Tag Archive for: back pain new hampshire

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6 Reasons Your Muscles Are the Secret to Staying Young

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When most people think about anti-aging, they picture creams, supplements, or the latest medical breakthroughs.

But one of the most powerful tools for staying young is something you’re born with – your muscles. Everyone knows muscles are key for strength and appearance, but research shows they do far more than that. Muscles act like living medicine inside your body. Every time they contract, they send out chemical signals that influence your brain, heart, bones, and immune system. In fact, researchers now recognize that maintaining muscle may be one of the most effective ways to protect your health, preserve independence, and extend your life.

So – what exactly makes building muscle such a potent anti-aging secret?

Here are six important ways your muscles act like medicine:

1. Muscles Fight Inflammation

One of the hallmarks of aging is something scientists call “inflammaging” – chronic, low-grade inflammation that damages tissues and raises the risk of cardiovascular disease, arthritis, and Alzheimer’s. But here’s what’s fascinating… When your muscles contract during exercise, they release anti-inflammatory chemicals known as myokines. One of the best studied is interleukin-6 (IL-6). Unlike the IL-6 produced by fat tissue, which fuels inflammation – muscle-derived IL-6 helps regulate the immune system and suppress harmful inflammatory signals.

This helps explain why U.S. studies, such as the long-running Alameda County Study, have consistently shown that physically active adults live longer and age with fewer health problems. In other words – every time you use your muscles – you’re helping your body reverse damaging inflammation.

2. Muscles Stabilize Blood Sugar

Muscle is the largest site of glucose disposal in your body. The more muscle you have – and the more you use it – the more efficiently your body processes sugar. Resistance training improves insulin sensitivity, which means your muscles can absorb glucose from the bloodstream more effectively.

A 2024 meta-analysis found that structured resistance training reduced HbA1c, a long-term marker of blood sugar control, by about half a percentage point – an effect comparable to some common diabetes drugs. For millions of Americans at risk for diabetes, maintaining and building muscle is one of the most powerful ways to keep blood sugar steady and prevent disease.

3. Muscles Strengthen Bones

Strong muscles don’t just move your body – they help to strengthen bone. Every time muscles contract against bone, they stimulate bone growth and increase bone density. This is one of the most effective natural defenses against osteoporosis, a disease that affects more than 10 million Americans and dramatically raises fracture risk.

As we age, fractures can mean the loss of independence. But by strengthening muscles through regular resistance training – you also strengthen the bones they attach to – creating a double layer of protection.

4. Muscles Protect Your Brain

Healthy muscles send protective signals to your brain. As previously mentioned – when you exercise and contract muscles – they release myokines. In addition to IL-6, myokines such as irisin and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) stimulate the growth of new neurons, strengthen existing connections, and improve brain plasticity.

The benefits are measurable. Studies of older American adults have shown that maintaining muscle strength later in life is associated with sharper memory, slower cognitive decline, and reduced risk of dementia. Exercise also boosts endorphins, which elevate mood and help combat depression and anxiety. Keeping your muscles active is one of the most reliable ways to keep both your body and mind young.

5. Muscles Support Heart Health

We often think of walking or jogging as the best ways to support cardiovascular health. But research now shows that strength training deserves equal credit. Resistance exercise improves circulation, reduces arterial stiffness, and lowers blood pressure.

In a massive U.S. study of more than 116,000 adults – those who consistently met or exceeded physical activity guidelines – including strength training – had up to a 31 percent lower risk of death from any cause – and up to a 38 percent lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. These findings echo results from the British Journal of Sports Medicine, which showed that just 30 to 60 minutes of strength training per week reduced risk of chronic disease and early death. When it comes to your heart, strong muscles really are medicine.

6. Muscles Extend Longevity

Perhaps the most compelling evidence for the concept of “muscles are medicine” is its impact on survival. Studies consistently show that muscle mass and strength are stronger predictors of longevity than body weight or BMI. One U.S. study of college alumni found that those who maintained higher activity levels in midlife had significantly lower risks of heart disease and lived longer lives.

Muscle also serves as a critical protein reserve. When illness, surgery, or trauma strikes – your body draws on muscle stores to support healing, immune function, and tissue repair. People with greater muscle mass not only live longer but also recover more quickly when health challenges arise. Stronger muscles simply mean greater resilience.

