Did you know that the top 10 pharmaceutical companies spent 1.1 BILLION dollars last year on TV advertising? That’s billion…with a “B”.

And according to a New York University study done in 2008, the US pharmaceutical industry spends almost twice as much of sales dollars on promotion (24.4%) as it does on research and development (13.4%) — contrary to what you’ve been told by Big Pharma.

If an alien were to land in the U.S. right now and wanted to know more about us, they’d get the impression, judging by the drug company ads, that we are a society of depressed, impotent, allergic, overweight, stressed-out individuals who are stiff and in pain, have high cholesterol and either can’t pee (the men)…or pee too much (the women)! Geez.

The drug companies offer us a variety of pills to help decrease these “symptoms” of life — in return for some “possible side-effects”. Like dry mouth, dizziness, nausea, hallucinations, seizures and panic attacks. (These are some of the side effects listed for the anti-depression drug Pristiq)

But shouldn’t we want more than that for ourselves?

It seems to me that at $4 a pill for Pristiq (or whatever drug you’re using to treat your symptoms), you should expect more than just having “less symptoms of depression”. Or “less allergy symptoms“, or “less pain symptoms“.

Shouldn’t we be demanding more from our health care system? Not only from the drug companies, but from our doctors and practitioners too?

Shouldn’t we be demanding more from ourselves?

What about vitality, passion, enthusiasm, balance, creativity, living our purpose, living consciously? What aboutexperiencing the simple and pure joy of moving our body, the way a child does?

The answers to living our lives fully, with pleasure, joy and connection, cannot be found in a pill bottle, or on a surgeon’s table.They lie within us.

Shouldn’t we expect our “health care” system to do more than just treat our symptoms? Shouldn’t we expect abundant physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health?

ARE WE ASKING TOO LITTLE?

I intend to demand more!

So now you’re angry with your doctor because you’ve been told you there’s nothing more he/she can do for you.

Maybe you’ve contemplated finding another doctor who’ll consider doing surgery…but this may not be your best course of action. Here’s why:

Medical research is one resource that most spinal orthopedic and neurosurgeons consider heavily when making a decision about whether to perform surgery. And over the last 10 years, the research has pointed away from using surgery as a good solution for back pain.

Unfortunately, much of the research is conducted retrospectively — after the surgeries have been being performed for several years and the results are tabulated from patient experiences. This means that you are the guinea-pig!

Another study was recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showing that complex back surgeries for problems like arthritis (and if you’re over 35, you’ve probably got at least some arthritis), have increased dramatically over the last few years — and so have the risks.

You can read a summary of the study here.

Here’s what you need to know: the number of complex surgeries for back pain has gone up, and so has the rate of life threatening complications such as heart attack, stroke and pneumonia. AND - these surgeries are not getting results, despite the risks.

Why would a surgeon perform a high risk procedure for back pain, when there’s no research to indicate that it improves outcomes and there is research to show that there’s an increase in complications?

Well…there’s a big financial incentive to perform complex surgeries. And patients are often desperate enough to agree to any new procedure hoping that it’s the latest “magic bullet”.

But there is no magic bullet — it doesn’t exist. To recover from back pain, you need to embrace a holistic approach, and your path to healing will be unique.

So what are you supposed to do? First, get informed. Conditions like arthritis, which is very common by the way, respond best to non-invasive treatments such as an appropriate combination of gentle exercise, nutritional support, stress reduction and postural adjustments in everyday activities.

After 30+ years of treating people with back pain, I’ve found that the combination of Pilates and Franklin Method is by far the most effective way to relieve and heal back pain. You may have heard of Pilates, which has been around for almost a century, and emphasizes core strength, flexibility, balance and posture, but The Franklin Method is a relatively new addition to the mind-body scene.

In the next post, I’ll be sharing some videos with you that give you a sneak peek into this powerful combination for back pain relief. In the meantime, have a look at these videos that I made for my Pilates students — they’ll give you a little taste of how Pilates + Franklin Method = A Happier, Healthier YOU.

