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3 Back Pain Blunders to AVOID if You Are aged 45+ and Want to Stay Active

Back Pain Mistakes

Back Pain: Wouldn’t it be nice to go outside and go for a long walk without your back tightening up?

Or to do some gardening this summer without paying for it later in the day?

Or just to live your normal life, to keep up with friends and family, and be able to pick up and play with your grandkids without being afraid of your back going out…

At Balance and Body Restoration, we specialize in helping those aged 45+ live healthy, active lifestyles, free of painkillers and avoiding unnecessary injections and surgeries.

Of the thousands of people I’ve helped in over a decade get back to active lifestyles (even some that have had back pain for years), I’ve identified 3 Key mistakes and ‘blunders’ that people make when trying to recover from a back injury…

Part of our goal is to provide our local community with proper education about how to take proper care of your back, to keep you active, healthy, and happy without having to take pills.

Simply avoiding these common mistakes and misconceptions can help you get rid of pain, up to 30, 40, even 50%, and also become MUCH more active!

The Three Mistakes:

Mistake 1

Pushing Through The Back Pain

Even if you’ve got a high pain tolerance, and generally try to push through to stay active…Pushing through pain is NOT a good path to a healthy back

Pain is a signal that tells your body that something is wrong…Ignoring those signals, and pushing through can create more pain and injury over time…

But DON’T STOP BEING ACTIVE!!!

Instead, figure out exactly what movements or exercises are causing your pain, and most importantly… Learn your Limitations!

  • For instance, if it hurts to walk for 20 minutes, walk 15 (but do it twice per day!)
  • If it hurts to sit for 30 minutes, don’t allow yourself to sit for longer than 25!
  • If it hurts to do 20 squats at the gym, just stop at 15 reps instead!

Pushing through your limits can be very risky, and it does NOT get you any closer to being more active…

Taking a step back sometimes, and figuring out FIRST what your body is capable of, push yourself to the limit, but just BACK OFF SLIGHTLY, and do not break through the ‘injury threshold’…

Mistake 2

Settling For a Quick Fix to Back Pain

(such as taking pills, settling for a massage or going to the chiro a few times)

Most people when they’ve injured their back quickly look for ways for pain relief…

And that is exactly what you should be doing (if your back injury just only recently happened)…

The problem occurs when the back pain comes back...

But instead of searching for the CAUSE of the pain, you might get caught in the cycle of again needing more ‘pain relief’ or another ‘quick fix’…

And so the back pain comes back...

And now you're looking for more relief...

and so on, and so forth...

Understand that there are SO many other factors that are involved in healing ASIDE from JUST pain relief...

IMPORTANT Things such as:

  • Your lifestyle (including your job and overall activity level)
  • Your unique body-type
  • Past injuries

Healing Back Pain properly needs the right ENVIRONMENT for healing...

Constantly moving, staying active, eating healthy, and making good, healthy decisions are ALL needed to create the right situation to allow your body to heal...

Simply 'masking the pain' or trying to get your problem fixed overnight (even if you've been having trouble for years) will ONLY set you back further...

Focus on the ROOT causes of your pain, and fix THOSE (instead of settling for just pain relief)

(If you’re curious about learning what the ROOT causes of your pain might be, ask us about our FREE 30-minute “Discovery Visit” we offer here at Balance and Body Restoration to help you QUICKLY identify the root causes of YOUR pain)

Mistake 3

Rest, and Wait it Out

The WORST thing you can do is simply wait for back pain to get better on its own…

Why? Because the pain might actually go away at some point…

And why would that be a bad thing???

Because most people make the mistake of thinking that once the pain is gone, that the injury is healed.

Nothing further could be from the truth…

Because if you’ve hurt your back, PAIN is not the ONLY thing that is associated with a back injury...

Understand that several OTHER changes also happen INSIDE your body when you’ve been injured:

  • Scar tissue has formed over injury which will make it stiff and cause you to lose the proper mobility
  • Muscles weaken and make your body more susceptible to further injury (since it is not strong enough to withstand stress of movement or your lifestyle)
  • Your brain adapts by ‘avoiding the painful movement’ and compensating, thus altering the proper ‘form’ and technique when you move or exercise (this can also make you more susceptible to injury)

Ignoring these VERY CRITICAL aspects to injury can make you VERY susceptible to further injury, but it can cause WORSE injuries to happen later!

Many doctors, friends or family members may wrongly advise you to take a "passive approach" to healing, of simply 'resting', or 'taking it easy'...

This can be troubling because it can mislead you into thinking that you have healed, when you really haven't...

Instead, it is important that you take a PROACTIVE approach towards healing your back, instead of settling for a “passive” approach of simply waiting it out…

  • Staying active allows your body to generate very important blood flow and circulation to allow the healing process to happen more quickly (and effectively)
  • Constant movement (low intense) prevents your body from forming too much ‘scar tissue’
  • Doing safe, effective, core and back strengthening exercise will help keep your muscles strong and help you stay active (click here to check out my previous blog of 3 safe and shockingly effective core exercises)

So, there you have it!

Our goal at Balance and Body Restoration is to help as MANY people get the RIGHT information to make well-informed decisions about their health...

Understanding that healing back pain is a process, there are no 'magic pills' or 'silver bullets', and there are a lot of layers of complexity to getting this right.

Having the proper knowledge, taking a PRO-active approach, becoming more aware that simply living a healthy lifestyle, and making smart, well informed decisions is the BEST way to heal your injury.

Until next time!

To your health!

Kevin Mao, Doctor of Physical Therapy

P.S. Questions? Send them over at info@balanceandbodyrestoration.com, or feel free to schedule a FREE In-Person Consultation

Kevin Mao

Kevin Mao

Kevin graduated from Penn State University with an undergraduate degree in Kinesiology in 2008, and then graduated from Boston University in 2011 with a Doctorate in Physical Therapy. He first became interested in physical therapy back in high school after a devastating shoulder injury which required reconstructive surgery. But in going through that process he learned so much about the human body, and grew fascinated by it’s ability to heal and recover, having gone through the rehabilitation process himself. Kevin then got his start working under the best “manual therapy” clinic in San Francisco, having the opportunity to work with some of the nations top orthopedic surgeons and has had the opportunity to work with professional athletes and olympians. But Kevin found his true calling in working with the “active aging” population as he found there were so many people who were struggling needlessly simply because they didn’t have the knowledge of how to treat their pain and injuries correctly. Kevin enjoys spending time with Thuy, and their 3 kids, Destinee, Maddox, and Madeline where they often spend their weekends fishing, clamming, and adventuring the outdoors.