The Bottom Line

Your muscles do far more than help you look fit or lift heavy things. They fight inflammation, regulate blood sugar, strengthen bones, protect your brain, support your heart, and extend your life. Best of all, you don’t need hours in the gym to see these benefits. Just 30 to 60 minutes of strength training per week, combined with regular movement, can produce profound results.

But if pain or injury is holding you back, don’t ignore it. The longer you wait, the harder it can be to bounce back – and the more you miss out on this natural anti-aging tool. If back, knee, hip, neck, or shoulder pain is keeping you from building muscle, talk to a physical therapy specialist who can help you return safely. With the right guidance, you can overcome those barriers and put your muscles to work – as they are your best-kept secret to staying young.

Looking for help and local to Portsmouth NH? Consider speaking to one of my specialists by clicking HERE.

Dr. Carrie Jose, Physical Therapy Specialist and Mechanical Pain Expert, owns CJ Physical Therapy & Pilates in Portsmouth, NH, and writes for Seacoast Media Group. If local to Portsmouth, NH, and looking for help, request a FREE Discovery Visit with one of her Specialists by CLICKING HERE.

Back Pain

5 Simple Tips for Keeping Back Pain Gone

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5 Simple Tips for Keeping Back Pain Gone

Almost half of U.S. adults (39% according to the CDC) suffer from back pain. With the prevalence increasing as we age – folks over age 65 are more likely to experience back pain than any other age group. Economically speaking – back pain accounts for roughly $50B annually – and is the number one cause of missed work days – 83 million each year according to the National Council on Aging (NCOA).  

Given these staggering figures, you might think the title of this article is nuts. If it were that easy to get rid of back pain on your own – why do so many suffer? Well – that is the million dollar question (or rather $50B question). The problem is that the traditional medical approach focuses on symptom management rather than addressing the underlying causes of back pain. This oversight leads to persistent discomfort and recurring issues for many – because the underlying, root cause is never properly addressed.

So what is the root cause of most back pain? 

Eighty percent of back pain is what we call “mechanical” in nature. That means it comes from poor or imbalanced movement habits and postures that are years in the making. This also explains why back pain shows up a lot more in older populations. The root cause of back pain is rarely structural (aka: bulging discs, stenosis, arthritis, etc). Those structures, and structures around the stenotic or arthritic joints, become irritated because of the poor movement habits that slowly wreak havoc on your body. They don’t typically cause problems all on their own. How do I know? Because more than 60% of older adults with zero back pain will have one or more of these findings on their MRI.

The good news is that since most back pain is due to poor movement and postural habits – you can alleviate it with some good movement and postural habits. Here are 5 simple tips for keeping back pain gone on your own:

1. Stop Sitting So Much

Sitting puts a surprising amount of pressure on your spine – even if it feels good in the moment. Compressive forces on your spine increase by 40% when you sit – and even more if you’re slouching. Over time, this pressure can unknowingly aggravate your spinal ligaments and discs without you even realizing it.

One of the simplest ways to counteract this is by breaking up your sitting time. Set a timer to stand up and move every 30 minutes. Even a quick stretch or walk around your office can make a big difference. By interrupting prolonged sitting, you’ll reduce the cumulative stress on your spine and keep your back healthier.

2. Walk More

Walking is one of the best activities for your spine. It promotes mobility, improves blood flow, and acts as a natural lubricant for your spinal structures. Regular walking also helps prevent tightness in your hips, which can aggravate your back due to abnormal forces on your pelvis and spine.

Aim for at least 10-15 minutes of walking each day. If you’re dealing with back pain, start with short, gentle walks and gradually increase your duration and pace. And focus on maintaining good posture while walking. If walking even short bursts continues to aggravate your back – then it’s time to talk to a mechanical back pain specialist who can help you sort out why.

3. Vary Your Posture

Did you notice that I didn’t say: “maintain good posture”?. That’s because maintaining perfect posture all the time is quite impractical and not very realistic. The truth is – no posture is perfect if you stay in it too long. Even the best looking postures can lead to stiffness and discomfort over time. 

Instead of obsessing over perfect posture, aim to vary your positions throughout the day. Your spine is made to be quite resilient – and a healthy spine can tolerate any posture (even bad posture) for a short amount of time. So if you’re sitting or slouching – be sure to move around and change your position. If you’re standing for a while – try shifting your weight side to side. Your spine wants to keep moving – so finding opportunities in any position is going to be beneficial.

