Eighty percent of people will have low back pain in their lifetime bad enough to seek medical care. For some, the symptoms fade within six or eight weeks. But, for over half, the pain returns within one year and often becomes a most unwelcome and rather permanent house guest.
And, what type of care do people get? To find out, a group of researchers in North Carolina contacted 5,357
households and found 732
adults with chronic low back pain*. Of the 732 people, 590 had
sought medical care. Here's what else they found:
- 31% had taken a muscle relaxant in the last 30 days.
- 60% had taken a narcotic in the last 30 days.
- Greater than 33% had some form of imaging study done (MRI, CT SCAN) in the past year.
- Less than 30% had seen a physical therapist.
- 3% had been in a spine rehabilitation program.
- Levels of depression were high.
Depression is a common finding in people with chronic back pain and is compounded by a feeling of hopelessness about the situation. Chronic back pain carries a very high emotional tax (and, yes, all pain has an emotional tax but back pain seems to be one of the worst types. Nearly, 54% of people are depressed prior to the onset of their pain.). You worry. You wonder if you'll ever feel better or do the things you once loved to do or even come close. Day after day you get caught in a vortex of anxiety and discouragement. Life is grey.
The passive nature of treatment - drugs - for so many people with lower back pain can unintentionally add to the weight of hopelessness. Sometimes the drugs are helpful and needed to get people moving but as this study shows, few of them ever land in a program designed to help get them moving in the right direction. Instead, they take medication and hope until their hope is so thin and frail it cracks. Some fill the cracks with despair; some bitterness; others use resentment. The fix is as fragile as the crack itself.
What do you do? If you like your doctor and trust him or her, ask for a referral. Tell him you need to see someone who can help you get moving again. Some physical therapists and chiropractors and massage therapists focus their work on movement. Other practitioners who can help are trained in Feldenkrais Method or Alexander Technique. Yoga and Pilates can also be quite effective in the hands of a skilled teacher. If you can't get a referral and your state (or your insurance) requires one, switch doctors. Friends, family, colleagues may also be able to suggest someone that can help you.
Just don't quit. Fight. After all, what's the outcome of giving up?
DK
*Carey, T. S., J. K. Freburger, et al. (2009). "A Long Way to Go: Practice Patterns and Evidence in Chronic Low Back Pain Care." Spine 34(7): 718-724
You can comment on any post by clicking "COMMENTS" at the end of the article. Share your opinions and ideas!
**
For the latest on MY TRAINING ROUTINES, click here .
**
New to the View? Consider subscribing to my RSS feed: Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or sign up to get email updates in the box at the top left hand corner of my blog and then share this blog with your friends.
**
Did you know I have another blog? If you enjoy the science and art of getting and staying fit, you might enjoy Exercise:ology.
**
Do you have a copy of my new book, "The Little Book of Sparks"? You can read a sample and order it here.
