Back pain.
The all mighty kingpin in the pain suffering world. For those lucky 1/4 of adults in the world who haven’t or haven’t yet experienced back pain sometime in their life, than they need not concern their godly selves with this blog. For the rest of us mortals, it’s important to know it happens. Relax……It is part of adjusting to the ever winding paths our lives take.
First thing to note is back pain is complex. We are not going to go into the different causes and contributions to its presentation today as comparing apples and boats is not a short winded task. If you suffer with back pain whether acutely or chronically than by all means make sure you are receiving good quality advice from a clinician who empowers you back to your goals and gives you the tools to be able to either get on top of it, or teach you how to manage it YOURSELF if it bothers you again.
Clinicians and patients alike often fall into the old anatomical model of thinking, that back pain must be structural or postural or deteriorated or all the other words that install fear and diminish hope. The biggest crime here is that…. it is just NOT TRUE. Always remember pain is just your body’s German Shepherd. It will protect you from harm OR the threat of harm. It can be influenced by sleep and stress and mood as much as physical capacity and structure. Structural changes on the inside are quite common for everybody, so don’t fall for the belief that you HAVE to have pain because of what your scan says, it is most definitely MUCH more complicated than this.
As you can see from the brief comparison here it can be complicated for those of us with experience let alone those who have never heard this about back pain before. So lets say fuck it to complicated and show you a simple path of managing a sore back.
SIMPLE. I am a simple bloke so i do simple well. Use this guide for creating a smooth uncomplicated path to managing back pain
1- Is it stiff
This person is either
1- I dont do any exercises and my lifestyle is predominately sedentary
2- It is bad to bend and slump so i avoid it
THE MESSAGE-
DO MORE . is there limited movement ? than GET IT MOVING.
Bending is good for you, slumping is good for you. movement is good for you. Just like everything, do it in doses.
2- Is it overloaded
This comes in all shapes and forms
Prolonged sitting
Prolonged labor
A spike in exercise
THE MESSAGE-
DO LESS.
If you asked me to run a marathon right now I would be fucked. I am not prepared and haven’t gradually adapted my body to handle that load. Guess what…. this comes in all shapes and forms.
Have you been not doing renovations or shoveling concrete and recently you have done it everyday ?
Have you just started pre-season training again and your coach MICK says you have to lick whit dog shit if you don’t do 100 hill sprints and 50 burpees whilst reciting the alphabet ?
Have you been lifting weights for a long time and you just sutterly change your program to something different or you haven’t been doing recently ?
Have you been driving as a truck driver for 30 years sitting 8-14hours a day with 5 minute rest breaks to sleep or eat ?
OVERLOAD my friend. Look at the demand. Look at the capacity and either decrease the demand, adapt the demand or increase your capacity…. SIMPLIFY it and simplify it for the patient suffering.
3- This bastard come from nowhere
The what the hell is going on presentation.
Phil is fit and loves to exercise a few times a week. He has done this for a while, Phil has a steady construction job but recently started to develop back pain throughout the day gradually over the last few months.
Phil hasn’t increased anything and loves to move around and keep active.
This person is where we dig deeper into ALL aspects that can affect not just back pain but pain in general.
How does he sleep, whats his diet like, does he smoke, does he drink, is he stressed, hows things at home, what does he know about back pain ?
The complex case. Phil might have had this for a few months and seen nobody or had it for years and seen 100 “specialists” with 100 opinions. This person might have several things contributing to pain or just 1 hidden factor…. They often will need advice and help with the wider aspects that can contribute to pain.
So there you have it my friends. Use this guide to your advantage if you don’t already and take control of your pain.
Learn how to MASTER YOUR OWN PAIN.
I will leave you all with a clever piece below created by more clever men. Until next time
