Five Myths of Back Pain

With over 20 years of experience in treating back problems and seeing  thousands of patients, I have discovered that there are several myths and misconceptions about back and neck problems.

I have gathered five of the most common myths that you may find interesting as well as helpful regarding the care and treatment of spinal pain.

I hope you will find this information useful.

Yours through good health naturally,

Dr. Paul Meyer

The  Five Myths of Spinal Problems

MYTH #1

Losing weight will stop all of your back problems.

She was a nice lady. In quite a bit of pain. She used the exam table to help her walk across the room to greet me. As she began describing her ordeal over the last several months, she explained how she had suffered. I remember her describing the lost quality of her life and her inability to function. Then she said: “I’ve lost 50 pounds. My doctor said if I lose the weight, this problem will go away. I lost the weight, but I’m still miserable.” Then she began to cry. Tears were not necessarily from the pain, but from the frustration that even though she had worked hard to lose the weight, she still hurt.

She had a bulging disc in her low back. After she lost the weight, she was 50 pounds lighter with a bulging disc in her low back.

The disc needed to be fixed. It was not dependant upon the weight. Now less weight does help keep the stress off of the low back and keeping weight down is a good thing. But losing weight doesn’t make the back problem heal.

We were able to help her back problem and improve the quality of her life.

MYTH #2

Exercise will stop my back problem.

“As long as I do my exercises my back doesn’t hurt”. “I have this daily routine I do and as long as I do it I’m fine”.

The premise here is the same as with weight loss. Your muscles may be stronger, they may be stretched better, but your back problem is still there. What you are doing to the back is decreasing inflammation. Inflammation is the response to the breakdown of the joint and that response produces pain. The exercise helps alleviate the pain, but if it was healing the back, as time goes on, the amount and duration of exercise should decrease. But it doesn’t.

MYTH # 3

Heating pads, hot patches, hot tubs and hot showers will help my back problem.

In my practice, I make more money from people who use heating pads than any other cause. So I ask my patients, if you sprained your ankle, I mean really sprained it, and it was swelling, would you put it in a bucket of hot water? 

No.

Why?

Because it would make it swell more.

OK. Now ankle tissue and back tissue are made of the same tissue. So when a back is “Sprained” why would you heat it?  Wouldn’t it make it swell more?

Yes it would.

Well then why does it feel so good? Because heat helps the back muscles to relax. But while you are treating muscle spasms, you are actually increasing the cause of the muscle spasms. You are helping the disc to swell.

“But, but, but….”  as my patients say. So I ask them … Are you any better?

At Meyer Chiropractic we treat the cause of the muscle spasms. So the spasms not only calm down, but the risk of them coming back is greatly reduced.

MYTH # 4

The pain only comes once or twice a year and only lasts for a few days. Must not be anything serious, because the pain always goes away.

For now. This is a typical breakdown of the cartilage between the bones of the spine called a “Spinal Disc”. The average age for a disc bulge is 25 years. The average age for surgery is 40. So the breakdown of the disc occurs over time. Usually the first time the disc tears, the result is muscle spasms of the back. It hurts for two or 3 days, you take some over the counter medication maybe a heating pad and then the inflammation subsides. You consider yourself healed and go on about your business.

This scenario may repeat itself 2-3 times over the nest couple of years. Then one day the pain doesn’t go away. You seek attention from a doctor, the pills aren’t working now, an MRI is ordered or you come into my office. Now you have a bulging disc. Your “usual” back pain is more severe and won’t go away. The pain may be down into your buttock or thigh. This is more serious and requires more serious consideration.

Just remember, as time goes on, our bodies don’t get younger and more pliable, they get older and more degenerated. So if there are warnings of back pain, the earlier you get the joint to heal, the less likely for major work (like surgery) later.

MYTH #5

As long as I take over the counter medication, I do just fine.

Almost every week in my practice I cover this myth. Over the counter medication was meant to be taken for 3 days about 3 times a year. For occasional problems! Not as a way of life. Patients buy the jumbo size bottles, get the generic brand because it’s cheaper and this is how they deal with their back pain. Not only does it not fix the problem, but it can cause other problems as well.

Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs ( NSAIDS ) of which Aspirin, Tylenol, Aleve, Advil, etc, are all part of, all have side affects. From organ failure to stomach erosion.

If you fix the back problem, you won’t have to take this medication. If you don’t fix the problem, your back problem will continue to deteriorate until the NSAID’s quit working.

There are more MYTHS. But these are some of the main ones.

So the next question is …

What Are The Solutions To Back Pain?

Imagine the skill it takes to treat spinal disc problems without drugs and without surgery.

Well after spending over two decades treating patients with these problems, we believe we have many of the answers.

We have the …

“Five Steps To Wellness”

Step 1    Find the cause of your pain.

Step 2    Determine if you will improve under care.

     We only accept people we truly believe we can help.

Step 3    Determine a treatment plan.

Step 4    Teach you the things necessary to keep your problem from coming back.

Step 5    Return you to the quality of life you lost.

Does what we do work? Absolutely.

Want to find out more?

We know why some of you have pain worse when you get out of bed in the morning. We also know why some of you hurt worse in the evening. Why does the pain come and go? Why does sitting hurt? Should I exercise?  Should I rest? How should I sleep?

Can you help me NOT have surgery? Can my neck problem cause headaches? If I’ve had surgery, can you still help me?

YES!

BUT…..from this point on, it’s difficult to answer every question without knowing the specifics about your condition. So call our office today and ask for a no obligation, complimentary, appointment with one of our doctors and also receive a Special Gift .... a Computer Spinal Analysis.

HOW TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT

Call our office at 817- 468 -7246. A very nice person will assist you in scheduling a convenient  appointment.

 

You’ve taken the fist step toward improving your life, now take the next step and call for an appointment.

 

817 468-7246

The Special Gift is not available for Medicare, Medicaid or any Federal employees. You may have an appointment for a conversation with the doctor at no cost to you.