This is a very frequent question I am asked. The question comes up, “Once I have been diagnosed with chronic lower back pain, can I ever live a pain free life?”
This is simply a problem with believing that a diagnosis means anything other than a current state of affairs. Just because you have pain now, or have had it for a while, doesn’t mean much more than the fact that you have not found what needs to be done in your situation in order to eliminate it.
Over the years, I have helped people with back pain overcome it, and even more people MANAGE it. You see, I don’t think it is realistic to think that you should NEVER have back pains once in a while, just the same with all other joints, muscles, etc.
You will have these things from time to time, this is simply part of life. When you over-use a muscle, its gonna get sore, when you move your refrigerator, your back may ache the next day. The key is to be able to realize that if you just relax and take care of your body, its gonna go away pretty quickly.
When I work with back pain sufferers, the first thing I tell them is…”You’re gonna be okay. Once I teach you the movements, exercises, and stretches, and you continue to get good at them, and practice, your pain is going to go down FOR SURE. Then, if sometime in the future your back starts bothering you for some reason, that should just be a signal to make sure you get back to doing the things I showed you.”
I don’t believe the anxiety and fear about back pain is that it may come and go, but instead, that you may not be able to “control” it, or that the pain will be “as bad”. Once you learn how to control your pain, through movement, nutrition, and stress relief techniques, then that fear goes away.
THAT release of fear and anxiety is the outcome, and what we need to strive for. Breaking free of the chains that we put on ourselves.
–Sam Visnic