Your back is one of the strongest parts of your body.
It bears so much responsibility. It ensures that you remain upright so that your organs can function properly. It allows for the mobility you need to get around. It also allows you to carry all the things you need with you each day.
But your back is also fickle. Although it is incredibly strong, simple actions like turning the wrong way or sleeping in the wrong position can leave you feeling crippled.
Back pain is one of the top reasons that people seek the help of physical therapists. A healthy back is an essential part of living. When you have back pain, it can make almost every other task in your life difficult.
But as it turns out, physical therapy is not always the best thing that you can do for your back.
Because sometimes, that twinge in your back disappears as randomly as comes. It seems that time can actually heal back pain as fast as physical therapy.
A recent study showed that people who jump straight into physical therapy for their back pain are not much better off than those who wait for typical care.
In fact, heading straight to the door of the therapist does not do most people any favors. This is particularly true of people who suffer from lower back pain.
The study showed that those who had early physical therapy had the same amount of pain as people who abstained. However, those who had early therapy felt generally felt better because they knew their pain was recognized by someone.
The problem with jumping into any therapy too early is that you are not allowing time for your body to heal itself. In many different medical scenarios, letting your injuries or illnesses heal without medical intervention can be one of the best things that you can do for your body.
Your body does strange things. Just as strong, load bearing muscles can be taken down with one wrong move, they can be healed just as randomly if you leave them alone over time.
One of the best reasons to give time a chance is because medical intervention can sometime make things worse.
When adopted too early, aggressive treatments may not look at the full development of the pain. These treatments often treat the early symptoms rather than the problem underlying them.
Plus, lower back pain will actually go away on its own. Only a small number of people have serious underlying cause that needs considerable medical treatment.
At the end of the day, if you have a twinge or an ache, your body can take care of itself. Your body was designed to be resilient. A healthy back can perform feats that almost seem superhuman.
If the pain gets in the way of your life, you might consider stretching as well as anti-inflammatory medications.
However, you should avoid immediately reaching for an MRI or heavy painkillers. MRIs are rarely helpful in solving lower back pain, except for the most extreme cases. Strong painkillers also include side effects for many patients.
Many times, these strategies are offered just to give patients peace of mind rather than to seriously investigate the cause of the back pain.
For most people, giving your body time to heal is the best option. Even though society today wants to rush straight to their physician when they have a tickle in their throat, sometimes it is best to wait. Your body may even be stronger for it.
