**Why does the back hurt?**

 

Almost every adult over the age of twenty experiences discomfort in the neck or back area. The topic of «back pain» has been studied so deeply and thoroughly that it seems almost impossible to come up with anything new. However, as often happens, it is precisely troubles that lead to unexpected discoveries. Personally, I have long reflected on the causes of such pain and internally felt that the traditional concepts taught in medical school do not reflect the full picture. Allow me to briefly share my story, after which we can discuss it in more detail.

At the age of twenty, when I again developed neck pain, a neurologist concluded after an X-ray that the condition of my neck corresponded to that of a forty-year-old person. Life went on as usual: now my neck, now my back would periodically bother me. Several hernias were discovered in the spine — both in the cervical and lumbar regions — but, fortunately, without complications. Everything was relatively calm until I was forty-five. At that age, I decided to enroll my son in a hand-to-hand combat section. While he trained, I usually sat nearby with a laptop. One day, the coach invited me to join the classes, but I refused, explaining that I preferred calmer sports like chess, tennis, and swimming. After several sessions, the coach persistently invited me to try again, and by the fourth training session, I finally agreed — but it turned out to be so hard that I felt like I was at my limit.

On the second day, I already regretted not having left the gym the day before… But gradually, I got into it. Two years later, I happened to notice that after two days behind the wheel, my back no longer hurt. My posture improved, and holding my back straight became much easier. This made me think. In the sports section that I attended with my son, special attention was paid to strengthening the back muscles. Then a bold idea came to my mind: it was precisely the muscular framework that had formed around the spine over these two years that caused the changes.

I began to think further and came to the conclusion that in the period from 20 to 45, many people stop playing sports and doing physical education, immersing themselves in work and making money. Over time, the muscles supporting the spine weaken and decrease in volume. This leads to abnormal mobility of the vertebrae, and the remaining muscles, unable to cope with the load, begin to hurt, especially at their attachment points. Such symptoms are well known to traumatologists. All other disorders in the spine arise as a consequence of these changes. Therefore, traditional treatment methods only temporarily relieve pain without addressing the root cause of the discomfort.

From this, it is clear that calls to «straighten up» or «hold your back straight» for children and adults are of no use. It is impossible to keep your back straight for longer than five minutes with weak muscles. The use of corsets to maintain correct posture is practically ineffective — they only take the load off muscles that are already insufficiently strong, causing the muscles to weaken even more.

Regardless of age, you can always start strengthening your back muscles, creating a strong muscular framework. It is especially important to monitor the posture of children from a very early age and start doing this today. However, remember that parents should set an example: they should perform exercises to develop back muscles together with their children. It is best if all members of your family engage in strengthening their back muscles.

Assuming my assumptions about the causes of back pain are correct, what conclusions can be drawn from this? How to properly organize the treatment and prevention of such pain?

The main thing in training is not the intensity of the load, but the regularity of the sessions. Do not, after reading these recommendations, rush to the gym and immediately attack the barbell: this can lead to another exacerbation requiring a visit to a neurologist. There are many different exercises on the internet — choose any that suit you and do them regularly.

It is optimal to select about four or five exercises and perform them systematically. It is recommended to exercise three to four times a week, no less and no more. Just ten minutes per session is enough for training your back. Visible changes will appear after about a month, and it is then that you can speak of significant progress achieved.

You should start with a light load that causes only a slight feeling of fatigue, gradually increasing the intensity to a moderate level.

D-r S.Pobedinskiy