The real causes of back pain - Article 2 in a series of 5.

Copyright 2006 Rick Rakauskas In my last article, one of the key points was: We at the Better Back System have discovered that the third element of the spine's control mechanisms - Neural (nerve path) Control - is the missing link from almost all treatments currently available. Now to answer the question: Why does back pain keep on recurring...? Medical statistics show that in the spinal area, the pain of the original injury can recur in 80% or more of cases without further obvious injury. So why does this happen? The answer to this question can be quite complex, but in simple terms, the spine loses its active stability subsystem due to the injury, and this stability does not spontaneously return once the injury has resolved. I'll say that again: this stability does not spontaneously return once the injury has resolved itself. Here's what scientists have known for many years: When we injure muscles in our body, our brain "switches off" the affected area to put it temporarily out of action so that healing can occur. When we injure muscles in our arms or legs, our brain switches these muscles back on again relatively quickly, so that normal function is restored without undue delay. We believe this is because most of us use our arms and legs as nature intended - more or less. But here's what scientists have only recently discovered: When muscles along our spine are injured, the nerve paths to those muscles in many cases are NOT restored without undue delay. We at the Better Back System believe this happens because most of us most of the time DON'T use our backs as nature intended. So instead of using our backs properly: o We slouch around when we walk. o We lounge around watching TV on our sofas like monkeys (actually we don't lounge around like monkeys - monkeys have very little back pain because they DO use their backs as nature intended). o Kids carry heavy school bags over one shoulder placing huge stresses on their spines daily. o The work we do puts us into highly stressful physical positions. For example, hairdressers hold their arms up for hours, with their shoulders hunched and heads stuck forward. House painters move just one arm for many hours, and when painting ceilings, tilt their heads back and put enormous strain on their necks. o We spend hours non-stop crouched over a keyboard or papers on our desk - and by the way, this is one of the major work hazards of the last twenty years. o We pick up heavy or awkward things incorrectly. . So when our muscles are out of balance ... pulling strongly on one side of the spine ... while there is little or no resistance on the other side ... because the muscles have been switched off by the brain ... and have not yet been switched back on again (sometimes years later) ... is it any wonder we experience constant or regularly recurring back pain? And here's another almost unknown reason why lower back pain keeps recurring: Only in the past ten years or so have scientists discovered that in people with NO back problems, any movement of the arms or legs is preceded by contraction of major muscles in the spine (Transversus Abdominis and Multifidus muscles). So these muscles are the first muscles to contract, even before those of the arms and legs! The explanation for this is that the brain is preparing the back for the increased loads and stresses involved in movement. Conversely, in people with a history of lower back pain, this does not occur - the Transversus Abdominis and Multifidus muscles DO NOT BRACE THE SPINE before movement, therefore increasing the stress on the spine and surrounding structures. To make matters worse, research has also shown that your injured Multifidus muscles decrease in size and change shape. They do not fix themselves up spontaneously after back pain stops and so, further stress continues because of the unbalanced force on the spine. Similar effects of pain in the thoracic (chest) and cervical (neck) areas are also likely. Next article - Why almost all doctors, chiropractors and other health professionals in most cases can provide only temporary relief. Sincerely Rick Rakauskas