There are a few “conditions” that i’ll share below that are complete nonsense. You’re not “stupid” for believing these, a multitude of practitioners still peddle in falsehoods (unknowingly) and outdated treatment paradigms. I’m not going to go into full detail into each of the conditions in this article as it would likely become a books length, but i’m going to keep it short and to the point. (at some point I may update this article to become more exhaustive)
Bulging discs and degenerative disc disease
These are normal findings. Let me repeat, these are normal findings in most adults. (insert disc degeneration findings)
Please refer to my first sentence saying “I’m not saying these things never contribute to pain.”
As you can see from this graphic, in people who have NO PAIN whatsoever, these findings are present.
You might be saying, “well, I have pain, and I have those findings, so those don’t apply to me.” Absolutely. I think the disconnect between the statement above is that providers will tell people “oh hey, good news, that’s normal,” but then the patient, or you, thinks, “okay… well if that’s normal, then WHY DO I HURT?”
Sadly the conversation often stops right there and everyone is just as confused as when they first walked into the appointment.
There are several reasons “why you hurt,” which we are going to discuss later on in this article/video.
Disc herniations (pinched nerve)
Large disc herniations can certainly be a direct cause of symptoms as they may compress spinal nerve roots to a large degree causing decreased blood flow to the nerve root, resulting in metabolite build up, leading to more “danger signals,” being sent up to the brain, resulting in a painful sensation down the leg. The challenge with this though, is that not everyone who has compression of a nerve root actually has severe symptoms. This is why it’s important to do a clinical exam prior to getting an X-ray, or an MRI. Additionally, the larger the disc herniation, the higher the likelihood that it will resorb (heal) naturally, with time.
Stenosis
Again, this can cause some cord compression or if it’s foraminal stenosis can cause compression of nerve roots. But, as we discussed above, this can cause symptoms or people can have little to no symptoms.
Scoliosis
While it’s certainly true that some people who have scoliosis have more back pain, it’s also true that most people will be able to improve their symptoms even if they have scoliosis. In more severe cases of scoliosis where the curve is excessive and causing breathing issues, surgery can sometimes be indicated. In the majority of cases a small degree of scoliosis is actually pretty normal, and by making some lifestyle improvements you can actually reduce a lot of the symptoms.
Back Spasms
Lots of people experience these. They are incredibly painful and often times they come out of the blue from movements as simple as picking up a sock off the floor, sometimes bending and twisting, etc. The interesting thing is, that it’s not always from lifting heavy objects. Often times people will experience back spasms in their lower back from doing simple, low effort activities. Causes of back spasms, again, goes back to our body trying to protect itself, even if it doesn’t necessarily have to.
Subluxations or bones going out of alignment.
This is complete and utter nonsense that needs to die a fiery death. (can you see how much I disagree with this teaching from so many practitioners). It’s simply not true, it’s not supported by the research, we can’t reliably find differences in bone positioning or bony landmarks between different providers, it’s useless.
I’m going to link to a few different articles you can read about this.
Pelvis is rotated or twisted
This is complete nonsense. The only way for this to happen is with severe trauma, or potentially ligamentous laxity with childbirth. So… this doesn’t happen, it can’t be correct by muscle energy techniques, or massage, or a hammer and chisel… it just doesn’t happen and you can’t correct something that is imaginary. I expect to get a lot of hate from this one even though I clearly articulated in the beginning of this video of what the true nature of pain is.
I’m going to link to a few different articles you can read about this.
Leg length discrepancy (hips are off)
Complete BS and utter nonsense.
Subluxations, bones out of alignment, and leg length discrepancies or rotations all make a critical error, that our body isn’t adaptable to various positioning of our bones and joints. And, there aren’t even reliable measurements to show these things happening under randomized controlled trials.
Why people feel better after getting these things corrected has an explanation too, which put simply… is because people trust the provider and believe that it will help. If there is nothing to correct, but you believe there is something to correct, and then that person “corrects it,” and you immediately feel better, wala, problem solved.