- If your back hurts, you should take it easy until the pain goes away.
False. If possible, try to maintain your normal routine avoiding activities that cause severe pain.
- Back pain is usually disabling.
False. It may feel disabling, but usually recovery is right around the corner. There are plenty of things to do to speed it up.
- Bed rest is the mainstay of therapy.
False. Multiple studies have disproved this old wives tale. Staying active is vital to recovering from back pain. The more inactive you become the more difficult it will be to become active again.
- Most back pain is caused by injuries or heavy lifting.
False. Most of the time there is not an identifiable cause. Often the pain begins gradually or may happen suddenly during a normal activity like bending over to pick up something.
- X-ray and other imaging tests can always identify the cause of your pain.
False. It is possible for a person to have back pain with no abnormal findings in their x-rays or imaging scans. On the other hand, many people with severe spinal abnormalities on tests are not suffering from back pain.
- Everyone with back pain should have a spine X-ray.
False. New studies show that x-ray or MRI scans affect the treatment of back pain less than 10% of the time.
- If you have a slipped disc, you must have surgery.
False. Most people that recover from disc herniation never have surgery.
- Surgeons agree about exactly who should have surgery.
False. When in doubt get more than one opinion. Knowing the surgeon’s expectation of the result is helpful.