4. Strengthen Your Core

Your core muscles include your abdominals, obliques, and glutes – and they provide support and stability for your spine – and go a long way in preventing back pain. But when these muscles are weak, your spine takes on more stress, thus increasing your risk for pain and injury.

Pilates is one of the best overall ways to strengthen your core while also promoting good spinal movement and mobility. But exercises like bridges, planks, and full body functional exercises are also effective for targeting your core. Incorporating core strength into your routine a few times per week will not only help your back feel better – but it goes a long way in preventing future back pain episodes. If exercising or strengthening your core hurts your back pain – then you should seek the help of a mechanical back pain specialist who can help you get back to moving and exercising naturally, and without procedures or cortisone shots.

5. Education is Power

There’s a lot of misinformation out there when it comes to both diagnosing and treating back pain. So one of the most important steps you can take is to educate yourself on this. You’re already off to a good start because you’re reading this article. But the second most important thing to keep in mind is to never let your MRI or X-ray alone make a diagnosis and dictate your treatment plan. I’ve already alluded to this concept previously – but structures in your spine rarely cause problems spontaneously. They get irritated over several years – but it’s not the structure itself that’s the problem. When you are educated on this nuanced concept – you’ll realize it’s possible to treat back pain on your own – and are less likely to become a victim of unnecessary procedures, cortisone shots, and back surgery.

Just remember – 80% of all back pain is mechanical – and comes from poor movement patterns, habits, and postures over several years. The solution lies in correcting these movement patterns and habits – and for the most part – they are very “correct-able” and reversible. A mechanical back pain specialist is the best person to help you with. They are experts in back pain and won’t rely on MRIs or X-rays to dictate your treatment plan.

Local to Portsmouth, NH?

Consider speaking to one of my back pain specialists by clicking here.

Dr. Carrie Jose, Physical Therapy Specialist, and Mechanical Pain Expert, owns CJ Physical Therapy & Pilates in Portsmouth, NH, and writes for Seacoast Media Group. If local to Portsmouth, NH, and looking for help – request a FREE Discovery Visit with one of her Specialists by CLICKING HERE.

What Your Doctor May be Missing About Your Pain’s True Source

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Pain can be frustrating and overwhelming, especially when it doesn’t go away.

It’s only natural to seek answers – and for many – that means a trip to the doctor. But here’s the thing. Even the best doctors can miss the true source of your pain.

Why?

Because too often they rely on imaging (like MRIs or X-rays) focused on the location of your pain – rather than considering the true source of your pain – and that it could be coming from somewhere else in your body. 

I often see this with pain in areas like the hips, knees, elbows, arms, and legs. Take persistent knee pain, for example. Most doctors will start by ordering an MRI of your knee – which might show things like arthritis or a torn meniscus. But what you may not realize is that these findings are common as we age and often appear in people who don’t have knee pain at all.

The problem is

– once something shows up on your MRI – it grabs your doctor’s attention – and becomes the full focus for treatment (even if it’s not the real problem). 

This misdiagnosing of pain like this is a huge reason why so many people suffer longer than necessary. It also leads to unnecessary surgeries, procedures, and treatments that never address the root cause of the problem. Back to our knee pain example, your doctor might not even consider that your knee pain could be coming from somewhere else (such as your lower back). And if that’s the case – no amount of knee-focused treatment will solve your knee pain – all because we allowed the MRI to make assumptions about the root cause of pain and dictate the treatment plan. 

What most medical doctors miss is this: The way your body moves and reacts to pain is often a much more reliable way to determine its true source than what shows up on an image. I’m not blaming your doctor – it’s just not how they are trained to examine and look at pain. But it is important for you to be aware of this – especially when your pain isn’t going away. You have to at least consider that the root cause was missed and could be coming from elsewhere.

Let me explain a little more.

Over my 22-year career, I’ve worked with people who suffered from persistent tennis elbow for years – despite trying every recommended protocol – only to discover their pain was actually coming from their neck. I’ve met patients who underwent major knee surgery that failed to bring relief – because the problem wasn’t in their knee at all.  I’ve seen patients replace their entire hip – only to find out their real problem was coming from their lower back the entire time.

And this isn’t just my experience. Research backs this up.

