 |
| Favia Dubyk on her hangboard |
Fact 1: LBP is not a serious life-threatening condition.
Fact 2: Most episodes of LBP improve and LBP does not get worse as we age.
Fact 3: A negative mindset, fear-avoidance behavior, negative recovery expectations, and poor pain coping behaviors are more strongly associated with persistent pain than is tissue damage.
Fact 4: Scans do not determine prognosis of LBP, the likelihood of future LBP disability, and do not improve LBP clinical outcomes.
Fact 5: Graduated exercise and movement in all directions is safe and healthy for the spine.
Fact 6: Spine posture during sitting, standing and lifting does not predict LBP or its persistence.
Fact 7: A weak core does not cause LBP, and some people with LBP tend to overtense their core muscles. while it is good to keep the trunk muscles strong, it is also helpful to relax them when they aren't needed.
Fact 8: Spine movement and loading is safe and builds structural resilience when it is graded.
Fact 9: Pain flare-ups are more related to changes in activity, stress and mood rather than structural damage.
Fact 10: Effective care for LBP is relatively cheap and safe. This includes: education that is patient-centered and fosters a positive mindset, and coaching people to optimize their physical and mental health (such as engaging in physical activity and exercise, social activities, healthy sleep habits and body weight, and remaining in employment.
There you have it. Quite different from what you have been told, read or heard. We seek to help patients confidently take up different postures, movement, graded loading physical activity, social and work engagement so you can live healthily. There are free educational resources to support these processes if you do have low back pain and have not seen us in our clinics.
You can watch this Youtube video or visit this site for more details. This will help reduce stress and build self sufficiency for you to better self mange your LBP and make better informed choices about your care.
In my next post, I will address how strengthening your 'core' (Transverse Abdominis and Multifidus) muscles was rapidly adopted by the Pilates, Physiotherapy and fitness community and if we should continue down that path.
References
Lin I, Wiles L, Waller R et al (2019). What does Best Practice care for Musculoskeletal Pain Look Like? Eleven Consistent Recommendations From High-quality Clinical Practice Guidelines: Systematic Review. BJSM. DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2018-099878
O' Sullivan PB, Caneiro JP et al (2019). Back To Basics: 10 Facts Every Person Should Know About Back Pain. BJSM. DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2019-101611.
Recently, a business associate shared with me an intriguing story about someone with back pain...
ReplyDeleteMichelle Onoff is a successful yoga instructor. Yet for some reason, she suffered with lower back pain.
As a chiropractor, and someone in the healthcare field, I was fascinated by this.
I don't know about you, but I was under the impression that yoga instructors, given their active, stretch-filled, muscle-focused, posture-perfect profession and lifestyle, would be the LAST PEOPLE ON EARTH to experience back pain.
Actually, I was kind of shocked.
If a health-minded yoga instructor can be dealt a crippling back pain blow, what does this say about the rest of us?
Here's Michelle story in her own words. I think it'll inspire hope if you're suffering...
"I was feeling very weak in my core area. And I was having some radiating pain in my lower back.
And I was going to the doctors, and they were telling me things like you need to have disc replacement.
You need to have all these surgeries...
You need to be on these pain medications;
And they wanted to put me through a lot of surgical procedures...
I didn’t want to do ANY of that. But the pain was so bad... I needed some relief.
So I went to two neurosurgeons and I went to a back pain specialist...
The surgeons wanted to operate on me in different places...
… and the back pain specialist wanted to do various procedures, including implanting something permanent in my spine.
I’ve had four procedures that involved needles in my spine, epidurals in my spine and that only gave me a little bit of temporary relief for a couple days.
But it did not cure or really help anything.
It just put a band-aid on a pain for couple of days and that was it.
After my first session of Back Pain Relief4Life, I felt an opening in my back that I haven’t felt in a long time.
I felt stronger to my core and I felt that that radiating burning heat pain that I was feeling, seem to dissipate a little bit.
It seemed to just open up my back in general.
And then after my second session today, I noticed EVEN MORE the stretch in my lower back and more strengthening in muscles that had been weak that I think might help support my lower back.
I was VERY SKEPTICAL about doing Back Pain Relief4Life. Because, as I am a yoga instructor, I feel very knowledgeable in anatomy. And how to help people that come to me in pain.
But I was not aware of certain muscles that I was not using in the body that might help my lower back."
- Michelle Onoff
Here's the back pain program she's referring to:
==>Back Pain Relief 4 Life
I share this with you today because if you suffer from back pain (like 3/4 of the population), I'm told this pain relief program WORKS WONDERS.
People, in as little as 16 minutes, have experienced nothing less than total relief. Do nothing more than a specific sequence of 8 simple, pain-relieving movements.
Sounds incredible, but yet Michelle is a prime example.
See for yourself. Especially if you're being told surgery, needles and medication are in your immediate future.
==>Back Pain Relief 4 Life
You've got nothing to lose.
Rajinder Singh
PS: My personal takeaway? Michelle was humble to admit yoga wasn't working for her.
To me? That takes guts.
She was also smart enough to stay away from drugs and surgery when there were other more natural options.
But sometimes, one gets to the point where you'll try ANYTHING to get even a little bit of relief. If you're at that point, I encourage you to check out:
==>Back Pain Relief 4 Life