Before getting too far into the article, I would like to debunk some myths first. Unfortunately there are a lot of untrustworthy health professionals that create fear in their clients to generate revenue for themselves. Professionals will often dramatise the way a client’s spine looks, feels or functions to get them into a state of distress. This is often followed up with a sales pitch along the lines of “but if you see me x number of times over x number of weeks your issue will improve.” I find this very harmful because it can create a lot of anxiety, stress and confusion in a client’s mind. Be cautious if your treating practitioner emphasizes any of the below:
1. “Your back is out of alignment”
This is an easy statement to make for a professional that wants to make some money out of you. During a consult, anyone can make your spine seem assymmetrical. This can be done with different positioning, and movements. Even x-rays can be manipulated by the user which is quite concerning. Truth be told your back probably isn’t out of alignment and even if it is, you shouldn’t have much to worry about. There are only 2-3% of people that have a true scoliosis where there is an irregular curvature of the spine. Of this 2-3%, 70% don’t require specific attention. I have seen thousands of clients in my time as a physio, there has only been 3 times i thought there back was truly ‘out of alignment.’
2. “I need to crack your back into place”
Continuing on from the above point, it’s likely that your bones aren’t out of place to begin with. Furthermore, the ‘crack’ noise you hear when your back is being manipulated is likely fluid within the joints making an audible noise, not the bones being physically readjusted. There is some research to suggest that back cracking will give you some short term flexibility and pain relief but not too much more than that. If you think you are going to fix your back pain with routine spinal manipulation alone, I’m afraid I have bad news for you.
3. “Your leg length is causing your back problem”
One large study showed that 90% of the normal population have some sort of leg length discrepency. So essentially it is normal to have one leg longer than the other. In my time as a clinician I have given 5 people a heel lift as an experiment to ‘even up’ their hip height. For the majority of people, your leg length won’t be your main problem so don’t be easily influenced if someone tells you otherwise.
4. “Your bulging disc is causing your pain”
Having a disc bulge is a lot more common than you think and most of the time it will not be the true cause of your issue. A number of studies have been done scanning healthy people’s spines to assess for disc issues. For example, in one study 30% of 20 year olds without back pain had a disc bulge. Yes that is right, they have disc bulges but ZERO pain. It must also be noted that as you get older, the likelihood of having a disc bulge will also increase.
If you want to find out what is actually causing your pain and understand how you can manage your symptoms, book in online today or give us a call.