As we say goodbye to summer and welcome in fall, our activities tend to take a shift too. This change presents a good time to check in with our bodies and address any issues that may have come up. Back pain is one of the most common complaints we hear. But before we dive into remedies to decrease this pain, it’s really important to understand a few things first.

80% of people will have back pain at some point in their life. And most of the time, this is non-specific low back pain meaning that it isn’t caused by ONE specific structure despite what doctors and imaging has tried to tell you. Research has proven that imaging is poorly correlated to pain. Just because you have abnormal findings on your imaging does not mean you will have pain or that it is the source of your pain. A systematic review of spinal imaging in asymptomatic individuals found that 68% of 40 year old people have disc degeneration. This means that these people had no pain whatsoever and they had abnormal findings on their imaging. Rather, these are NORMAL signs of aging that we all experience. It doesn’t mean you are broken, fragile, or condemned to pain.

Find your age group and look at the numbers. Again, these are people WITHOUT pain!

Then what is it?

Well, it’s hard to say. Pain is multifactorial and is affected by sleep, stress, genetics, activity level, fear of pain, and more. To say your back pain is caused by a weak core, disc herniation, or tight hips is only a piece of the puzzle. Understanding your body and back pain is also a crucial component, hence the reason for this blog post. MRIs and xrays have their place but they are often over relied on.

A thorough examination including a full history of the problem in addition to a physical exam, exercise routine, lifestyle, and more is what determines an effective solution.

Sometimes pain goes away on it’s own! Our body is great at healing itself. But sometimes it doesn’t, and if you’ve been struggling with it for longer than 2-3 weeks, it might be time to seek some additional help with someone that will assess you comprehensively. At Arrow, we will ask you in depth questions as to what you’re feeling, when, and for how long. We will take a head to toe look at your movement patterns and if you already have imaging, pair them together. From there, we’ll work with you to come up with a plan to meet your goals while keeping you as active as possible! Taking you out of the gym is the last resort and there’s often other options before that needs to happen.

If you are struggling with back pain now, in the past, or want to prevent it in the future, Kerry and Carli will be doing a FREE online workshop on October 4th at 7pm. They will review assessments and correctives you can do at home to get started on feeling better! Sign up HERE to attend this free workshop.

Brinjikji, W et al. “Systematic literature review of imaging features of spinal degeneration in asymptomatic populations.” AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology vol. 36,4 (2015): 811-6. doi:10.3174/ajnr.A4173