Back Pain Myths

Even though the vast majority of people suffering from lumbar injury can get relief through conservative treatments such as exercise, anti-inflammatory medication, physical therapy, and adjusting skills are generating apprehension about the need for surgery according to this article. Back pain myths are becoming a hindrance in the treatment of back related injuries. Only 1 in a hundred people are advised to undergo spine surgery, only when all conservative methods have failed. Surveys reveal that there are myths about spinal surgery, and the belief that one surgery may lead to multiple ones is deterring the lumbar injury sufferers to seek surgery for relief. It has been observed that some even wait as many as 90 days, which is more than the stipulated period for seeking help.

Back Pain Myths

Learn the more common misconceptions about back pain.

“It is heartbreaking to see that myths and an unnecessary fear of surgery are holding people back from getting even the most conservative help for their back pain,” said Joseph Cheng, MD, MS, associate professor of Neurological Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and NASS Public Affairs Committee chair.

Most Don’t Need Surgery

According to Cheng, the vast majority (90 percent) of people with back pain will get better without treatment or by using conservative treatments, such as anti-inflammatory medication, exercise, coping skills and physical therapy.

Spine surgery is recommended in only about 1 percent of cases, with very specific diagnoses, after a more conservative course of treatment already has been tried.

Back Pain Myths

Despite these facts, patient concerns about potential surgery came up many times throughout the “9 for Spine” survey results. The survey shows that 66 percent of spine specialists surveyed believe that fear of possible treatments, including surgery, keeps their patients from seeking help for back pain.

Many of their patients believe the myth that once you have spine surgery, you are destined to have multiple spine surgeries. The survey also found that over 12 percent of patients wait more than 90 days from the onset of their back pain to seek help from a spine specialist—far longer than the recommended four to six weeks.

Preventing Back Pain

When asked what advice they would offer their patients to prevent back pain, 76 percent of the specialists surveyed stressed the importance of regular exercise and nearly 50 percent urged patients not to smoke.

Said Dr. Cheng, “Right at the top of the list are common sense things like exercising regularly, not smoking, maintaining a healthy body weight and using proper body posture and mechanics when using electronic gadgets or lifting heavy objects.”

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Back pain myths and fear of surgery are two major reasons for people with back pain being reluctant to visit spine specialists, as revealed through surveys. According to Health News Digest’s article, many people have fear that a single surgery will lead to multiple operations, even though it has been established that only 1% need surgery for spinal problems. Some people with back pain have been observed to hold back, suffering with back pain for three months just because of the fear of surgery. Relief from back pain can be obtained through regular exercising, smoking cessation, maintaining healthy body weight, and keeping ergonomic postures when lifting heavy objects or using any gadgets. There can be no better alternative than regular exercise to keep away from back pain, if you ask me. If freehand workout helps to prevent surgery in the long run, why not do it after consulting a physician.

Dr. Allen Kaisler-Meza of SpineOne, debunking chronic back pain myths and discussing the facts, treatments