Back pain prevention is the goal of many patients who have endured one or more severe episodes of dorsopathy and never want to go through it again. Prevention is also a wise consideration for people who at heightened risk for pain or injury, even if they have yet to experience it. This demographic includes athletes, physical laborers and persons with physical or emotional conditions which predispose them towards symptoms.
Preventing back pain is never a sure science, but there are things which can be done to increase the chances of eliminating chronic symptoms from a person’s life. Of course the reason that the pain might exist must be positively identified and considered if a truly effective prevention plan is to be designed and implemented.
This dialog provides guidance for people who are trying to actively prevent dorsal pain in their lives through proactive measures.
General Back Pain Prevention
For most people there are certain things which can be done to minimize their chances of suffering back pain symptoms during their lives. Here are some of the general recommendations for preventing the occurrence of agonizing back ache:
It is vital to maintain a healthy weight and overall good health.
Do not smoke at all or drink excessively. Do not use drugs.
Stay active including a variety of sensible physical exercises throughout life.
Do not do anything to jeopardize your spine.
Identify genetic factors which may contribute to back pain.
These simple steps can help everyone reduce the chances of suffering from back or neck pain, but will not generally have any effect on symptoms which already exist.
Structural Back Pain Prevention
If you have verified structural concerns which are the source of recurrent back pain, then the obvious solution is to find an appropriate treatment which will actually resolve the underlying anatomical issues responsible for the symptoms. This sounds easier than it truly is.
Most chronic back pain is not the result of structural issues and many diagnosed conditions are nothing more than scapegoats used to mistakenly explain the pain. Additionally, even when pain is indeed structurally motivated, most back treatments are purely symptomatic in nature. This means that they will help manage the pain, but will do nothing to cure the underlying causative condition.
In order to prevent future episodes of pain, these extremely valid points must be considered by almost every patient.
Preventing Psychological Back Pain
It is well known that some chronic pain concerns are the result of the mindbody process. There are many reasons for these psychologically induced pain syndromes to occur, but the most prevalent is due to primary gain.
Therefore, in order to treat exiting pain, or prevent pain from coming on at any time in the future, here are some recommendations to prevent psychosomatic back pain from becoming a huge problem in your life:
Stay in touch with your emotional self. Spend time in introspection and journal to resolve problematic emotional issues.
Do not repress or suppress emotions, thoughts or stresses. It is well documented that stress related back pain is one of the kinder expressions of internalized emotional tension.
Learn more about using knowledge therapy to overcome the nocebo effect of many misdiagnosed conditions and set the path right once again for good health.
Understand the true meaning of psychosomatic pain, which is, pain that exists 100% in the body, but the source exists in the emotional subconscious. This pain is not imaginary or exaggerated, as some doctors (and many patients) often infer.
It is of paramount importance to know that even purely physical injury always has an emotional component. In many instances, pain may start out as structurally induced, but once the physical damage has healed, the continuation of symptoms is psychogenic. In other cases, the degree of physical pain is escalated severely by emotional overlay. These mindbody considerations should always be included in any diagnosed evaluation.
Our book Preventing Back Pain provides a complete guide to holistic health. Remember, preventing back pain is easier than treating it once it begins!
Back Pain > Recovering from Back Pain > Back Pain Prevention
