Dooley Noted: 5/27/2015
So, your back hurts again.
You “tweaked” it.
You moved the “wrong” way.
You “did” something to it.
And you’re back in the therapist’s office, begging someone to rub out the sore spots.
It really helps! For a few hours – or maybe even a few days.
Then, the pain comes creeping back.
If this has happened to you, your particular type of back pain will never completely respond to a quick rub.
You likely have a back stability problem. And you likely have a nearby strength deficit, possibly in your abdomen.
Rubbing out the painful spots only shuts down the good guys. After all, they are tightening up in attempts to prevent you from moving through a faulty pattern.
Faulty patterns can get people hurt. And you may have been on the edge of structural damage.
By rubbing out the back and going about your day, essentially you took away your own stability.
Pain is deceptive, right? Rubbing out the back feels good!
By all means, calm down the tissues.
But if you don’t provide stability to the adjacent structures, that discomfort will return.
Show your therapist how you moved when the pain started.
Have them watch how you put on your shoes, or pick up your bags from the floor.
If your back hurts, you might have improper biomechanics that overload the low back tissues.
Treat the pain with not only passive techniques.
Change the way you are moving by preventing the pain in the first place.
Get to the root of why you have the back pain.
You don’t have a bad back.
You have an overworked, unsupported set of structures doing a good job for which they’re not designed at this capacity.
Get assessed. Get corrected.
As always, it’s your call.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley