Pain In The Back? Exercise May Help You Learn Not To Feel It : Shots - Health News : NPR

More than 1 in 4 adult Americans say they've recently suffered a bout of low-back pain. It's one of the most common reasons people go to the doctor. And more and more people are being treated for it. America spends more than $80 billion a year on back pain treatments. But many specialists say less treatment is usually more effective. In fact, there's evidence that many standard treatments for back pain — surgery, spinal injections and painkillers — are often ineffective and can even worsen and prolong the problem. Dr. Jerome Groopman agrees with that premise. He suffered back pain for almost 20 years. He was a young marathon runner 32 years ago when back pain struck out of the blue. "I couldn't run. It was difficult to sleep," he says. "I wasn't confined to bed, but I was hobbling around." Groopman, a Harvard cancer specialist who writes about medicine for The New Yorker, wanted the problem fixed — right away. So he found a surgeon who removed a damaged disc, the jellylike cushioning between each vertebra. The surgery didn't fix his pain. Then, one day during brunch at a friend's house, something happened that altered the course of his life. "I stood up from a chair and just had an explosive electric shock through my lower back," he remembers. "Basically, I fell to the floor and couldn't get up." His previous pain was severe. But this was over the top. Groopman could hardly move. "I w...
Source: Psychology of Pain - Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Source Type: blogs