Most Treatments For Lower Back Pain Don't Work--Except For This....

Your back – complex enough to support your entire body, yet fragile enough to be undone by a sneeze. Up to 80% of people experience low back pain at some point.

Most of the time, there's no clear cause of the pain, complicating treatment.Popular options range from acupuncture and muscle relaxants to opioids and cannabinoids.

A new study of 56 nonsurgical treatments found that ONE treatment--nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen and aspirin)-- effectively reduced short-term, or acute, low back pain.

Other treatments showed small, if any effect!

There was good evidence that acetaminophen (Tylenol) does little to nothing for acute low back pain.

The evidence for interventions like heat (from a heating pad), massage, and acupressure was of low certainty, but those treatments reduced the intensity of pain by around 20 points.

The evidence for heat was inconclusive but doctors said they would recommend giving it a try.

It helps to move

Decades ago, when my mom strained her back, she was told to rest in bed.

Recent evidence indicated that being inactive tends to reinforce pain sensitivity pathways.

We know that "motion is medicine." Strained muscles get stiff from inactivity, perpetuating the pain cycle.

When it comes to chronic back pain, exercise has beneficial effects BUT some of those effects depend on how well you expect exercise to work.

​Exercise often reduces feelings of pain immediately afterward and raises people’s pain thresholds. Its benefits are often greater than those of other common treatment options, such as massage and stress management.

Here's where the ibuprofen/aspirin comes in

Reducing the pain makes it possible to move more.

The researchers evaluated individual treatment approaches, rather than combinations. Combining pain relief with movement can speed the healing process.

An ounce of prevention.....

Whether you're prone to episodes of back pain or simply overdid it working in the yard, take measures to prevent a recurrence.

👉 Regular exercise was found to be the most effective way to prevent lower back pain from recurring in a meta-analysis of 25 studies.

👉 Prioritize strength training that teaches you how to hinge and squat so you learn to pick things up and set them down using your strong hip muscles, not those little back muscles.

👉 Practice good alignment-- Faulty posture causes wear and tear on your spine, causing some muscles to be overworked while others become weak.

👉 Avoid prolonged sitting--Get up and move around at least once an hour. When traveling, use pillows or a folded jacket to maintain your lumbar curve and make sure your upper back doesn't sink into the seat. Keep your head centered over your body, not jutting forward.

👉 Avoid prolonged standing--Standing or sitting, immobility is what matters. If you have a standing desk (or standing job) take sitting breaks. Extended standing leads to locking out the knees....which leads to an anterior pelvic tilt.....which leads to tight hip flexors and low back muscles.

In our efforts to outsmart back pain, we've created an industry of contraptions, procedures, and promises. Science brings us full circle to a straightforward solution: address the immediate discomfort, then teach your body how to move.

The most sophisticated machine for healing your back isn't found in a doctor's office – it's the one reading these words right now.