Musculoskeletal Myth

 

             Musculoskeletal Myth

 

#1: Lower back pain – self healing problem: While some experience the occasional lower back pain, most people with recurrent issues must consider visiting their practitioner to understand and treat the root cause. Alternate medicine provides a variety of treatments such as Acupuncture to help reduce such problems. The classic adage of “Prevention is better than cure” holds strong in the case of lower back pain and should be treated at an early stage for best results and reversal of the problem.

#2: An X-ray or an MRI can reveal the problems of musculoskeletal problems: Anomalies such as structural evidence of lumbar herniated disc seen in symptomatic patients are often found on asymptomatic X-rays and MRI’s as well. This begs the question of how accurate a reading can be made from just these findings. As a result it can be misconstrued with coincidental findings that an asymptomatic individual can be labeled as having pathology. A more definitive use of such imaging would be ideally suited to cases of tumor, infections, medical disease or fracture etc.

 

#3: All back pain patients are treated same: Treatment and recovery is very specific to each patient and generalization will only mean different results and different time frames of recovery. Each patient with such conditions must be approached clinically and holistically to its defined sub-path thereby accelerating outcome, reduced costs and improved results.

 

#4: Let pain be your guide: Pain as a guide is generally to be noted for traumatic injuries while not so much for chronic persistent repetitive pain. The attitude of the patient and the doctor while addressing the “do’s” and “don’t’s” is of paramount importance particularly as the idea of “being in pain” could cause as much if not more damage than the actuality of experiencing it.  The doctor should advice in such a way that pain-related anxiety is reduced and the patient is able to resume normal activity as much as possible.

 

#5: More is better: Psychologists say that the brain thinks as a whole and in terms of movement and not individual sets of muscles or body parts. Therefore the quality of exercise far out beats the necessity of quantity. In rehabilitation particularly, stability is of more importance than the strength.

 

#6: Deep Muscles like transverse abdominus are key for stability: When an example such as the lumbar spine is considered, it is known that the spine is not stabilized by individual muscles, but by an orchestrated symphony of muscles. Different muscles take on greater or smaller roles depending on the movement challenge.

 

#7: During exercise, we should breathe out with exertion: Every fitness center has stressed on the importance of breathing out with exertion, for example exhaling during a sit-up. Professional sports persons are asked to inhale prior to the squat in order to build up intra-abdominal pressure. Using this, they can light more weight. During low load training, it has been seen that when the spinal stabilization and respiratory challenge is simultaneously encountered, the nervous system naturally chooses maintenance of respiration to spinal stability.

 

#8: No Pain, No Gain: There is a subtle difference between the pain felt from injury and pain felt from a hard work out. Understanding the intrinsic difference between these two could be key in distinguishing a successful athlete from another. Extremities of ignoring pain to either put a full stop to exercising or ignoring the pain and overworking the body is not advisable. Endurance is built by pushing the limits, however while maintain the understanding of the root cause of the pain felt.

 

Ref: journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/jbmt