Back pain causes are a controversial topic within the musculoskeletal sector of medicine. Long established theories are being repudiated all the time and doctors are not sure what exactly sources symptoms in most patients or how to go about curing these poor souls of their chronic suffering.
Back pain is known for being one of the most troublesome, treatment-resistant and stubborn tortures endured by countless patients around the world.
Being that iatrogenic error is so common, back ache is often mistakenly diagnosed as coming from a coincidental spinal abnormality. Meanwhile the actual source may be some other purely physical issue, a disease process or even a psychogenic causation not even remotely related to the working diagnostic theory. Without an accurate diagnosis, no patient stands much hope of finding a cure.
Structural Back Pain Causes
Old school doctors speculated for many years that if there was pain, there must be some structural source. This follows the generally antiquated Cartesian model so common to modern medicine. Once diagnostic testing, like x-rays and MRIs became commonplace, this school of thought gained ground, since spinal abnormalities could now be imaged with amazing clarity. Surely these irregularities must be the source of the pain? Right?
Back pain research clearly shows little, if any, proven association between these structural scapegoats and the incidence of symptoms. In fact, many people with severe and debilitating pain have no structural reason to explain their suffering, while many people with very severe spinal abnormalities have no pain at all.
Changes have recently been introduced to diagnostic guidelines by many major medical associations and organizations. These revisions caution doctors not to assume that the usual suspect spinal irregularities, like arthritis and disc pathologies, are the cause of symptoms in patients.
Furthermore, these same guidelines tell that there has been no direct correlation between the incidence of herniated discs, disc degeneration or any of the other major spinal abnormalities and the occurrence of back pain.
Structural spinal issues can create pain and related symptoms, but these cases typically respond to appropriate treatment and resolve quickly and without complication. This certainly does not describe the usual case of back pain that I know of.
Other Causes of Back Pain
Since the purely structural model of back pain has fallen out of favor among enlightened care providers, there have been new theories introduced to explain chronic back pain.
Many physical therapists and chiropractors have championed the idea of muscle imbalances. This theory makes some sense in some cases, but certainly does not explain the incredible epidemic of back pain in billions worldwide.
The more logical explanation for back pain and a host of other treatment-resistant conditions, such as fibromyalgia, tendonitis and various gastrointestinal disorders is the modern theory of ischemia.
First championed by Dr. John Sarno at the NYU Medical Center/Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, his TMS theory has grown to receive incredible support from some of the very best doctors and therapists worldwide. Mindbody medicine is one of the fastest growing sectors of healthcare with specialties used to treat cancer, autoimmune concerns, chronic pain, addiction and a host of other issues.
Guidance on Back Pain Causes
I am a firm believer in the mindbody process and for good reason. My back pain was misdiagnosed for years as stemming from a variety of structural disorders in my spine. Being that I was a layman and knew little about these types of things, I went along for the ride with various doctors who were happy to take my money while providing treatment which did nothing except exacerbate my pain for decades. I paid to be tortured.
Once I realized the truth of the matter and began my scholarly pursuit of back pain information, I understood what had occurred and why back ache is such a huge problem in today’s world. I now know for sure that back pain is often misdiagnosed, which explains why the majority of back pain treatments are so universally ineffective. I also understand that most caregivers do know that back pain is not caused by these structural scapegoats in most cases, yet they continue to make the diagnoses in order to perpetuate established and profitable treatment protocols. It is nothing short of criminal in a few instances.
You truly want to learn about the real causes of back pain? Are you sure? You may not like what you discover. You may even be driven to take action, like I did by starting this website years ago.
