Breakthrough For Back Pain Article 1 of 4 by William V. Zucker, Ph.D. with Brian W. Nelson, M.D.

The following is a series of four articles written by William V. Zucker, Ph.D. that gives an excellent overview of the Med-X approach to rehabilitation of chronic spine problems. Dr. Zucker is the co-author of a book, " Breakthrough for Back Pain "

There are so many people with back pain! For back pain sufferers. no other problem seems so intractable, so persistent. In fact next to the common cold, back pain causes more absenteeism from work than anything else.

Our backs are always "going out' on us, it seems, and we find every imaginable reason to explain it.

"I got this sudden twinge and the next thing I knew I was on my knees looking down at the newspaper I was trying to pick up. I should have let Johnny get it."

"I did too much yesterday. Standing in the kitchen always gets me in the lower back. Should have sat down and read the newspaper Now. I won't get out of bed for two weeks"

"Getting Dad out of bed wouldn't be such a chore if only his lower back didn't hurt so much Unless he gets his aspirin, he can't move at all. Now my back is starting to hurt too."

We also go to specialists often and buy a lot of gadgets for treatment .. actually relief is a better word .. of our back pains. If you include chiropractors physical and occupational therapists, .exercise specialists, masseuses. D.O.'s. M.D.s, surgeons and literally hundreds of belts, pads supports. tables, and special shoes (that let you hang upside down on a bar), treating low back pain is a FORTY BILLION DOLLARS a year industry! Yet, in spite of the cost, the science of back pain was really quite primitive until recently.

Until a few years ago, it is fair to say that the root cause of back pain was unknown. But thanks to the persistence of a team of scientists at the University of Florida and the University of California. there has been a major advance m understanding the causes and prevention of back pain. YOU CAN, IN ALL PROBABILITY, END YOUR BACK PAIN NOW IF YOU WILL MAKE THE EFFORT!

Most people want to blame something mechanical for their back pain A pinched nerve. A muscle tear. A slipped disc. But a pinched nerve is better thought of as a symptom than an underlying cause of acute back pain; muscles almost never tear, and discs cannot slip at all!

The overwhelming majority of people, whether suffering from chronic or acute back pain are insufficiently strong in the major muscle groups of their backs. That's a genuine fact which in its simplicity may not impress you.. but take my word for it. YOU IGNORE IT AT YOUR PERIL!

If weak back muscles are the problem. then why can't we just do the exercises that our specialists tell us will strengthen the back? The answer is: BECAUSE THEY DON'T WORK!

Probably no other surprise in back pain research was more unexpected. Ordinary floor. chair, and standing exercises do almost nothing to strengthen the important muscles that keep our low backs healthy and functioning.

The reasons for this are complicated, but you can understand it in basic terms It look over sixteen years of research to prove that normally when we move our backs we scarcely use our back muscles at all! Instead we use our strong thigh and buttocks muscles An important consequence is that our back muscles get terribly weak from underuse .. we say they become "chronically atrophied,".. and that's the problem in a nutshell.

Most of us have chronically underdeveloped low back muscles. It turns out that our usual activities… sitting in chairs or in wheelchairs, walking short distances indoors, and sleeping… do not exercise the low back at all. But even the athlete, with his bulging muscles. doesn't always exercise the low back sufficiently. This weakness in the low back musculature also explains why a Larry Bird or a Joe Montana can be humbled by back pain. When you're disabled, if can be doubly important to provide the low back with the correct exercise.

The secret to exercising the back muscles correctly lay in discovering how to immobilize the thigh and buttocks muscles so that the back muscles could be exercised to isolation. When that is done backs get incredibly stronger and pain decreases significantly or disappears.

In the next article I'll explain HOW back muscles can be exercised in isolation and the excellent medical and clinical evidence that this special exercise system works.