To Healing Your Back Pain,

Lindy

…there are too many options, too many choices. Including remedies your relatives and friends tell you about. Some of these remedies might actually be helpful, like taking a bath in mineral salts, or avoiding night-shade vegetables to decrease inflammation.

And some are just plain woo-woo.

How are you supposed to sort through the huge amount of treatment and therapy options that are available, when there’s so much conflicting information?

You certainly don’t have the time or the money to try absolutely everything. And trying everything will probably make your back worse in the long run anyway.

So what are you supposed to do?

Well first, realize that you’re a unique individual — there’s not another like you. There never has been, and there never will be again. You are the sum total of your unique genetics, experiences, beliefs, thought patterns, education, family history etc. etc., and your healing journey is unique to you, and you alone.

There’s no one “back pain cure” recipe out there that’s specific for YOU.  Because YOU are unique.

There are, however, basic principles of healing that can guide your journey. Things like your nutrition, exercise and attitude have a direct affect on your health. If you’re putting crappy food into your body, your chances of healing your back pain are poor (just like putting bad gas in your car and expecting it to perform optimally); if you smoke, your back pain probably won’t resolve completely; if you think you can’t heal…you won’t.

Another principle is that your body responds to the movement and postural patterns that you’ve had for your lifetime. These patterns are often the cause of your back pain.

Any physical back pain program you do should incorporate your entire body — from feet to head, right to left, inside to outside.

If you’re working with a Physical Therapist, chiropractor, doctor, personal trainer, movement therapist, exercise physiologist, or any other practitioner who’s working with your physical structure, they should be working with your entire body — not just the parts that hurt.

In fact, the parts that hurt are just the symptoms…the real cause of your pain usually lies in your posture and movement patterns.

Here’s where Pilates can be very helpful, because Pilates addresses your whole body.

A P.T. friend of mine, Lise Stolze, is currently doing a research study on Pilates and low back pain. Her study was recently featured on the Denver local news >>> Pilates for low back pain study.

If watching this piece gets you fired up to try Pilates, you should know that there’s “Pilates”… and then there’s “Pilates for Rehabilitation”. Finding a highly trained Pilates practitioner can sometimes be like finding a needle in a haystack, especially if you live in a small community.

A good Pilates practitioner should have a comprehensive certification, and a minimum of 400 hours of education in Pilates specifically. They should also be educated in working with back pathologies and other diagnoses. Ideally, find a center where P.T.s and Pilates practitioners are working together.

And if your P.T. or instructor spends all their time focused on your back, without looking at the rest of you…run the other way!!

Leave me a comment about your experience with Pilates, or any other form of exercise — what are your frustrations about exercise and back pain? What tips or techniques do you want to know about?

I’m in the process of making a series of FREE videos, and I want to make sure you get the back pain information you need — so leave me a comment and I’ll get going on these right away. I’m here to help and support you.

To healing your back pain,

Lindy

…and your doctor doesn’t get it either.

Despite the fact that billions of dollars are spent every year in the US and other countries on treating back pain, and billions are lost in productivity because of it, back pain still seems to be somewhat of a mystery.

There’s just no definitive solution to your back pain. Sure, there are plenty of choices in the form of drugs, surgery, pillows, beds, exercises, etc, etc. But there isn’t one simple thing that you can do that’s guaranteed to cure your back pain.

You’d think that we could figure out some kind of solution to back pain, since it’s been studied for so many years in most industrialized countries of the world. So is there anything we can learn from the more than 1200 back pain studies and trials that have been published?

One thing that’s been established as a result of all this research, is that recommended guidelines for treatment of have been implemented in many industrialized countries…but are doctors actually adhering to the recommendations based on the published evidence?

Keep in mind that low back pain is initially treated by general practice physicians, both in the US and many other countries. And often, after a visit to your doctor about your back pain, you feel like you’re on your own.

So, perhaps we could learn something from a recent Australian study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine that looks at whether low back pain is being treated by GP physicians in accordance with international best practice guidelines.

