Almost everyone deals with back pain at some time during their life, and sometimes, when the reason is not obvious, we can be made to feel like we are imagining it. BUT, usually, we are not. Certainly, there are times when physiological pain can be exacerbated by a stressful situation, but in this day and age of more and more specialists and fewer primary care docs, it has become more difficult to find the real cause of your back pain.
So, what’s happening in your body when you feel back pain?
The answer is – it can be many things! Here are a few examples that I’ve seen lately, and some quick fixes:
- You started a new teaching job and are standing, all day, on a cement floor covered in linoleum. What if the school got you a special pad for the area where you stand? This plus a couple of stretches to work those hamstrings may be all you need!
- You just retired and are spending more time driving your car to visit the grandkids, touring the places on your bucket list, etc… Suddenly, your right lower back and down your leg are in pain all the time. Use cruise control as often as possible to give your right leg a break – it’s not used to the action of gas on, gas off, break on, brake off! And stop and stretch every couple of hours.
- A close loved one (mother, husband, etc.) passed on a few months ago. It was a rough time for you, emotionally, and logistically having to make funeral arrangements, sell a home, help your dad find an assisted living program or downsize. Now you have neck and shoulder pain that won’t go away. Does this mean that depression is making you imagine back pain? NO! Most of us tend to change our posture when we are under this much stress. Have someone take some photos of you from the front, the side, and the back, and take a good look at your posture. Learn how to stand up tall again, how to relax those muscles when they become tense and the neck and shoulder pain may go away.
I hear you asking – can it really be this simple? The answer is, sometimes, yes. The point is, you can’t truly fix something unless you know what’s causing it. Our health care system today is not good at finding causes, unless your bone is broken, or you have a disease.
Here’s my question for you. Did your doctor ask about any of the above situations? Did you get a referral for physical therapy and did the PT ask these questions? (most do) Unless you see an Integrative or Functional MD, my guess is that they didn’t ask any questions at all beyond when did it start and how bad is it. They sent you for x-rays, or cat scans, etc. Recently, a friend of mine was even referred to a surgeon who recommended surgery for her. He didn’t explain to her that it only works 30% of the time, however, and she didn’t fall into that 30%, so she still has pain.
How many co-pays does all this cost? Usually a lot.
So, you end up paying out a significant amount of your hard-earned money, setting up more appointments, seeing many different specialists, and NOT GETTING PAIN RELIEF!
It doesn’t have to be that way. Call for a telephone consult and I’ll help you find the true cause of your pain and give you the tools to end it.
Meanwhile, here’s another video to help relieve your back pain.
Best of Health,
Kathi
