In working with tens of thousands of clients over the years, we here at the Healthy Back Institute have found that there are a number of common mistakes people make in trying to find relief from back pain.
I would like you to read all about 7 mistakes that I have identified and consider which of these mistakes you are making and how they relate to you and the way you have been treating your back pain.
Here are the top seven:
Mistake #1: Continuing to do what doesn't work
Why would anyone keep going to a health care professional for months and months without seeing any improvement? Beats me. But before coming to us, one of our clients actually went through 70 treatments with a chiropractor - and got no relief at all.
Our advisory panel suggests that you don't go beyond a three-month period without improvement before considering making a change. It's not the number of treatments as much as it is the need to be seeing steady gains.
At the very least, you should insist on getting a monthly evaluation of your progress. You need to be clear that there is a plan of care, and that a proper diagnosis has been made.
Mistake #2: Not dealing with pain the first time
Many people will experience back pain that lasts a few days and then they forget about it when the pain disappears, rather than making the effort to identify and address the cause of the pain.
Here's an example. About 10 years ago, my mother had her first bout of back pain. She had back spasms for a few days, then the pain went away and she went on with her life. Two years later, it came back - much worse than before. It got so bad she couldn't work. If she had dealt with it in the beginning, I doubt that it would have come back. Even if it had, it wouldn't have been nearly as bad.
When you have a fall or some other accident, it's easy to figure out why your back hurts. But in most cases, your back pain could be caused by any number of things. You need to know what conditions are developing in your body and more important what is causing those conditions are developing in the first place.
Mistake #3: Thinking you're too fit to have back pain
You may eat right, exercise regularly, and be in good health, but that doesn't mean you can't experience back pain. Having been a personal trainer for many years, I've seen lots of people in excellent shape who suddenly found themselves with lower back trouble.
The reality is that people who exercise frequently are just as likely - if not more so - to develop back pain. Certain groups of athletes - runners, cyclists, swimmers, dancers, gymnasts, bodybuilders - are prime candidates for back problems.
Cyclists, for example, almost without exception have serious muscle imbalances in the lower body - primarily their quads, hamstrings, hip flexors, and glutes. This is because the constant repetitive motion of peddling a bicycle overworks one set of muscles while underworking other muscles.
The same thing can happen to non-athletes. Even if you don't do any of the above-mentioned activities, your workout program can create muscle imbalances if you're concentrating too heavily on certain areas of your body and neglecting others. Fit or not you will be in trouble.