FINALLY! The Truth About Low Back Pain and Why Your Doctor May NOT Be Able To Help You!

I have a secret for you about the treatment of low back pain that you need to know…the truth about low back pain and its treatment.  A truth that healthcare providers would rather you not know.

First, some important background.  Low back pain is the number two reason for doctor’s visits in the US.  In fact, there are 179 million office visits at a cost of 17.6 Billion annually for low back pain.   Low back pain is also one of the most misunderstood conditions.  Ask different healthcare professionals their advice on how to treat low back pain and you will get as many different answers.

So why is that?  The reason is simple.  There are many different causes for low back pain. Is it a muscular or a skeletal condition?  Is there nerve compression or disc compression?  Could it be facet syndrome, arthritis or a visceral cause?  How about something as serious as tumors or as simple as a sprain or strain?

To make it even more complicated, there are different healthcare providers who specialize in one or more of these specific causes. 

Let me give you an example of what we are talking about.  If your low back pain is caused by some muscular weakness a great treatment option would be to seek the care of a physical therapist.

 If your pain is caused by muscular tightness, you would want to seek the care of a massage therapist. 

For skeletal conditions, a chiropractor would be a great choice.

So here is what seems to happen.  You have low back pain and your friend tells you he or she had great success going to a physical therapist.

 Great, you will try that.  But what if your condition isn’t the same as your friends?  What if the cause of your pain isn’t muscular?  Do you think you will enjoy similar success under these circumstances? 

Or do you think you are more likely to get frustrated because you wasted your time and money and walk away thinking physical therapy doesn’t work.  

Physical therapy DOES work, if you have a condition which warrants physical therapy!  But that is the ONLY time it works. 

Lets take this further, how confident are you that the physical therapist will diagnose you with a condition that he can treat?  Either, he convinces himself that it IS such a condition or he realizes that it isn’t and he treats you anyway. 

Further, what if there is a muscular component (and therefore a physical therapist could be of assistance) BUT that is not the initial cause of the low back pain but simply a secondary condition caused by an original skeletal condition.

Confused yet?  You should be.  The truth is that healthcare providers tend to have narrowed focus.  They tend to believe their discipline or method of treatment is good for all conditions.  This is the first truth:  That simply is not true.  There is NO one answer to low back pain.  Everything has its time and place depending on the specific cause of the patient’s pain.

But as a patient how do you determine which method of care is right for you?  After all, you can’t diagnose yourself and you certainly don’t want to waste time and money through trial and error.  And so you have the answer to why treating low back pain is so frustrating. 

So what is the answer?  It is simple, find a clinic who offers every treatment option available.  Makes sense, right! 

 Find a clinic that has many different healthcare providers who practice different methods to ensure you won’t be sent from place to place searching for your answer.

Another truth is that very rarely, does a low back condition have one singular cause.  Most often, by the time a patient walks into our office, it is more of a complex, meaning there are some muscular and skeletal components for example.

The Ultimate Truth:  THERE IS NO ONE WAY THAT IS BEST TO TREAT LOW BACK PAIN.

The truth is that incorporating more than one philosophy, more than one discipline, more than one kind of treatment is the key to successful low back pain cure.

It will save you time, frustration, and most of all pain in the long run.

I know my colleagues don’t want you to know that but it is time that patients are equipped with the knowledge to rid themselves forever from low back pain.

But remember, you didn’t hear it from me!