Lower Back Pain Myths from your doctor, friends and even social media - that are not true and leave you in pain
Myth #1 - Everybody gets a bit of low back pain in their life. So why worry?
Everyone gets a bit of back -pain in their life. It’s nothing to worry about. It’s all part of getting older. This is a myth because it perpetuates the misconception that back pain is an inevitable consequence of aging and something that everyone will experience at some point. While it’s true that back pain becomes more common as people age due to factors such as wear and tear on the spine, muscle weakness, and decreased flexibility, it is not a normal part of the aging process that everyone must endure.
In fact, many cases of back pain are preventable or manageable through lifestyle modifications, proper ergonomics, regular exercise, and other interventions. Furthermore, not all back pain is related to aging; it can also be caused by various factors such as injury, poor posture, obesity, and underlying medical conditions.
Myth #2 - Once you have it, thats it.
Once you’ve got low back pain, you’ll have it for the rest of your life and you just need to learn to live with it. Low back pain can have various causes, including muscle strain, injury, degenerative changes in the spine, poor posture, and underlying medical conditions. However, many cases of low back pain can be effectively treated and managed through a combination of therapies that you can undergo at a physio clinic, accompanied by lifestyle changes.
Treatment options for low back pain may include physical therapy, exercise, medication, chiropractic care, and acupuncture. Lifestyle modifications such as maintaining a healthy weight, practicing good posture, using proper body mechanics, and avoiding activities that exacerbate pain can also help prevent or alleviate low back pain.
Myth #3 - If you have pain it must be tissue damage.
Pain equals tissue damage and you must be very careful in everything you do. This is a gross oversimplification of the relationship between back pain and tissue damage, promoting excessive fear and caution in everyday activities such as bending forward and lifting.
While back pain can be caused by tissue damage, such as muscle strains, ligament sprains, or herniated discs, not all back pain is indicative of serious structural problems or requires extreme caution in daily activities. In fact, overly cautious behaviour can sometimes worsen back pain by leading to deconditioning, fear avoidance, and decreased mobility. It’s important for people experiencing back pain to strike a balance between staying active and engaging in appropriate levels of self-care.
Myth #4 - better posture means no pain.
If you have better posture you won’t get pain. There is a common belief that “good” posture is important to protect the spine from damage, as well as prevent and treat back pain. Good posture is commonly defined as sitting “upright”, standing “tall and aligned”, and lifting with a squat technique and “straight back”.
Conversely, “slump” sitting, “slouch” standing and lifting with a “round back” or stooped posture are frequently warned against. This view is widely held by people with and without back pain, as well as clinicians in both occupational health and primary care settings.
The truth is there is no evidence for a single “good posture” to prevent or reduce back pain. People’s spines come in all shapes and sizes, so posture is highly individual. Movement is important for back health, so learning to vary and adopt different postures that are comfortable is likely to be more helpful than rigidly adhering to a specific “good” posture.
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