Most back pain is caused by sitting in uncomfortable positions for too long or carrying heavy objects. However, a study has revealed that your emotional state may also be a cause of your pain.
Back pain can occur at any moment and may have a negative impact on an individual's life. Experts believe that negative emotions can affect lower back pain, and assume that meditation is a better treatment than analgesics.
Emotional factors that can increase a person's risk of back pain include the following, according to Bupa:
- Belief that pain and activity are harmful. These may be the same person's beliefs, but they can be strengthened by family members who may try to protect them. Negative actions can reinforce the belief that a person is sick, for example,
-Staying in bed for a long time.
-Low mood, negative, depression, anxiety or stress.
- There are low expectations about the success of treatment.
- Rely heavily on negative treatments such as analgesics, cold and hot packages, massage and electrotherapy.
The NHS (UK National Health Service) recommends experimenting with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) - this can be a useful part of treatment if a person is struggling to cope with their pain.
Cognitive behavioral therapy, together with wakefulness techniques, has been shown to help treat chronic back pain.
In a study published in Jama, the effect of alert-based stress reduction versus cognitive behavioral therapy on back pain was analyzed.
Daniel C. Chirkin of the Seattle-based Collective Health Research Institute and his colleagues recruited 342 adults between the ages of 20 and 70 with chronic lower back pain to receive cognitive behavioral therapy or standard care.
"CBI was divided into eight groups per week, each with two hours. The usual care includes any other treatment, if any, received by participants. The average age of participants was 49 years; the average duration of back pain was 7-3 years."
The researchers found that at 26 weeks, the percentage of participants who received clinically meaningful improvement on a measure of functional limitations was higher for those who received COGNITIVE-Behavioral Therapy (58%) Compared to standard care (44%).
Commenting on the results, the authors of the study said: "The effects were medium-sized, which was typical of recommended evidence-based treatments for chronic lower back pain."
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