7 Back Pain Myths Busted! (What Spine Experts Wish You Knew)

[00:00] In this video, I'm going to bust seven common myths about lower back pain that you didn't know. As a bonus, I'm going to share with you one tip that has been a complete game changer for me, having experienced lower back pain which started 15 years ago. Hi everyone, my name is Shreya Vizir. I'm an advanced physiotherapist.

[00:20] specializing in lower back pain and in this video I'm going to share with you my personal journey with back pain while also busting some common myths that I've learned with my whole journey. Starting from 15 years ago when I ended up in the emergency department, till now I've seen countless professionals. I've had MRIs, CT scans,

[00:40] nerve studies. I've seen so many specialists that I've lost track. So what I have done for you in this video today is gathered the latest science and research from out there by looking at the leading spine experts and bringing them directly to you so you don't have to go looking elsewhere like I did. Specifically I'm going to be referencing a study.

[01:00] done in 2020 by the British Journal of Sports Medicine where they did a fantastic job of busting some major myths about back pain and really talking about what really matters. So let's get to some myth busting now. Alright, let's talk about myth number one. Many people think that back pain worsens as you age.

[01:20] Your mom and dad have probably told you I'm getting older and now I'm getting back pain. The truth is that's not at all accurate. The current research actually shows that there's no correlation between age and pain, although there might be some older adults with other health issues that might end up with back pain. It's not true.

[01:40] true that as you age, you start to get more pain. On a personal note, I had pain when I was 15 years old, which really didn't make sense. And in my clinical practice, I see 90 year olds with no pain and I see 15 to 20 year olds with severe pain. There really is no correlation. It's kind of like comparing ourselves to

[02:00] cars. People think that just like the natural wear and tear in a car, as we get more mileage as you like to call it on our bodies, we start to break down and start to experience pain. However, that is not true because our bodies have a natural and a powerful tendency to

[02:20] self-repair. Our tissues, our bones, our joints, with the right kind of fuel, including diet, the right sleep, the right exercise, stress management. So with all those kind of lifestyle factors, you can actually reverse things that age can bring you, including deterioration or wear and tear.

[02:40] So what I'm trying to say is age does not lead to pain and I wish more people knew about that. Now if you're 50 or 55 plus and you have lower back pain, I have a video here linked that can help you. Start on some exercises that can actually help with pain. Alright, common back pain myth number two, back pain is scary and it's very dangerous.

[03:00] If you google back pain, I'm sure you will find some of the scariest things that you can encounter. Disc bulges, pinch nerves, fractures, arthritis, cancer, of course. However, current research shows that those things are only true for 1 to 2% of the population. For a majority of the people...

[03:20] back pain comes and goes. I actually know a back surgeon that I currently work with. He actually says if you don't have back pain, you're an anomaly. And what he means by that is 80 to 90% of people in their life at some point will experience back pain. Essentially, back pain is a human condition just like getting headaches. We all get back pain.

[03:40] from time to time. In most cases though, it resolves within six weeks to four months and that is without any treatment. Now if you were to add on some exercise, some healthy habits, eating, sleeping well, getting enough rest, then you can speed that process up of course. But what I mean to say is that in majority of the cases...

[04:00] 90% plus of cases of back pain, there is not a serious underlying condition. And I wish I had known that back then because I wouldn't go through this whole cycle of dread or worry or stress. And I can imagine if you or your loved one is going through back pain, which can be scary, you can imagine.

[04:20] if they knew this fact, their worries would settle down and they can actually get appropriate care. So all in all, back pain is scary, yes, but the chances of it being dangerous are very low. Right, myth number three is a huge one and that is scans are very helpful in lower back pain.

