Give it a watch:

New Cure For Chronic Back Pain!!! – video powered by Metacafe

What isn't clear to me is whether or not this actually gets to the root cause of the pain or if it is just designed for temporary relief.  Any time someone says you need 6-8 weeks of treatments and ongoing maintenance, I get a little suspicious.  A real breakthrough?  Technological massage?  I really don't know.

Has anyone had this treatment device used on them?  Did it help?  Tell me here.

Talk soon.

Dan

Here's my interpretation of how chronic pain is CREATED by the failure of modern medicine.

• When someone gets back pain, what do they do?  Rush off to the doctor.  In many cases, some anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed along with muscle relaxants.  (even though there's no proof of inflamation.) 
• Then if the pain persists, you rush off to a chiropractor or other "specialist".  X-Rays are ordered.
• Now you start getting worried and more and more focused on your back and the pain.
• Dear lordy lord, the doctor or chiropractor calls you and tells you that you have degeneration, bulging or herniated disks, or some other equally frightening diagnosis. 
• Despite the fact that this may not even be the cause for any pain, now "You are broken". 
• Within a short period of time, you now think that you are destined to a life of pain because you now have a "BAD BACK".
• The snowball of fear, tension and pain grows bigger and bigger the more doctors you see.

Instead of letting the pain run its course and being done with in over a period of 14 – 30 days, we allow the doctors convince us that we are broken and sentence us to a lifetime of pain.  (Funny thing is that if you really press the doctor for an absolute answer, they really haven't a clue why the pain is there in the first place).

Here's a video that at least correlates that the pain often goes away on it's own:

While I don't agree with everything being said in the video, The overall tip is to keep mobile as soon as you are able.  If you're in pain try to keep moving.  Obviously if your pain is severe, rest in bed, but don't stay there longer than you need to.

The best thing that this guy says is that most back pain gets better all by itself within 30 days.  So what does that mean to you?

My thoughts:

1. If you have some pain, don't panic.  Seriously. 
2. Don't overreact to the pain.  Let it run it's course and try to think about what kind of stressors are going on in your life. 
3. I have definitely seen a direct link between how stressed or angry I am and the times when my back decides to flare up.
4. Lastly, it IS smart to get checked out by a doctor to make sure that you don't have any neurological issues with reflexes or strength, but beyond that, don't rush into a whole series of imaging studies that will just scare you to death.

So tell me, did your pain go away on it's own?  Does your pain occur or get worse when you are most stressed out? 

Can't wait to hear your story.  Leave your comment here.

Dan

10 Tips for Preventing Back Pain:

1. Sleep comfortably on your side with your knees bent or on your back with pillows to elevate legs.
2. Select a medium firm mattress.
3. If you're getting lucky, let your partner be the more active participant.  Lay on your back or side until you feel better. 
4. Select a comfortable desk chair.
5. Proper posture at your desk.  Sit up straight with your shoulders aligned and look straight to your computer monitor
6. Get up every 30 minutes and walk around.
7. While you are up, also do some basic stretches.  Arch your back with your hands on your hips.  Or reach for the ceiling and feel your back arch and your hip flexors stretch out.
8. Choose shoes with good heel and arch support.
9. Practice Safe Lifting.  Bend at your knees and keep your body aligned.  (feet, legs, shoulders)
10. Exercise and stretch your overworked or tight muscles.

My thoughts:

I'm not convinced any of this is breaking new ground.  Sleep comfortably, get a good bed and chair.  Wear supportive shoes.  Stay active and don't sit idle for too long.  No medical breakthroughs here, but common sense that should help you feel better. 

For office workers, I'm a BIG fan of the get up and move around.  it's good for your circlulation, it helps keep you mobile and prevents your muscles from tightening up too much.  And my aiding your circulation, you will be able to focus better when you return back to work.

Your thoughts?

Leave me a comment here.

Talk soon…

Dan

 The doctor suggests two different ways to "treat' your back pain. 

1. Mindful breathing.  In this approach, we are to focus on our breating. Breath in slowly, hold, then exhale.  By doing this for a full three minutes, it will take your mind off of your pain. 
2. Ice and Heat – The doctor suggests using a combination of ice and heat to deal with an injury. 

My thoughts:

1. I like the breathing idea a lot.  Regardless of how you came to have back pain, what you focus on expands.  Meaning – if you focus on your pain, it will tend to get worse.  If you can force yourself to focus on breathing or other things besides your pain, your tolerance and even the amount of pain you feel will diminish. 
2. As for the ice and heat – I have mixed feelings.  If you have pain due to some trauma or acute injury – ice and heat can be effective in reducing your symptoms.  However, if you are dealing with chronic pain (more than a few weeks, months, years or longer) it is very unlikely that you have an injury.   Our body has an incredible ability to heal.  Even the largest bone in our body the femur can heal within 6 weeks – and pain only lasts for the first week or two.  How is it then that an "injury" from 2 years ago is still causing pain?  Maybe there are other things at work here. 

To wrap it up, I'm not sure either of these methods will actually help you get to the real cause of the pain.  But since neither of these suggestions are invasive in any way, give it a whirl and let me know if it helps you.  For me, the breathing can help.  Ice and heat have provide limited results.  But that's just my 2 cents.

Tell me what works for you.  Leave a comment here.

Talk soon…

Dan

A few of the points the doctor made were:

• Your pain is because you sit in a chair and not cross legged on the floor. 
• He then states that the natural aging of our spines is the other reason.
• Next he says that the pain comes from poor posture caused by ignoring balance signals from our brain.

My thoughts:

• The chair isn't the problem.  It's the amount of time we spend in our sedentary lifestyles.  You can remedy this by getting up and stretching a bit every 30-45 minutes.  Walk around a bit.  Stretch to the ceiling, get a good arch in your back.  Your hip muscles do shorten.  Doing the overhead stretch to the ceiling will help lengthen these muscles.  You'll feel it. 
• There are proven studies where imaging studies were done on a group of people WITHOUT back pain.  Half of this pain free group had degenerative issues shown, yet they had no pain.  If aging was really the problem, everyone would hurt.  I know plenty of really old people who don't have back pain.  I'm not sure this claim holds "water".

So what do YOU think about this video?  Does it make sense to you?  Or do you disagree.  Leave a comment here.

Talk to you soon.

Dan Buglio
Fellow Back Pain Sufferer