Pain Education
Understanding Back Pain
- Chronic low back pain is rarely dangerous - even if it’s unpleasant (Reference)
- Chronic low back pain is rarely caused by serious tissue damage (Reference)
- MRI and X-ray imaging rarely help diagnose the causes of low back pain (Reference)
- Pain during exercise and movement is not a sign of tissue damage (Reference)
- Low back pain is not caused by “bad posture”, but by lack of movement (Reference)
- Weak stomach muscles are not always the cause of low back pain (Reference)
- Using your back every day (by bending, stretching, or lifting heavy objects) makes it STRONGER (Reference)
- An increase in pain doesn’t usually mean that you’ve actually injured yourself (Reference)
- Injections, strong medications, and operations rarely lead to long-term improvement in low back pain (Reference)
