Revealing the Truth about Back Pain Treatments
Did you know that most back pain treatments today have a very narrow focus? It’s true. Most back pain treatments today only give you small pieces of what you need to help your back. Let me be 100% honest with you, treating back pain with bits and pieces of information aimed at alleviating your symptoms simply doesn’t work!
This is why back pain is still the second most common reason a person visits his/her physician…second only to the common cold…despite all of our advanced medical technology. It’s because most back pain treatments are geared toward decreasing the symptom of back pain vs. getting rid of the true underlying cause of the back pain. So, in order to get to the bottom of which back pain treatments are effective and which are not, let’s discuss some of the most common back pain treatments and look at what research has to say about them.
Popular Back Pain Treatments
Take a look at the table below. It lists some popular back pain treatments (modalities), and it discusses the evidence (how effective they’ve shown to be through multiple research studies), as well as the safety of each treatment
| Modality | Evidence | Safety |
| Massage | B | 1 |
| Acupuncture | D | 1 |
| Spinal Manipulation | C | 1 |
| Yoga | B | 2 |
| Herbs and Dietary Supplements | D | 3 |
| MBSR | C | 1 |
| Pilates | D | 3 |
| Feldenkrais | D | 2 |
| Exercise | A | 1 |
| Tai Chi | D | 3 |
| Breath Therapy | D | 2 |
| Qi Gong | D | 3 |
| Back Schools | A | 1 |
| Evidence | |
| A | Multiple large randomized controlled trials (RCTs), systematic review, or meta-analysis showing efficacy |
| B | Few small RCTs showing efficacy |
| C | One small RCT or multiple non-RCT trials showing efficacy |
| D | Insufficient data, contradictory findings |
| E | Data showing lack of evidence or benefit |
| Safety (when properly performed by experienced practitioners) | |
| 1 | Clearly Safe |
| 2 | Likely Safe |
| 3 | Unknown |
| 4 | May Cause Harm |
Retrieved on August 23, 2008 from: http://medschool.ucsf.edu/news/features/patient_care/122004_Chronic_Pain.aspx
Let me be the first to say that many of the back pain treatments listed above have their place in alleviating back pain after its initial onset. However, the reason that most of the back pain treatments listed above fall short is that they address the symptom of back pain itself instead of the true underlying cause of back pain. In other words, back pain is simply a result of another underlying problem, and most treatments attempt to get rid of the back pain without ever addressing what caused the pain in the first place!
The Answer
I want you to look again at the table above. Did you to notice which back pain treatments were the most effective? Back schools and exercise.
For those of you not familiar with the term back school, it is essentially a program designed to help you understand the anatomy of the back, the causes of back pain and to retrain you to move properly as you perform basic daily activities, like bending and lifting. Exercise is self-explanatory, but exercises for back pain are generally aimed at strengthening your lumbar stabilizers—the muscles that stabilize and support your spine.
The reason these two treatments are so effective is that they address the underlying cause of back pain. Let me explain. We know most cases of low back pain are mechanical in nature. Simply put, they are caused from things like muscle imbalances, poor posture and movement patterns, and weak core stabilizers. All of these factors put unnecessary stresses on the discs, ligaments, and muscles of the spine. So, it makes sense that in order to truly get lower back pain relief, you have to address the main factors contributing to the unnecessary stress on your lower back on a daily basis.
Personally, I am no longer ok with seeing people suffer needlessly because our medical community has a narrow-minded approach to treating back pain. That is the main reason I have developed a comprehensive, innovative system for treating back pain…a system that eliminates the true cause of your problem, not just the pain itself! The public deserves better than we have provided, and it is time that everyone have access to the most advanced system available to eliminate lower back pain!
The Back Pain University – Your Answer to Back Pain Treatments
If you’re tired of seeking one treatment after another, only to still be fighting the same back pain time and again, take the first step in your healing process. Get started today with your back pain treatments at The Back University…you’re back will thank you for it!