You might not be too surprised to learn that Aussie general practice docs are NOT treating “new” LBP patients as recommended. One of the recommendations is that imaging (X-rays, CT scans etc.) is not initially advised, and yet in 25% of the cases, imaging was ordered by the doctor. It’s been established in both the US and Australia that imaging is not necessary for first onset low back pain, unless there’s a “red flag” in the initial examination.

There’s also some inconsistency with the guidelines about drug prescriptions — even though analgesics such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) are advised, many docs prescribed more dangerous medications like anti-inflammatories (such as Advil or Motrin), or opioids.

This is all quite interesting, but the portion of the guidelines that’s being ignored THE MOST by doctors, is the recommendation that doctors should be giving their patients advice and education about exercise and lifestyle options. The study found that only about 20% of the patients were provided with any sort of advice or education by their doctor. No wonder you feel like you’re on your own after you visit your doctor for your low back pain.

I’ve got a few problems with this idea of your doctor giving you advice and education about your LBP (never mind the fact that it’s not being done anyway).

Here’s why this scenario doesn’t work:

1. Your doctor doesn’t have the time – 15-20 minutes isn’t long enough for you to get  any education about how to care for your back.
2. Your doctor doesn’t have the training to educate you about posture, body mechanics, exercise and to give you the information that will help you understand the relationship between your body and your spine. Several recent studies of medical schools in the US and Europe have pointed to the fact that doctors are inadequately trained to deal with musculoskeletal conditions such as low back pain…and they have NO training in developing an exercise prescription, or analyzing movement, posture or body mechanics.
3. Expectations of our doctors are that we’ll get a diagnosis (= an “answer”), a prescription for the medication that will “cure” us, and perhaps a referral (for more tests, to a specialist etc.). This is an unrealistic expectation — both from the doctor’s perspective and from the patient’s…no one can find and treat the root cause and then “cure” your back pain in a 15 minute visit.

What you really need is a way to get advice and education from an expert in low back pain exercises, body mechanics and lifestyle modification so that you can understand your own body and cure your back pain…

So where can you go?

Where can you get the education and training you need to cure your back pain, without relying on unsafe medications to mask the pain, or spending thousands of dollars on unnecessary tests that won’t get you any closer to pain relief?

Well…in the current environment, where general practice doctors are stressed for time, and inadequately trained to deal with low back pain conditions, it seems as though you’re on your own. You may get a referral to a physical therapist, but in the US, PTs are just as time-limited as your doctor, getting only a few minutes each visit to work with you one on one.

You might try a chiropractor, acupuncturist, massage therapist or other practitioner, but many of these practitioners have no training in movement analysis, exercise prescriptions or body mechanics.

But there’s good news! You’re not alone…there are options:

1. Find a Physical Therapist who is trained in both manual therapy (working with your body to improve your overall alignment) AND movement. Pilates, Feldenkrais and Franklin Method trained PTs are ideal.
2. Find a Pilates teacher who has comprehensive Pilates training
3. Find a Feldenkrais practitioner
4. Find a Franklin Method Teacher
5. OR…Sign up today for the MASTER Your Back Pain System - the most comprehensive low back pain program on the web. The 30 day MASTER system combines the latest in movement science research, nutritional advice, the “how to’s” of sitting, standing and sleeping without pain, as well as a step-by-step weekly program to keep you on track.

So even though your doctor may not be following the recommended research-based guidelines for treating your back pain, there’s no reason for you be alone. There’s support, advice and education available…you just have to know where to look.

You deserve to have a healthy back, so if you need more resources, or have questions about successfully relieving your back pain, please leave me a comment below.

To healing your back pain.

Like it or not, more of us are sitting at our jobs than ever before.

And all this sitting is contributing to an increase in back pain.

Is it because we’re moving less? Maybe…

…and maybe it’s also the WAY we’re sitting. We no longer sit in an upright position, keeping our heads aligned and balanced over our spines.

We slouch.

