Question 1

Why continue treatment after the pain has stopped?

Accepted Answer

Pain stopping is not the same as being fully healed. Pain is the first thing to go; weakened muscles and ligaments come back later.

Question 2

Back rehabilitation exercise: what stage do you start from?

Accepted Answer

We start with holding still without moving. Because the joint doesn't move, you can do it even while it still hurts, and that makes it safe.

Question 3

Why is separate rehabilitation needed after spine surgery?

Accepted Answer

Surgery fixes the damaged area; rehabilitation makes it usable again. Even after it is fixed, if you don't use it, it stiffens, and once it stiffens, it starts to hurt again.

Question 4

When the same spot keeps hurting, where do you look again?

Accepted Answer

We need to look not at the painful spot, but at the place that pushes extra load onto it. If you only keep treating the painful spot, it improves only while you're treating it and comes back when you stop.

Question 5

Back pain in people who sit at work all day: what do you look at first?

Accepted Answer

Patients tell us they spend most of the day at a desk, and now their back hurts and they even feel pain shooting down the leg. They can't cut down on sitting time, which makes it all the more frustrating.

Question 6

Acute back pain where you suddenly can't straighten up: what should you do?

Accepted Answer

Patients tell us they were sitting on the floor doing something, and the moment they got up, their back locked and they couldn't straighten it. They arrive barely able to move on their own.

Question 7

What causes ongoing back pain when you've never been injured?

Accepted Answer

Patients tell us they never lifted anything heavy or fell, yet their back aches as if pressed down and doesn't get better with rest. It's not only their back that hurts.

Recovery and recurrence