Back Pain Mistake #3

Continuing To Do What Doesn't Work

Apparently one of the definitions of insanity is doing the same thing again and again expecting different results.

This can also be said for having the same treatment over and over again with no results but hoping or expecting for different results.

I’ve heard many clients over the years tell me that they have stayed with a previous therapist for anywhere between 6 months to 5 years with very little results.

When I’ve asked them ‘why?’ their response was usually something like- ‘Oh, well they told me it would take time and my pain didn’t come on overnight so it won’t disappear overnight either.’

Yes, there is defiantly truth in that statement, however, after a period of 3-6 months you would hope to feel some improvement.

Many people have spent close to a small fortune on treatments for their back, neck, shoulder, sciatica pain.

Some treatments give 2-3 days relief and sometimes up to a week at the most. For some people this is great to get that much relief, however, not really sustainable for long periods of time.

“If you’ve been using a back pain treatment that doesn’t give any relief then maybe it’s time to try a different approach.”

If you’ve been using a back pain treatment that doesn’t give any relief, maybe it’s time to try a different approach.

Everybody is different. What works for a friend, family member or work colleague may not necessarily work for you. This is the important part to remember. If it’s not working for YOU, then consider a change in therapy or even a change in therapist.

“If it’s not working for you then consider a change in therapy or even therapist.”

As a general rule, if you haven’t noticed steady improvement in your pain after a 3 month period, consider making a change.

Sometimes clients I have worked on have experienced relief in 1 to 2 treatments. This isn’t always the case.

Others have noticed small changes over a 6 week period and continually improves after treatment. If after 6+ treatments there is no change (good or bad) whatsoever, I will generally advise the person to seek alternative treatment such as MRI scan to get a clearer picture of what is really happening.

There’s no point staying with a therapy (or therapist) that isn’t doing anything and paying all that money when you could try a different approach that could possibly offer some relief.

It’s not about having a certain amount of treatments, but that you should notice a steady progress in your pain relief. This relief should be of the longer lasting type, not just relief for a few hours or days.

Now, unfortunately, there are some cases where the only solution is eventually cortisone injections and then surgery. However, if you’ve only tried one type of therapy without much result, don’t you owe it to yourself to try another other therapies before you do go under the knife?