Back Strain: Myth and Reality

Discover why the concept of ‘back strain’ is a common myth in the treatment of back pain. Learning about chiropractic care may be the key to understanding and alleviating your pain from its root.

Myth 1: A back strain

In the course of my work, I have taught hundreds of thousands of people about my approach to treating back pain. When I ask them what happened, they almost always say something like: “I was doing ‘X’ when my back gave me a ‘strain.’

Usually, some physical activity precedes the back pain, such as lifting a heavy object, sneezing, bending down, or getting out of bed. The reasoning is: “Well, since I didn’t have pain before the activity, the activity must have been the cause of the pain.” As will be seen in the upcoming chapters, the reality is a bit more complicated. In many cases, a physical activity can trigger a pain episode, but in itself, it is not the underlying cause.

[pullquote align=center] Consider this example: Let’s say you fill a room with natural gas and then light a match inside it. One could say that the match caused the explosion, but it would be more accurate to say the match “activated” or initiated the explosion. The first question should focus on “Where did all that gas come from?” [/pullquote]

This case is very similar to what happens with back pain. A physical activity can trigger a pain episode, but it is not the “fuel” that feeds it. If you do not get rid of the underlying problem, then any number of things can “activate” the pain.

Marc Bony, DC