Myths About Back Pain

Stop Believing Them!

Back pain, otherwise known as lumbago, has become very prevalent these days and there is an 80% chance you will get it over and over. Just about every person experiences backache at some point in their lives. Because of its prevalence, a lot of theories and speculations have risen regarding it. This chapter is about myths and facts surrounding back pain for the purpose of enlightening you as to what you should and shouldn't believe about it.

Walking Upright Myth

Myth: Many people believe that walking upright places more stress on your disc.

Fact: For more than 2.5 million years, we have been standing and evolution has compensated for this through proper posture and curves in the spine. So standing for millions of years on two legs has allowed a normal C curve in the back, which makes it stable.

Let's take look at four-legged creatures such as dogs or horses. I used to treat horses at the Laurel Maryland Race Track, so I've personally observed this. They have a C-curve too, which somewhat prevents their discs from bulging out.

With humans, standing upright puts an S-curve in the entire back and a C-curve in the lower back. The C-curve prevents the discs from bulging. However, in developed countries, we don't have a normal smooth consistent "C" curve due to our bad posture. We sit for hours, bend, lift incorrectly, stand and walk incorrectly. Depending on your actions throughout your life, the smooth "C" curve of the lower back may be too small or too big, both of which contribute to various back problems. Due to millions of years of evolution, walking on two legs should have no more pressure on the lower back discs than walking on all fours.

Age Factor Myth

Myth: The older we get the more back pains we will have.

Fact: It is a fact that we get arthritis or joint degeneration as we get older. Just like everything else, we too suffer from wear and tear. But many back problems come from disc herniations when you're in your 20s and 30s because at that age you have much more disc material to bulge out. The "jelly" inside discs dehydrates as one gets older so discs become less of a problem.

Now let's look at aging. Sure, arthritis is for older people, but it's more prevalent if you slow down, rest more, find exercising no longer appealing and, suddenly, you don't do as much manual labor anymore compared to when you were in your younger years. While it may surprise those who are not aware of the causes of back pain, this kind of sedentary lifestyle ironically causes more wear and tear on your spine. How is this possible? The rationale behind this fact is if you don't move, then the joints and muscles in your body will get weak due to lack of motion and activity. If you don't use it, you lose it!

In Haiti, 70-year old women carried 30-pound bags on their heads as they climbed up mountains. The old men shoveled concrete. And yet when I checked them for arthritis, they had little to none. At age 80, their knees could still bend so much that their heels touched their backside, their hips can still rotate out fully, their backs and necks still have full range of motion so that they can still twist, bend and extend fully backward. They have maintained such flexibility and sturdiness because they were forced to do manual labor, and they were exposed to physical labor their whole lives.

Manual labor grinds the scar tissues and the arthritis out of the joints, strengthens the muscles equally and continually, and develops great balance-which explains how they can still carry 30 lbs on their heads regardless of their age.

Had Haitians done physical labor with terrible posture, they would have developed back problems. Just imagine yourself carrying 30 lbs. on the back of your neck with your head down and forward. Your neck would be very sore and would build up bone spurs to stabilize itself which is arthritis. Picture yourself carrying 50 lbs on your back with your body flexed forward for five miles. This routine would strain your back and eventually degenerate your lower back.

It is therefore important to maintain an active lifestyle and exercise using proper posture all day. Don't be afraid to do a little gardening or some brisk walking, house cleaning, or to move stuff here and there, and use those muscles and joints. Make this a habit and you should live life with much less back pain and arthritis.

Height Myth

Myth: Tall people have more back problems because they have more vertebrae. In addition to this, their center of gravity is higher than the average height, which can also lead to more back problems.

Fact: Tall people have the same number of spinal vertebrae (24 total vertebras) as shorter people. They just have taller vertebrae and discs and longer muscles. This adds more support to make up for the higher center of gravity.

I have a 6'8 tall NFL football player as a patient from the Seattle Seahawks who comes in for an annual treatment of his lower back. He makes sure to get one treatment a year. That's all he needs despite the fact that he took a pounding for 15 years as an offensive center. He only needs maintenance care because he works out daily, uses perfect posture and uses proper body mechanics in everything he did in the past and presently.

The bottom line is everybody, tall or short, has an equal chance of getting back pain. The difference is in how we take care of our backs, not in our height.

Weight Myth

Myth: The bigger and heavier you are, the more back problems you'll have. So, you won't be relieved of your back pain unless you lose weight.

Fact: Fifty percent of Americans overeat. Thin people have just as many back problems as fat people. The heavier or bigger a person is, the more muscles they develop in their back to help support the weight.

I had to treat a 425 lb patient named Jose B. He was a big man. It took all my strength just to lift one of his legs up. I asked him if he ever had any back problems and he said never. So I examined his spine, and I found out that he had massive back muscles. I noticed too that he had very good posture. That was the reason he never had backache even with his body mass. He had come to me for a knee issue.

A heavy person with a good posture or with a normal "C" curve in the lower back will most likely exhibit fewer back problems than a thin person with a bad posture.

Exercise Myth

Myth: The more exercise you do, the better.

Fact: Exercise is good but it has to be done in moderation. Sixty percent of Americans do not exercise. Lifting weights or doing exercises such as aerobics, yoga, and engaging in sports are good...