A study in the Journal of Manipulative Therapy found that on average, 40% of isolated extremity pain (like your hip, knee, shoulder, elbow, etc) is actually caused by your spine, even when there’s no pain in the spine itself. In these cases, imaging of your knee, shoulder, etc. would only show “normal abnormalities” associated with aging – and not ever show you the true source of your problem – which could be your spine.

So how do you figure out the real cause of your pain?  

The key is with specialized movement testing – designed to take into account your whole body, as well as everyday movement patterns and lifestyle. When you work with a mechanical pain specialist who is trained in this type of movement testing, they don’t just look at static images of your body – they look at how your body functions as a whole.

For example – by moving your spine in specific directions and seeing how that movement affects the pain in your knee, shoulder, or elbow – they can determine whether the spine is the real culprit. 

So if you’ve been struggling with persistent pain anywhere in your body and it’s not going away – you must at least consider that the location of your pain may not be its source. This is particularly common with pain in your extremities. The problem with traditional medical approaches is that they rely heavily on imaging and assume that what you see on an X-ray or MRI is the cause of the pain.

But pain doesn’t work that way. It’s more complex than a picture can reveal, and it often requires a deeper understanding of how your body moves and responds to find the source.  

Pain can be complicated, but finding the source doesn’t have to be. When you consider how your body moves – not just what shows up on an image – you’ll get closer to the answers you need.

Are you in the Portsmouth, NH area?

CLICK HERE to connect with one of our specialists to see if we would be a good fit to help you uncover what may be the real source of your pain.

Dr. Carrie Jose, Physical Therapy Specialist, and Mechanical Pain Expert, owns CJ Physical Therapy & Pilates in Portsmouth, NH, and writes for Seacoast Media Group. If local to Portsmouth, NH, and looking for help – request a FREE Discovery Visit with one of her Specialists by CLICKING HERE.

A Physical Therapy Expert’s Guide to Enjoying Fall Activities Pain-Free

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Fall is my favorite season – and I know it is for many of you too.

Crisp air, colorful leaves, pumpkin patches, and cozy outdoor gatherings are some things that come to mind. But there’s also raking leaves, picking apples, chopping wood, and moving heavy things like hay bales or pumpkins. Any of these fall activities can produce unwelcome strain on your body if you’re not careful. 

Here’s a guide to enjoying all that fall has to offer – from a back pain and mechanical pain expert – so you can enjoy fall activities this season while keeping your back and joints pain-free.

1. Rake Leaves with Care

Raking is a quintessential fall activity, but it’s also repetitive and strenuous, which can lead to back pain if done improperly. Here are a few ways to protect yourself:

  • Warm Up First: Just as athletes warm up before a game, you should warm up before raking. Try a brisk 5-10 minute walk around your yard or neighborhood to get your blood flowing, followed by gentle stretches for your back, shoulders, and legs. A few torso twists and arm circles will help loosen up your muscles and prepare them for the repetitive motions of raking.
  • Choose an Ergonomic Rake: Look for a lightweight rake with a long handle that allows you to stand upright. Avoid bending forward too much, and alternate sides regularly to avoid overusing one side of your body.
  • Use Your Legs and Core: When bending to gather or bag leaves, squat using your legs and keep your core engaged. Avoid twisting from your waist, as this puts your spine in a vulnerable position. Instead, pivot your entire body to avoid strain.
  • Take Regular Breaks: Raking for extended periods can tire out your muscles, making you more susceptible to injury. Set a timer for every 20-30 minutes and take a short break to stretch your back and shoulders.

2. Safely Pick Up and Carry Pumpkins

Pumpkin picking is a fall favorite, but carrying heavy or awkwardly shaped pumpkins can strain your back and shoulders if you’re not careful. Here’s how to keep things safe and pain-free:

  • Lift with Your Legs, Not Your Back: When lifting a pumpkin, bend at your knees and use your leg muscles to power the lift. Keep the pumpkin close to your body and avoid twisting as you lift.
  • Use a Cart or Wagon: Many farms and pumpkin patches provide carts—take advantage of them! Use a cart to transport heavier pumpkins and prevent carrying strain.
  • Limit Carrying Distance: If you’re decorating with multiple pumpkins or other fall items, consider limiting the number of trips you make to and from your car or home to avoid repetitive strain.
  • Pro Tip: This advice applies to picking up and carrying anything. Whether it be hay bales, fall decorations, or putting away summer furniture.

