Does Your Pain Have You Confused?

Using Movement to Understand Your Pain

Managing aches and pains can often be confusing, difficult, and irritating. Have you ever wondered “How do I know if I am treating this properly? Is what I am doing helping or making the issue worse?” Next thing you know, you’re on Dr. Google and YouTube searching for the latest and greatest exercise or “magic stretch” to fix the issue. Oftentimes, this creates even more confusion and you end up sitting around to rest, taking time off of activities that you enjoy, and waiting to “heal” - only to give it months before trying activities again just to feel the original issue present itself once again. We see this all too often with patients who come to us at Great Lakes Spine & Sport. Here are a few pieces of advice if you find yourself in this situation:

First and foremost, you need to treat the root cause, not the symptoms. 

The majority of the time, where it hurts and the cause of your pain are rarely the same. Just because your back hurts, does not mean your back is the problem. Granted you can fall down a flight of stairs, land on your back and have a trauma, in which case the source of pain and the area of where it hurts are the same. However, for the majority of people their issues arise insidiously. They will say something like “I slept funny”, “I bent over to pick something up”, or “it hurts after sitting at work”. This is an accumulation of sustained and repetitive movements over time, that eventually seems like it showed up out of nowhere, but it actually has been brewing for quite some time - most times the cause arising from somewhere you do not expect.

Not all pain is equal. Back pain is a symptom, not a condition. 

Otherwise stated, there are thousands of reasons why someone could have back pain. It could be poor thoracic spine mobility, poor hip mobility, lack of low back motor control, disc issues, facet syndrome, stenosis, and the list goes on. Trained providers who know how to utilize movement to properly classify pain and find the root cause will be of better service to their clients and be able to help find long term solutions. This requires utilizing different treatment styles, patient education, and having expectations set. For example, joint issues don’t require the same treatment as a tendon issue, just like how one person’s sciatica responds to one specific movement while another person’s sciatica could get worse with the same exact movement. Not all pain is equal and therefore patients need to have a proper exam completed and diagnosis given in order to be treated efficiently and sufficiently. 

Hurt does not always equal harm. 

This is especially true for tendon issues. In fact, producing symptoms in a tolerable and systematic manner is actually how you fix these issues in the long run - not icing, resting, or constantly using tylenol or ibuprofen. These often are the situations where people take time away from activities they love like golfing, lifting, running, or pickleball, just to start up again after a few weeks later to be only welcomed with the same pain again.  How do you know it’s a tendon causing your pain? Find a provider to guide you in what is truly causing your pain, why it came about, and teach you what to do in order to fix it for good! 

At Great Lakes Spine & Sport, we are dedicated to finding solutions, eliminating pain quickly, and teaching long-term preventative strategies so you don’t have to rely on Doctors over and over. If you find yourself in a situation similar to what was stated above, we would love to help you clear up your confusion, frustration, and waiting. Visit our website at https://greatlakesspineandsport.com or call us at 616-594-0214.