My friend, Thea Walter, a physio in Sydney, Australia, shared her thoughts on the back pain-and-sitting-epidemic in a previous post.

I was in LA at a conference a while ago, and ran into a friend of mine, Rob Brinded. Rob is a health and conditioning specialist, and works with top professional soccer players in Europe. He’s also an amazing movement practitioner.

How To Easily Eliminate Back Pain While Sitting <= In this video, Rob shares some really good tips with us about sitting.

To Healing Your Back Pain,

Lindy

Click here for Rob’s website.

There’s a disturbing trend in the way many doctors are treating back pain that’s frustrating me…and it’s frustrating my patients as well.

You wait for weeks to get in to see a specialist, and you’re hoping you’ll find the solution to your pain. The specialist - usually in a 10 - 15 minute appointment - looks at your X-rays, MRI, CT scan or whatever, and gives you their opinion about what’s causing your back pain based on what he or she sees on your imaging tests.

Then the specialist tells you about your treatment options…Are you a surgical candidate? Maybe some injections would help. Do you need more PT? How about changing your medications?

All of these things may or may not help heal your back pain. But they’re more likely NOT to heal your back pain, because they’re limited by the fact that your doctor is treating your imaging tests, and not you.

When you go in for your appointment, does your doctor really look at you? I mean really look at YOU?

Most of my patients return from a visit to their specialist disappointed and disillusioned. Why? Because, they tell me, the doctor barely looked at them. He or she looked at the imaging tests - the MRI, X-ray or CT scans. Many of them tell me that the doctor never even touched them. Never asked to look at their movements. Never looked at them in a variety of positions.

Never looked at them.

Spine specialists are not trained postural and movement experts. Most of them don’t have a significant base of knowledge about Pilates, acupuncture, nutrition, Yoga, meditation — many of which have been proven to offer back pain relief. They’re not trained in offering you all the options you have when it comes to healing your back pain. Their tool-kit consists mostly of surgery, medication, spine injections.

Mark Twain said: “To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail”. Well, your spine specialist has been trained to look at your spine from a certain perspective, but not from ALL perspectives - they’re trained to use the “drugs or surgery” hammer to treat back pain. And that’s fine…

…but there are alternatives.

Does the specialist know how you handle stress? Do they know the level of muscle tension you maintain around your spine? What you eat? How you exercise? How you sit or stand at work? How you think and what you believe about your back? How well you can control your pelvis in all positions?

All of these factors have a big influence on your back pain.

And the great thing is that you are in control of all these things. To learn a simple exercise you can practice for training your pelvic mobility, click here, and scroll to the “Back relief basics” box.

More than 50% of back surgeries fail…because you are not just an MRI. You’re a living, breathing, body, mind & spirit. And your back pain is influenced by many factors, not just the stuff you can see on an MRI. And while it’s important to rule out life-threatening or other catastrophic causes of your back pain, the drugs and surgery hammer isn’t the only option you have when it comes to relieving back pain.

The MASTER System has everything you need to heal your back pain - naturally.

You can get my free report, “The 5 Best Tips To Avoid The Misery Of Back Pain While Sitting”, by entering your 1st name and email address on this page.

Here’s Thea…

Whenever you think of Australia, you probably think of sunny days, bronzed muscle bound bodies swimming and running along golden sands and beautiful beaches. Unfortunately that is not true of all the population.

The recent Baler report states that Australia is the fattest nation in the world with over 9 million (population 21 million) people now overweight or obese!

Not only are Aussies overweight, but 67% of Australians suffer from back pain at least once per week and accept it as part of life according to the Chiropractic Association of Australia.

Why?

Australia has a mild climate, outdoor access, abundance of recreational facilities …why are so many people overweight and suffering from back pain?

In spite of all the advantages of the Australian lifestyle, the average Australian spends 9 hours of their waking time in sedentary behaviour, primarily sitting. At work, 90% of people use computers and 75% of those that use computers complain of back pain.

Australia and the USA along with other western nations are similar in they both have an epidemic of back pain issues related to our sedentary lifestyle.

