Low Back Pain: A Modern-Day Epidemic
With over 80% of the population experiencing low back pain at some point in their life, there’s no doubt this has become a major problem. Low back pain affects everyone—whether you’ve suffered it yourself, know someone who has, or simply pay for back pain treatments through the healthcare system and your taxes.
So What's the Problem?
Over the years, there’s been a significant increase in spinal MRIs, fusion surgeries, spinal injections, and the use of opioids and antidepressants for back pain. Unfortunately, none of this has translated into better outcomes for patients. In fact, chronic, disabling low back pain has increased roughly five-fold over the last 15 years.
📋 Dealing with back pain that just isn't improving? A proper assessment can help identify what type of back pain you actually have.
Not All Back Pain Is the Same
Low back pain is a broad term used to describe many different problems—everything from muscle spasms to disc herniations and joint irritations—which means not all back pain should be treated the same way. Your exercises, lifestyle changes, and overall management plan will differ depending on what type of back pain you have. For example, someone with a disc herniation is typically advised to do extension exercises while avoiding twisting movements, while someone with a joint irritation might be advised to do knee-to-chest stretches while avoiding extension exercises.
What Actually Works, According to the Research
So what do research and clinical practice guidelines actually recommend for low back pain? If you experience a sudden attack of back pain, the recommendations are:
- Stay active
- Visit a healthcare practitioner and get educated on the right exercises and lifestyle changes for your specific type of pain
- Use a short course of NSAIDs or paracetamol (pain medication like Advil or Tylenol)—always consult a doctor or pharmacist first
- Try spinal manipulative therapy—having your spine adjusted by a chiropractor or another qualified healthcare provider
These same conservative treatments are also recommended for chronic back pain (lasting longer than 6 weeks) and, in many cases, sciatica.
🩺 Ready to try the approach research actually supports? Book an appointment to start with education, exercise, and spinal manipulative therapy.
When Back Pain Becomes a Bigger Concern
In appropriate, higher-risk cases—including deteriorating neurological involvement—there are secondary recommendations for weak opioids, steroid injections, or back surgery. So how can you tell if neurological involvement is present?
Back pain with neurological involvement is often associated with weakness in the leg muscles, numbness in the legs or feet, or sharp, shooting pain running down the leg. It can also involve loss of bowel or bladder control—which is considered an emergency and requires immediate medical attention.
Why Do We Still See So Many Surgeries and Prescriptions?
Given all of this, why do expensive surgeries and pills remain so common? According to the evidence, the first line of care for managing low back pain should actually focus on patient education, exercise prescription, lifestyle modification advice, short-term pain medication when appropriate, and spinal manipulative therapy—not necessarily on the more invasive, expensive interventions that have become so widespread.
Key Takeaways
Low back pain is common, but it isn’t one-size-fits-all—effective treatment depends on identifying the specific type of pain you have. For most cases, research supports staying active, getting educated on the right exercises, short-term pain medication if needed, and spinal manipulative therapy, rather than jumping straight to surgery or long-term medication.
Ready to Get to the Root of Your Back Pain?
For more information or to book an appointment, contact Dr. Jen at Georgina Chiropractic.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Treatment depends on the specific cause—such as a disc herniation, muscle spasm, or joint irritation—since each requires a different combination of exercises and lifestyle changes.
Staying active, getting educated by a healthcare practitioner, a short course of NSAIDs or paracetamol if appropriate, and spinal manipulative therapy are the main evidence-based recommendations.
If back pain is accompanied by loss of bowel or bladder control, it’s considered an emergency and requires immediate medical attention.
Yes. The same conservative treatments, including spinal manipulative therapy, are also recommended for chronic back pain lasting longer than 6 weeks and, in many cases, for sciatica.