3. Use Good Posture when Apple and Pumpkin Picking

Apple orchards and pumpkin patches can be so much fun, but both activities involve a lot of bending, reaching, and lifting. Use these tips to protect your body:

  • Stay Grounded: Instead of overstretching to reach that perfect apple, use a ladder or stool. Overreaching can lead to shoulder and back strains, so play it safe and keep a good base of support as you reach up.
  • Mind Your Posture: When standing or walking for extended periods in the orchard or patch, practice standing tall, with your weight evenly distributed between both feet. This not only helps reduce fatigue but also protects your lower back.
  • Wear Supportive Footwear: If you know you’ll be walking and standing for prolonged periods – you’ll want to have good, supportive shoes. This will go along way in helping your spine and the rest of your joints absorb the load of your body as well as those pumpkins and apples

4. Move Often and Stay Hydrated

All-day outdoor fall activities can wear you out, especially if you’re standing, bending, or lifting frequently. Staying mindful of your body can make a big difference:

  • Take Stretch Breaks: If you’re spending a long day outdoors, make a point to take a stretch break every hour or so. Focus on simple movements that lengthen your spine and open up your chest and shoulders, such as reaching your arms overhead and gently twisting your torso side-to-side.
  • Stay Hydrated: Cooler weather can make you feel less thirsty, but it’s still essential to stay hydrated. Dehydration can lead to muscle stiffness, fatigue, and even unwanted spasms and cramps – increasing the risk of strains.

5. Cool Down After Fall Activities

Once you’ve wrapped up your fall fun, give your body a few minutes to cool down and recover properly. A little bit of post-activity care can go a long way in keeping pain at bay.

  • Gentle Stretching: After raking, decorating, or any heavy lifting, spend five minutes stretching your back, legs, and shoulders. Simple stretches like extending our spine backwards or pulling your knees to your chest can help relieve tension.
  • Mind Your Posture When Resting: After a full day of physical activity, it’s tempting to sink into a couch or recliner, but try to avoid slumping immediately afterward. Instead, sit with a straight back, or go for a light walk. This can help prevent stiffness and reduce the likelihood of soreness.

Enjoy Fall Activities the Pain-Free Way

Fall activities are a great way to enjoy the season and embrace the outdoors, but they don’t have to come with pain and strain. Taking a few preventive measures, such as warming up, being aware of your body, and using proper lifting techniques, can make a significant difference in how you feel afterward. With these tips, you’ll be ready to fully enjoy apple-picking, pumpkin patches, and all the beauty that fall has to offer – with a lot less aches.

That being said, if you try every tip I’ve mentioned and don’t notice any difference in how you feel or tolerate these activities – your problem might need expert help. Reach out so we can help you find a mechanical pain expert in your area who can work with you.

Are you local to Portsmouth, NH? If so, consider speaking to one of my specialists in a Free Discovery Session. This 30-min session is a designed to: 1. Make sure we can help you 2. Make sure you’re a good fit for what we do 3. Make sure we’re a good fit for you. Click here to speak with a specialist.

Dr. Carrie Jose, Physical Therapist and Pilates expert, owns CJ Physical Therapy & Pilates in Portsmouth and writes for Seacoast Media Group. To get in touch, call 603-380-7902, or CLICK HERE to get a free guide for preventing back pain.

Is Exercising Hurting Your Back? 5 Reasons Why.

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Is Exercising Hurting Your Back? 5 Reasons Why.

The research continues to show that the best “treatment” for back pain is exercise. But what do you do when exercising hurts your back instead of helps? 

This is one of the most common frustrations I hear from my clients. The doctor looks at their back and takes an X-ray. He or she only sees something like arthritis or degenerative disc disease. Surgery doesn’t make sense – so the advice is to go exercise – and specifically to strengthen their core. But when it doesn’t work they are at a loss.

So why would exercise hurt your back – when the research overwhelmingly shows that it’s supposed to help?  

Here are 5 reasons why your exercise routine might be causing your back pain instead of helping it:


1. It’s the wrong type of exercise

While the research isn’t wrong about exercising and back pain – it doesn’t always reveal the specifics on the type of exercise that’s being done. For example, walking is considered one of the best activities for back pain sufferers, and for the majority it will help significantly. But I also have clients who get worse just walking to their mailbox at the end of the driveway. What the research is really saying is that movement – not necessarily “exercise” – is what’s really good for back pain – even acute back pain. But you need to make sure it’s the right type of movement for your specific type of back pain. If you get the type of exercise or movement wrong – you’ll feel worse – and it’s one reason why exercise will sometimes hurt your back instead of help.