Think about how often you sit during a typical day:

When you meet someone for dinner

When you watch TV, or a movie

When you catch up for a drink with friends

When you’re work

When you’re driving

So what happens to your back when you sit?

• The normal curves of the spine change so that the lower back is flattened out rather than lordotic (arched). The mid back (thoracic) is more rounded than normal and the neck position reverses so the chin protrudes.

• The pressure on the inter-vertebral disc (the spongy part between the bones) increases and dehydrates due to reduced fluid flow and disc creep. Movement is necessary to maintain disc hydration.

• Major muscle groups are inactive for long periods which cause muscle weakness and instability of your joints. This leads to biomechanical imbalances and inefficiency. Spinal muscles may be over active.

• Higher risk of osteoporosis increases over time as there is no weight bearing or resistance for the non weight bearing bones

• Gradually, there is degeneration of the vertebral end plates and facet joints which is where the bone articulates with other spinal bones and creates movement.

• Ligaments along the front of the spine become lax, creating spinal instability.

Prolonged sitting creates a lot of wear and tear on the back and its structures. However, there is no way you can avoid sitting, it is a fact of life.

So what can you do right now to reduce back pain in sitting?

• Try to maintain normal curves of the spine when you sit. In standing, the spine is not perfectly upright. It has curves which help distribute weight over more supportive areas of the spine. The best way to maintain the natural curves of the spine is to sit with your weight directly over your sit bones (ischial tuberosity). These are the bony lumps you feel at either side of your buttock when you sit down.

• Ideally have a chair where the seat tilts forward that can help maintain the natural spinal curve of the low back (lumbar spine area).

• Move often and stand and walk around every 20 to 30 minutes to increase flow of fluid to the discs and generate muscle activity.

• Whenever possible, work in a standing position. For example, a standing work station.

• If you can not avoid sitting, it would help to have a chair that assists in maintaining your natural curves. For example a kneeling chair, saddle seat or an ergonomic chair. Your physical therapist can advise what the best solution is for you.

Back pain associated with sitting can be relieved. Fortunately our brain is a quick learner and adapts to new information easily. This is called brain neuroplasticity.

The brain changes with learning, memory and experience. You have a lifelong ability to change and adapt according to stimulus. Therefore stimulus such as exercise, nurturance and education can be applied to improve back pain and posture. You can re-educate your movement patterns, your knowledge and your habits so that you become pain free.

It is possible to be pain free and with a structured approach, usually through a health professional, you can maintain a healthy spine, be pain free and function at a normal level in physical activities.

In conclusion, you can reduce your back pain by keeping active, maintaining lifestyle changes and education about posture and getting professional advice for a program that is individually tailored to your needs.

Thea Walter

If you missed it, here’s that link again for your free report.

“What did I do to deserve this horrible, debilitating back pain?”

Are you a bad person? Did you do something so terrible that you have to pay for it with back pain for the rest of your life? Of course not! But this doesn’t change the fact that back pain is currently ruling your life.

What exactly is it about back pain in particular that’s so frustrating? Why does back pain seem to limit your life and your choices? Would it be easier to handle if the pain were in your foot, or your elbow?

I’m putting the finishing touches on the 30 day MASTER System course to get it ready to release to you on June 15th and I’d like to find out more about your personal experience with back pain.

Here’s  where you can share your struggles, trials and insights about back pain. What particularly frustrates you about back pain? Is there anything that helps to reduce your frustration? What are your fears when you think about your life with back pain? Post whatever’s on your mind in the “comment” link and share your fears and frustrations about back pain.

And if you’ve never used a blog before, just click on the “comment” link, fill out the name and email boxes (your email is not published or shared) and start writing in the field provided. Click “submit comment”, and you’re done. So jump in and join the conversation - our community will be better for having your voice in the conversation.

