Back Pain Misconceptions

When it comes to health, few issues are quite so universal as lower back pain. The condition can impact anyone, at any time, for a wide variety of reasons.

The statistics regarding lower back pain make for rather grim reading; you can see them for yourself on TheGoodBody.com. These stats make it clear just how big a problem back pain is to almost every section of society. Back pain is responsible for thousands of hours of lost productivity to businesses and unnecessary pain to individuals, so you would think it was a subject that is well understood.

Sadly, this is not the case. While we may all know that back pain exists, we tend to have terrible ideas about how the condition should be managed. Here are three things everyone tends to get wrong about back pain…

Bed Rest Is The Best Treatment For Back Pain

Back pain being ‘treated’ with extensive periods of rest is a staple for TV shows and movies, and it’s likely something you have heard in real life as well. In fact, some doctors will tell patients to rest until the situation improves, so it’s not difficult to see where this misunderstanding has come from.

In truth, experiencing back pain does not mean that you should immediately take to your bed until you feel better. The general consensus nowadays is that a bad back will benefit more from gentle exercise, such swimming, than a long resting period.

Back Pain Is Caused By Injuries

If you have ever seen a health and safety video in your workplace, you will have seen descriptions of back pain being caused by direct injuries; twisting badly or practicing improper lifting technique. These videos, and general knowledge of them, have caused many people to think there always needs to be an accident or fall to cause back pain.

This is not the case. Back pain can be caused by repetitive motion; better known as Repetitive Stress Injury, a condition that worsens over time. Back pain can also be caused by seemingly innocuous issues such as sleeping on the wrong mattress. You don’t need a big injury event to suffer from back pain.

So the next time your back is sore, examine your sitting position at work and see if this may be causing the issue. Furthermore, the next time you buy a mattress, you should find out which option will provide the best support for your back.

Back Pain Is Incurable

Back problems are often seen as a fixture in life; when you have had an issue once, you will have it again.

However, nothing could be further from the truth. If you rehab your back pain properly with gentle exercise and strengthen your core muscles, there’s no reason you shouldn’t make a full recovery. Provided you don’t exacerbate the issue in the future, there’s also no reason the issue should return.

When you bust through these common misconceptions about back pain, you can look forward to a happier, healthier, more productive future. Enjoy!