Lower back pain is an extremely common issue which can affect up to 80% of the population at some point in their lives. Despite how common the condition is, the causes can be very individualised and generally not managed very well.
Thankfully more research is guiding some key information to support people on their road to recovery. One such researcher is Peter O’Sullivan who produced 10 keys facts of back pain.
These are:
- Persistent back pain can be scary, but it is rarely dangerous.
- Getting older is not a cause of back pain
- Persistent back pain is rarely associated with serious tissue damage
- Scans rarely show the cause of back pain
- Pain with exercise and movement doesn’t mean you are doing harm
- Back pain is not caused by poor posture
- Back pain is not caused by a “weak core”
- Backs do not wear out with everyday loading and bending
- Pain flare ups don’t mean you are damaging yourself
- Injections, surgery and strong drugs usually aren’t a cure
Of the 10 there are some key facts that can really support you to get better and are closely related, which I would like to expand on. Persistent back pain is rarely associated with serious tissue damage. Fundamentally backs are strong and if you have had an injury (as you can in other parts of the body) these will heal within three months. If pain prolongs past this, it is usually due to inactivity, stress, tension, fatigue or unaccustomed activity. Graded exposure to activity and exercise will help to manage these symptoms.
Understandably, if pain does continue lots of people may seek to have imaging such as an MRI or similar. Often this is not necessary and can be misleading, helping only the minority of people. Lots of scary sounding things can be found on scans. These include terms such as disc bulges, degeneration, protrusions and arthritis, but these are also common findings in people who have no symptoms. These findings are generally very poor predictors of how much pain you feel or indeed how well you will recover.
The final and perhaps most important key fact above (and the key takeaway from reading this), is that pain with exercise and movement doesn’t mean you are doing harm. Graded movement is vital to recovery, the pain you feel is an indicator of the sensitivity of the structures and not how damaged they are. It is perfectly safe to feel some pain when you start to move, this usually settles down as you get more active. Exercise is great at desensitising the nervous system and reducing the severity of pain and also have numerous other benefits on your health and well-being.