Back Pain is very common, occurring in all age groups, some back pain is minor and will clear up in 2-3 days, whilst other back pain (and neck pain), will continue to hurt. Causing disability months and months later coupled with a high risk of reoccurrence of painful episodes.

Identification of a particular anatomical cause is rare which is a worry because back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide (1).

What is done for people can come down to what resources they have available to them. Those with more resources will inappropriately make high use of imaging (x-rays and MRIs), opioids (pain medication), spinal injections and surgery and those with low resources available will overuse rest as a strategy to wait to get better (2).

Strategies based on resource availability do not improve pain, back related disability and any long-term consequences of having a bad back (2).

Focussing on resource availability over function is why back related disability is on the rise (1).

Even if you have all of the resources and you use them you still have to look at your function and how lost function can be recovered. Save the planet and start with functional recovery.

Some may insist they need to have opiate medication to take the edge off their pain, however studies have shown that opiates are not effective when pitched against placebo (3). When practising evidence-based Care the focus on spine abnormalities is much reduced (4).

Back pain is about a loss of function.

When aligning practise with science the focus should be on activity and function (2). When receiving treatment at Fascia Frist Chiropractic functional restoration is the focus of treatment.

Taking time out and over resting your spine can make the longer-term issues far worse. As can over doing it and trying to push through. Fascia First Chiropractic has always maintained a functional perspective, not anatomical abnormality identification. Resulting in thousands of people getting back into their motion through Lee’s guidance, adjustive skills and exercise encouragement.

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References:

1. Hartvigsen J et al (2018) What low back pain is and why we need to pay attention. The Lancet 391 (10137) 2356
2. Foster N E et al (2018) Prevention and treatment of low back pain. The Lancet 391 (10137) 2368
3. Jones CMP et al (2023) Opioid Analgesia for Acute Low Back Pain (OPAL Trial) The Lancet DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)00404-X
4. Buchbinder R et al (2018) Low Back Pain. The Lancet 391 (10137) 2384