[04:40] pain, which is completely not true. The truth is scans rarely show the cause of lower back pain. As you'll know, if you've had X-rays or MRIs or CT scans, they'll show lots of different things like disc protrusions, herniations, degenerative changes, arthritis. However, those

[05:00] will not say that those findings are oftentimes quite common and the fact that many people with no findings still have lots of back pain and the flip is also true. People could have a large disc herniation or a lot of changes on their MRI but have almost no pain and I can vouch for that on a personal

[05:20] clinical side of things, personally, I've gone through all the tests and they still haven't found any real cause for my pain. My MRI was completely clear, nerve studies were clear, CT scan was clear. And number two, clinically, I've also seen the same. The scans rarely tell me how much pain someone is going to have. There's absolutely no way.

[05:40] no correlation. And again, I wish this is something I had known before undergoing so many tests that were really not that helpful. Myth number four, many people think that when they are exercising or moving and they get back pain that they should stop because that's probably causing more damage and this is completely inaccurate. As a physiotherapist, my job is to get people moving.

[06:00] and exercising. In fact, the leading researchers and spine experts all come to one consensus and it's that exercise and movement can actually help with pain. Although initially you might start to notice extra pain, but that's just a sign that those areas are a little sensitive. It's like when you first sprain your ankle

[06:20] you stub your thumb or your toe against something, it kind of clenches or you sort of retract or spasm up because your body is naturally trying to protect that area from more injury. However, after a couple of weeks have passed, when things have healed, it's very important to start to move again, start to turn our ankles or our thumbs or our toes, getting more blood.

[06:40] flow in that area getting more movement and that actually helps heal and get our movement back and reduce the pain. The same is true for our backs. Once we have injured them or we experience pain, initially with exercise you might get more pain, but slow and steady. Our goal is to restore the movement, restore the strength and once that is done,

[07:00] can actually see a lot of reductions in pain and many studies have shown that. So all in all, exercise and movement are actually one of the best things we can do for our pain and it comes in various forms. It doesn't have to be the kind of exercise I'm doing or another patient is doing but our job is to find gentle, taller...

[07:20] things for our bodies and then slowly build our way up from there. Now myth number five is my favorite because I can talk about this for hours. Many people believe that a poor posture can actually lead to pain. If you Google that, there will be tons and tons of pseudo articles supporting that. However, when you look at the research, when you look at the actual science,

[07:40] they're finding that there's actually no correlation between someone's posture and someone's pain. If you look at me, I have a fairly good posture. I would say, I wouldn't say it's horrible, but the number of times that I've heard healthcare professionals in the last decade tell me that I have pain because of my posture, if you had

[08:00] giving me a dollar for each health professional, I'd probably be a millionaire by now. But what I'm meaning to say is that some people can have really good postures. Like I wouldn't say the best, mine is not the best, but I would say it's a decent and those people can have lots of pain. Whereas some people with major scoliosis in their spines like big curve,

[08:20] or people with very, very rounded forward postures can have absolutely no pain. So personally and as a physiotherapist, my advice to be honest for most people is to find different postures. The best posture is your next posture. So if you're sitting on a computer for long

[08:40] periods of time in one position for four hours, six hours, eight hours. Of course, your back is going to hurt because those areas are sensitive and they're not meant to stay in one position for long periods of time. As humans, we're meant to be moving, we're meant to be walking regularly and our spines and our bodies actually crave that movement and a lot of people get pain because they are

[09:00] static. So like I mentioned, the best thing you can do is to keep moving. Every half an hour, take breaks. People that are office workers, I generally suggest every hour go from a sitting to a standing position if you can, do some stretches, do a short walk, and then come back. So overall, poor posture does not equal pain. Remembering these two things, your best posture

[09:20] is your next posture and motion is lotion. So keep moving and chances of you experiencing back pain because of a static posture are going to be a lot lower. Myth number six. This is about core and back pain. Many people believe that a weak core causes low back pain. However, I want you to listen to me without any

[09:40] judgments, look at the research that's out there before coming to a conclusion because this can be a little bit controversial and goes against a lot of the things that people generally believe as the truth. Back in the 1970s they did some research to find that core strengthening can help back pain and they've done lots of research since then to kind of say that. However, people have gone on to say that