• One group received customized acupuncture treatment
• One group received standard acupuncture treatment considered to be effective for low back pain
• One group received “simulated” acupuncture where a toothpick was used on standard back pain acupuncture points but the skin was not penetrated by a needle
• One group continued doing whatever they’d been doing such as taking medication or doing physical therapy

All patients in the acupuncture groups received the same number of tretments over a 7 week period, and all patients in the study were assessed at 8 weeks, 6 months and 1 year.

All three groups who received acupuncture treatment reported “meaningful” improvement (60%) in their abilities to perform activities of daily living compared to the “usual care” group (39%). One year after treatment, 65% of the acupuncture group reported continued improvement compared to 50% of the “usual care” group.

There was no measurable difference between customized, standard, or “sham” acupuncture - all were more effective than “usual care”.

In reading the comments on this study that have been posted this week, it’s curious to note that most of the focus has been on the question “what is acupuncture, and what does it do?” If using toothpicks is the same as using needles, how does acupuncture work?

In commenting on the results of the study, Arya Nick Shamie, MD, associate professor of spine surgery at the University of California David Geffen School of Medicine and a spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, stated that “this paper has confused the issue even further as to how acupuncture works.” He also stated that perhaps “toothpick” acupuncture had a placebo effect.

Perhaps there’s a placebo effect.

Or perhaps acupuncture points can be stimulated without penetrating the skin.

The bottom line is that acupuncture is a relatively safe treatment option and seems to be effective. Rather than asking the question “what does acupuncture do?”, or “how does acupuncture work?”, we need to look further.

I’d like to ask Dr. Shamie the following question, “What can you learn from this study that will change your own treatment approach?”

Rather than shining the light on acupuncture, I think there’s a bigger question here. The real question for me is, “what is back pain?” If acupuncture, a technique that doesn’t directly treat “the pain”, is so effective, what’s really going on with back pain?

With the billions of dollars that are spent annually on treating back pain, and the additional billions that are lost due to decreased productivity and poor quality of life, it’s curious to note that little attention has been paid to simple and low cost alternatives like acupuncture. Or to exploring why acupuncture works better than standard medical treatment. Why do we continue using standard medical treatment when studies such as this show it to be less effective?

Why is standard medicine still using dangerous, costly and ineffective treatments like drugs and surgery?

Whether or not a placebo effect is at work with  acupuncture, this study shows that back pain is not just about treating “the diagnosis”. Or even “the pain”. If finding a herniated disc, spinal stenosis or arthritis using our advanced imaging technology were the answer, we’d all be feeling 100% pain free.

But we’re not.

There’s something going on beyond the physical diagnosis.

Back pain is now occuring in huge numbers. This was not always the case. What’s happened in our modern society that’s exploded the back pain epidemic to the level that it is today? And why do we continue to pursue treatments that are less than 50% effective? Like surgery. Or “usual care”?

Did you know that there is now a diagnosis code for “Failed Back Surgery Syndrome”? That’s how common it is. And yet we consumers continue to accept the “standard of care”.

We’re seeing studies like the one mentioned in this post, where the best questions the experts can come up with are how and why acupuncture works. These are, of course, important questions, but…

Wouldn’t we be better served by asking “What are we missing in the usual care approach?”, or,  “If acupuncture works, why are we still prescribing drugs, basic exercise, and surgery?”, or, “How can we train our physicians to be more effective in their patient interactions and quality of treatment so that they address what’s going on beyond the diagnosis?”

I’ll start having more respect for the medical business when studies like this are pursued. Medicine needs to investigate all treatment options for back pain, and not just the ones that make the drug, surgical and insurance companies wealthy.

More questions need to be asked.

Maybe you’ve realized how much time you spend criticizing yourself or your back. You might also notice that other parts of your body that have been neglected are suddenly “talking” to you in some way.

We learn from one another, and from sharing our insights and experiences. Have you made a discovery that will help other people relieve their back pain? Here’s the place to write about it.

We encourage you to use this blog space to add your comments about what you’ve discovered about yourself as you’ve read and watched the email series, and also to voice your challenges. The path to freedom from back pain is much more valuable when you can share it with others who understand your journey.

Be bold, and post your response to what you’re learning.