Four out of five people will experience a debilitating back pain episode at one point during their lives. Sometimes this looks like severe back pain that lasts a few days and eventually goes away on its own. But for some – especially those that have experienced more than one debilitating back pain episode over the courseRead More…
Category: Back Pain
Back Surgery: Why it Fails and Do you Need it
Approximately 500,000 Americans undergo back surgery to relieve their pain every year, and according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHTQ), this costs approximately $11 billion annually. But what if I told you that only 5% of people undergoing back surgery actually need it – and worse – for many folks the pain ends up coming back. TheRead More…
Russel’s Success Story – Years of Back Pain to Golfing Again
If you’ve been suffering for years with back pain it can be extremely frustrating that you STILL haven’t found relief… you’re not alone. For many folks – this is their life… It’s not so debilitating that it keeps them from doing things – but it’s painful enough that it keeps them exhausted, unwilling to push themselves or tryRead More…
Three Reasons Back Pain Sufferers Avoid Exercise (and what you can do)
80% of the population suffers from what we call “non-specific low back pain”. Non-specific low back pain is typically chronic, comes out of nowhere, you have good days and bad days, and it’s not usually due to any recent or major accident or fall. If you’ve got back pain and you’re reading this – odds are prettyRead More…
Want to Lose Weight in the New Year? Don’t Let Knee or Back Pain Get in Your Way
If you google “Top 3 New Year’s Resolutions” – you’re sure to find “losing weight” as one of them. While I’m not a dietician or nutritionist, I know that the majority of weight loss has to do with what you eat. However, exercise plays a role too, and that I am an expert in. Exercise stimulates endorphins and makes youRead More…
When You Can’t Feel Your Abs
I’ve been a physical therapist for 23 years, and have been specializing in back pain for the past 15 years of my career. When it comes to strengthening your core and preventing back pain, I am an expert in my field. Yet for some reason this morning, during my core workout, I just couldn’t feelRead More…
Hip Flexors Always Tight? Maybe Stop Stretching
When it comes to chronically stiff muscles – tight hip flexors are the second most common complaint I hear after tight hamstrings. Tight hip flexors are annoying, achy, and they often contribute to lower back pain. When your hips are always tight, it can interfere with your ability to enjoy walking, running, golfing, and just exercise inRead More…
Piriformis syndrome and Sciatica – PT not working?
I recently polled my readers regarding their most important concerns when it comes to their musculoskeletal health. In other words, what questions were they desperately seeking answers for related to back, neck, knee, hip, shoulder, or ankle pain? Here is a great question I received from John: “I’m getting Physical Therapy for lower back painRead More…
No More RFA (Radio Frequency Ablation) to Her Back!
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA)? If you suffer from chronic back pain – there’s a good chance you have. Perhaps it’s even been recommended to you? It’s a common procedure used to disable nerve fibers that are carrying the pain signal to your brain. Your brain is what decides whether or not you’re going to experience pain.Read More…
When Exercise hurts your Back instead of Helps
The research continues to show that the best treatment for back pain is exercise. But what do you do when exercising hurts your back instead of helps? What most people do when exercise flares their back up is they just stop. They simply wait for the pain to go away – and begin the cycleRead More…