Chronic Back Pain, Will a Brace Help?

I suffer from chronic back pain and regularly see a chiropractor and massage therapist. This treatment helps me along with regular stretching and exercise.

The back brace will help give support while you are working but taking pain meds all the time is just masking an existing problem.

My husband has chronic back pain. I think he married me for my massage abilities but that is another story. He said that is bad for your back and will make it weaker.

He said to find a book called treat your own back by Robin Mckenzie (not sure about the spelling). He has learned a lot of exercises that make it manageable. He should have had surgery years ago but has managed to deal with the pain. The most he takes is Motrin.

The thing you have to consider about a brace is the same as my orthopedic surgeon said about my brace after my ACL surgery. Using it all the time makes you dependent on it. You will never build the muscles to support your own knee. Braces are to protect from injury. Same as the back brace, you wear them when you don't want to injure, lifting and the like, perhaps when you are sitting.

Exercise and building the muscles is the only permanent solution.

You don't want to get dependent on it and you will. Pain meds only mask the problem, don't relieve the cause. Ice is better than heat. And aside from an MRI and occasional nerve injection of lidocaine when I can't walk, chiropractic and massage are the biggest help! You don't want to mess with your spine, it houses your nervous system which controls all bodily function, if there is a problem it's not "normal" and can signal a problem that usually only gets worse with time, causing nerve damage or problems with the brain sending messages to the nerves.

Do you want to wear a back brace the rest of your life? A brace does the work for your back muscles which further weakens them. I urge you to find out why your back hurts. See your doctor and ask for a thorough work up. If there is nothing medically wrong then ask for physical therapy so that you can learn exercises to strengthen your back muscles.

I have worn a brace off and on over the years.

Wearing it too long (week or more) will allow your core muscles to weaken since they can depend on the brace. That will make your pain worse anytime you don't wear it.

I've also found - after a slipped disk, ER, Doc, Chiro, heat/ice, muscle relaxants, pain drugs and anti-spasm medications...oh and a lot of ben gay - that the answer is....

stretching and exercise.

It hurts the first couple days, but after that I feel a ton better. So whenever I start noticing that I'm stiff or my back starts hurting - first thing I do is a fast walk for about 20-30 minutes. If that doesn't straighten me back out, then I start doing some yoga/stretches and some light exercise.

Exercise/stretching has worked EVERY single time. :)

Get involved in an exercise program that strengthens your core muscles. As strange as it may seem Tae kwon Do is one of the best programs for back pain. In order to do the kicks properly you need to be able to stand straight and repeatedly kicking will strengthen your core muscles.

Having your pelvis out of place, like from carrying kids on your hip, can cause lower back pain. There is a very simple technique to put it back in place. A physical therapist can show you how to do it.
Then I would do core exercises and use a foam roller.

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Having your pelvis out of place, like from carrying kids on your hip, can cause lower back pain. There is a very simple technique to put it back in place. A physical therapist can show you how to do it.
Then I would do core exercises and use a foam roller.

I was told a back brace for chronic pain will "back-fire" (pun intended). It will cause more muscles to deteriorate, leading to weakness and thus more instability. HOWEVER, given your job, maybe it would indeed be a good idea to wear one just while you have to do the sitting and leaning over that hurts you. I'd ask a specialist about it.

A longer-term solution might be chiropractic plus intense physical therapy and possibly anti-inflammatory supplements or medications. Massage Therapy may also be helpful (this is not always pleasant- MT can be painful but very helpful!)

See a rheumatologist or other such specialist.

I stretch for about 25 minutes every morning for my back, shoulders, hips, legs and neck, and also do light exercises. I am in physical therapy, and do a couple bouts of aerobic exercise later in the day.

At least I am keeping my mobility.

It is important to get checked by a doctor to know what your best course of action is. A friend with pain similar to mine needs very different treatment. She needs to exercise for more prolonged periods, while that is wrong for me. Longer causes more inflammation for me (I have severe osteoarthritis with spurs on every vertebra), so I need shorter, more frequent bouts of exercise.

I use one when mine acts up now and then. If nothing else the pressure feels sort of comforting and it keeps you aware of your back... so you tend to pay more attention on what you do during the day and are apt to be more careful. Next thing you know, it wont be hurting anymore. It's not the brace that helps, it's you being easier on yourself.
Some will say the brace can make it hurt worse, and depending on what the root cause is, that can very well be true as you might be working "against" the brace and aggravating it further.

Yes a brace will help. They sell them at Walmart, Target, Grocery stores, Pharmacies.

Have you been examined by your doctor for it? Have you ever had an xray? I had chronic issues and siatic flare ups for 3 years. Went to a chiropractor for over a year. It did help, but the flare ups kept happening. Finally during one of my ER visits for my siadic flare up, they did a back xray. First one in 3 years of pain. Turns out I had snapped my spine, but it grew back together, slightly off plumb, a buldging disc, arthritis, and a bone fragment sitting on a nerve. Don't know when it happened, just that it did. The bone fragment sitting on a nerve led me to emergency back surgery.

Two years later I feel much better. I still have some back pain when I over do it, but I don't take a pain med stronger than Motrin. I do have a muscle relaxer medicine, but it is one that I am able to use while driving and doesn't mess with my thinking.

Is it possible to get a little beach chair or stadium chair to sit on when you are on the floor? That way your back is supported.

I wear a cheap brace for my back pain, but not every day. It helps, but is a little uncomfortable. I really need to go and get a better brace b/c I do notice a difference.

There are plenty of exercises you can do to help strengthen your back, as well as yoga. I do think it's important to talk to your doctor though to make sure that there isn't an underlying cause that you won't be exacerbating first. Before I realized that I have Fibromyalgia I tried doing weights in addition to what I normally did for weight loss (with the help of a trainer and physical therapist) and unfortunately, not knowing about the Fibro meant it exacerbated my condition and old injuries.

Chronic back pain is horrible. Please go to your doctor and ask for an Empi Tens device. I work for the company and so many of our customers say it helped their back pain so much. It's a device with electrodes you place on your back and it provides stimulation to the nerves in your lower back. It requires a prescription from a doctor, so please try it! Best of luck.
www.empi.com

It looks like you've gotten a lot of helpful responses so far regarding the back brace. I just wanted to add that I recently started getting acupuncture treatments for lower back pain (not having ever done it before). I notice a big difference in the pain after starting the acupuncture treatments. I would next like to start doing work to help strengthen my core. I hope that helps as another alternative you could pursue. Good luck!