2. Stability training is introduced too soon

Stability training is an important part of back pain recovery – but I often see it introduced too soon. Mobility is something you always want to look at first. If you don’t have full mobility in your spine, there is a reason. You want to make sure you explore that fully and get the spine moving the way it should be before you begin stabilizing or strengthening it. Every now and then I stabilize first, but it’s rare. More often than not I see that people with long standing back pain are suffering from a mobility problem that was missed. When your spine doesn’t move well, you risk developing compensatory movement patterns that cause structures in and around your spine to get irritated. You want to figure that out first before jumping ahead to stability training of your core and spine.

3. Your aren’t activating your core

Knowing how to properly activate your core is different from having good core strength. You can have the strongest abs in the world – but if you don’t use them when they count – your 6-pack abs are useless.  Knowing how to properly activate your core is essential when you exercise, but especially when you have back pain. If you don’t activate your core properly when you’re lifting weights, or performing complicated movements that require good coordination, you’re setting yourself up for injury.

The ability to activate your core properly is developed through motor control training. It’s where we teach your mind how to recognize and activate specific muscles, during specific activities, so that it eventually becomes habitual. Pilates (when done properly and with a well-trained instructor) is a type of exercise that can accomplish this quite well. If you’re constantly having back pain every time you exercise or try to strengthen your core, it could be that you lack the ability to activate it when it counts.

4. You aren’t breathing properly

Not breathing properly, or not breathing at all, can significantly impact the effectiveness of your exercise routine. This directly impedes your ability to perform an exercise properly. As mentioned previously, knowing how to activate your core is crucial when you exercise. In order to activate your core properly, you must be able to breathe properly. Your deep core is made up of four parts: your deep abdominals, your deep back muscles, your pelvic floor, and your diaphragm. Your diaphragm is what controls your breathing.

Let’s say you hold your breath when you exercise. When this happens it means your diaphragm isn’t expanding or contracting in the way it needs to for your deep core to be fully functional. Additionally, when your diaphragm doesn’t work like it should, it adds unnecessary strain and work to your back muscles. This is one reason why you might not be able to activate your core properly – and why exercise might be hurting your back.

5. You’re using improper form

The last and most common reason why exercising might be hurting your back is because you aren’t doing it right. There’s a lot of people out there who think posture and form don’t really matter. But they do. If you’re lifting weights – especially when frequently and repetitively – you want your spine to be in good alignment. It might not hurt the first time you lift with improper form, but it will hurt when you get to your 100th rep.

Same goes for body weight exercises. Just because you aren’t adding load to your spine doesn’t mean you can’t aggravate it by doing something with poor form over and over. That’s really where people get in trouble. If you’re going to exercise – and you want to exercise daily – do it with proper form and posture or it’s going to catch up to you and cause you unnecessary back pain.

If exercising is currently hurting your back – it could be due to one of these five reasons. Get expert help to figure out which one it might be – because at the end of the day – exercise really is good for your back. You just might need some expert guidance from a back pain specialist who “gets” this stuff to get there.

Are you local to Portsmouth, NH?

Consider speaking to one of my specialists. We will ask you all about what’s been going on and see if we would be a good fit to help you. Book your free Discovery Visit here.

Dr. Carrie Jose, Physical Therapist and Pilates expert, owns CJ Physical Therapy & Pilates in Portsmouth and writes for Seacoast Media Group. To request a free copy of her guide to back pain CLICK HERE or to get in touch, email her at [email protected].

6 Reasons Your Back Surgery Failed

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Back surgery, often viewed as a last resort for those suffering from debilitating back pain, has become increasingly common in the last 15 years.

A quick Google search reveals that an estimated 1.5 million spinal fusions are performed annually in the United States alone. When you consider that 70-80% of all back pain is considered “non-specific” and does not require surgery – that number is staggering. Additionally, it’s been well documented that 20-40% of all back surgeries fail, resulting in what we call “Failed Back Surgery Syndrome”. So why then – do we continue to operate?

If you or a loved one is considering back surgery – I highly recommend you do your due diligence and research first.