[10:00] it is a weak core that causes back pain and that is a false cause fallacy. That's a false conclusion based on two correlations. The research has actually found is that there's actually no correlation between somebody's core strength and back pain. Now although core strengthening can help back pain, it's merely because we're moving

[10:20] the spine, contracting the muscles around, getting more blood flow in those areas which can help with pain. It's not that the core strengthening is holding up our vulnerable or fragile spines, that's just not true. Our spines are very robust, they're strong structures, they don't need a lot of protecting. In fact, people with back pain end up over-

[10:40] protecting their spine by contracting their core too much. And what that ends up doing is actually causes more pain. So for many of my patients, I actually like to teach them relaxation exercises to relax their core. Yes, core strengthening I would also include as part of the program, but it's also important to know how to relax so we can bend to it.

[11:00] pick up things from the ground without being so hyper protective. So that is myth number six, a poor core does not lead to pain similar to a poor posture cannot lead to pain. It's the same concept here and the research supports that. Alright this is the final myth, this is myth number seven. Many people believe that medications

[11:20] injections and surgery are finally the ultimate fixes or cures for back pain and unfortunately that's just not true. They can help with short-term relief in certain cases, however the current research and the spine experts all agree that these things are not long-lasting approaches for back pain for most people.

[11:40] most people because they come with side effects, they come with risks and ultimately there's no complete elimination of the pain anyways. So what the spine experts agree and what they conclude is that for most people the goal should be to find low risk ways to manage pain that includes exercise,

[12:00] diet, sleep, stress management, healthy relationships, just living happier and healthier lives can end up more invasive things like medications, injections, or surgeries, which are just not the answer. On a personal level, I can vouch for that. Over the last decade, I've tried whole hosts of treatments, medications, and all.

[12:20] those kinds of things and ultimately I've landed on exercise, proper sleep, and meditation as being one of my rocks to help me manage my back pain. Alright, so this brings me to the number one tip that I want to provide you on this video. This is something that I wish I had known earlier and that is this. The best way to view low back pain

[12:40] especially mild versions of it, is to compare it to headaches or the common cold. And the reason why I say that is, number one, we all experience this at some point in our lives, like I had mentioned earlier. 80 to 90% of us will get back pain at some point, just like the common cold or headache. Number two, we don't do images

[13:00] to find the root cause of a headache or a common cold, in most cases of course, that's similar to back pain. It's very difficult to go in there and find what's exactly causing the back pain. Rather what's more important is number three, to focus on how to treat it and alleviate it in natural ways as

[13:20] best as possible. So for example, what would you do if you had a common cold? You would drink water, you would take a hot shower, you would take some simple medications, maybe use a heat pack or an ice pack, maybe you'd go for a little walk, get some fresh air, watch TV, spend some time with your family. Those are the same things that I would suggest to my patients.

[13:40] with a new episode of low back pain. Of course I would suggest you to visit a healthcare professional just to rule out those other serious things but once those things are ruled out you're better to stay away from Google and focus on proper self-care for yourself and for your back pain. So in summary, low back pain is an

[14:00] not a serious, dangerous or life-threatening condition in most cases rather than googling and finding the worst causes that are out there, treat it like a headache or a common cold and chances are you'll likely feel better within 2 to 6 weeks. So now that you have all this information and wealth of knowledge from the leading research

[14:20] and spine experts from around the world, what do you actually do about it? I've actually created a video on simple stretches and exercises linked here somewhere that you can check out. These are exercises that I've done for myself, but I've also given them to many of my patients that have also found relief with those exercises. So I wanna thank you for watching and staying with me. If you made it this far.

[14:40] If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. I'd love to hear your thoughts, especially on which myth you thought was the most eye-opening. I want to thank you again for watching. I'll see you in the next video.