This week I am doing a review of a book: Backsense: A Revolutionary Approach to Halting the Cycle of Chronic Back Pain by Dr. Ronald Siegel. As you may have guessed, I see a lot of patients with back pain in my everyday practice in the Emergency Room. I am always referring to knowledge that I gleaned from this book, which has been helpful for myself, since I also suffer from back pain. I like this book because it empowers the reader to solve their own back pain problem instead of being dependent on health care practitioners or medications to cure their back pain.
The book starts with common beliefs and how most people believe that the cause of back pain is either a disk or bone structures that are not in place, but this is not likely the cause for the pain. The author talks about how people who are back pain-free also have disc herniations, as well as other abnormal spine structures. Also, many people who do suffer from back pain do not have abnormalities in their back. He mentions how back pain is more common in developed countries with high psychological stress and low physical stress than developing countries. He also talks about how the mind can affect the body and how back pain can be caused by stress.
Then, the book goes into the chronic back pain cycle which starts with stress creating muscle tension, causing pain, negative thoughts, depression, and how the belief that the back is damaged can trap people into this cycle. Once people believe that their back is defective, they often avoid or limit their activity, become deconditioned, causing increased stiffness, further anxiety, tense muscles; and worsened pain. That is how the cycle continues!
To undo this cycle (after consultation with your physician to rule out more dangerous causes of back pain such as cancer or infection), the book encourages us to think of our back as strong, and not fragile and to resume activity before your pain goes away. The book details how a person with back pain can get motivated to restart activity.
I had a lot of back pain after I was unable to practice yoga for six months. As with a lot of patients, there was no inciting moment for me. I just woke up one day, and my back was so stiff, it hurt to turn to take out a ticket from the dispenser in the parking lot! It did not get better for a whole year. When I started practicing yoga again, I could not do the things that I used to do. It hurt to bend over and touch my toes. The stiffness probably lasted a whole year, and I still have it in the mornings now. In some of my following blog posts, I will talk about how I ameliorated my situation. Since I read this book; thankfully I never resorted to narcotics or surgery to resolve my back pain! I helped myself with stretching and using my back even with the pain; and now I am much better and even more flexible than I was before my bout of pain!
Please consult your doctor before participating in any exercise program. 365 Days of Graceful Living will not be held liable for any injury or adverse effects from engaging in an exercise program.