To give you a head start – here are 6 reasons why back surgery often fails:

1. Incorrect Diagnosis

If the wrong diagnosis leads you to an unnecessary surgery – then your back surgery is going to fail. How does this happen? All too often we blame aging structures in the spine as the main source of our pain. But what many fail to understand is that arthritis and degenerating discs (for example) are a normal part of aging. Everyone has it – but not everyone has back pain. An aging spine is not a reason to get back surgery – so be cautious anytime someone blames arthritis or disc degeneration for your pain. It’s typically not the full story.

2. Surgical Complications

Surgical complications are a risk when you undergo any type of surgery – even when it’s coined “minimally invasive”. From anesthesia reactions, to accidentally nicking a nerve, to the possibility of infection – complications can occur – and some of them irreversible. Conservative therapy and natural treatments involving movement and exercise come with virtually no risk – and have better outcomes than surgery according to research. You want to make absolutely certain that a back surgery is warranted before you put yourself at risk for complications.

3. Scar Tissue

Scar tissue is an unavoidable consequence of any surgery and a necessary part of the healing process – but its impact is significantly underestimated. For some, scarring can get out of control and be excessive, manifesting itself similar to an auto-immune condition. For others, they simply have no clue that scars need to be managed and mobilized. Unmanaged scar tissue will become adhesive and may cause problems with your nerves, fascia, and general mobility. While there are treatments such as Shockwave therapy that can help regenerate damaged soft tissue from scarring – unmanaged scar tissue can be one reason your pain doesn’t resolve after back surgery.

4. False Expectations

A lot of folks go into back surgery with false expectations. They think they’ll be out of pain and back to their activities in no time. But proper healing from back surgery is deceivingly long. While most incisions will technically heal in about 2 weeks – your body has a different timeline. Most people grossly underestimate the impact their condition prior to surgery will have on their recovery. Your pain may be gone after surgery, but all of the underlying, compensatory problems that developed leading up to your surgery have not magically disappeared.

For example, it takes a minimum of 6-8 weeks to build and retrain muscle. If you had nerve impingement that was inhibiting a muscle from performing properly, it’s going to take several months to get that strength back. When this is not considered, and you jump back into activities too soon, you’re asking for trouble.

False or mismanaged expectations about recovery after back surgery is a big reason for poor outcomes.

5. Images are Misleading

X-rays and MRI’s do not tell the full story when it comes to back pain. And in most cases, they are misleading and can result in an incorrect diagnosis. For example, I already mentioned to you that most things you see in your images – such as arthritis, degenerative disc disease, and even bulging discs – occur naturally as you age.

But they don’t always lead to back pain.

Studies have shown that 60% of folks in their 50’s will have bulging discs on X-ray and 80% will have disc degeneration – regardless of whether back pain is present or not. These statistics only increase with age. If you allow your imaging alone to dictate your decision to get back surgery – you’re increasing your risk of it failing because it may not have been necessary in the first place.

6. Back Surgery Makes Money

At the end of the day, healthcare is a business. And back surgeries are among the most lucrative procedures in the medical industry. According to studies and statistical data, common back surgeries like lumbar fusion cost anywhere from $50,000 to $90,000. But it only costs hospitals a fraction of that amount to actually administer. Plus, despite its unethical nature, some surgeons have been reported to receive kickbacks for using certain medical devices and performing more surgeries. While this is an indirect reason for your back surgery failing, it’s not something you can ignore. The profitability of back surgery naturally lends itself to being overutilized when there could be better, natural solutions instead.


After all this, I hope you can see that back surgery isn’t a decision you should take lightly, and a good outcome should not be assumed.

Consider the statistics. Anywhere from 20-40% of all back surgeries fail and it could be due to any of the reasons we just looked at. Most back pain (70-80% to be exact) is considered non-specific and mechanical in nature, and can be resolved naturally with prescriptive exercises, lifestyle changes, and corrective movement strategies. It’s worth exhausting all of these options first before jumping into a surgical procedure that has a good chance of failing you.

Dr. Carrie Jose, Physical Therapy Specialist, and Mechanical Pain Expert, owns CJ Physical Therapy & Pilates in Portsmouth, NH, and writes for Seacoast Media Group. If local to Portsmouth, NH, and looking for help – request a FREE Discovery Visit with one of her Specialists by CLICKING HERE.