stress to the spine and its attachments leading to longevity in your back health. Finally, moving may hurt and be uncomfortable, but try to keep moving. The research shows that laying in bed does NOT help and may actually cause the back complaint to last longer! Attempting to walk in an upright fashion is one way you begin living a normal life again. If you should ever wake up in excruciating pain reach out to a direct access doctor. Direct access doctors are those who doesn’t require a referral. Some examples include the urgent care where they have nurse practioners (NP), physician assistants (PA), and medical doctors (MD) on staff, or you can reach out to a local doctor of chiropractic (DC). If you decide to see your urgent care, they may prescribe you a temporary pain relief medication and refer you to a physical therapist (PT). No matter what path you choose, realize that there is help and often you can begin practicing with the simple steps above.
Disclosure -IThis information is not intended to constitute legal nor medical advice and should not be
relied upon in lieu of consultation with appropriate legal or medical advisers in your own jurisdiction. If you should be in really severe pain, have an intense fever, feel faint and/or feel using the restroom is difficult seek urgent medical attention or call 911.
1. Guo HR, Tanaka S, Halperin WE, Cameron LL. Back pain prevalence in US industry and estimates of lost workdays. Am J Public Health. 1999;89(7):1029–1035
2. Katz JN. Lumbar disc disorders and low-back pain: socioeconomic factors and consequences. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2006;88(Suppl 2):21–24.
About the author-
Richard Wright is a chiropractor at Grace and Active care in Arcata, CA who utilizes advanced active care and sports rehab approaches to get his patients feeling their best. He has a master’s in sports and exercise science and specializes in health approaches that empower patients to move better.
