By Amber Mills.

The Today Show has launched a series called “Feeling Better Head to Toe”. On October 21, 2013 the series focused on back pain and the segment was entitled “Back pain making you miserable? Feel better with exercise, rest”. The show stated that 80% of Americans will experience a back problem at least once in their lives, and more than 25 million Americans between the ages of 25 and 64 frequently have back pain. According to Dr. Nancy Synderman, the NBC Chief Medical Editor, most back pain is caused by muscular or soft tissue damage. The segment encouraged back pain sufferers to stay active with exercise and said that rest, ice and anti-inflammatory medications can help manage the pain. The following three tips were given to help prevent and decrease low back pain: keep your core (muscles in your belly, mid and lower back and hips) strong, get the right chair with low back support and don’t use your back to lift heavy stuff.¹

One therapy that they didn’t mention that can help with back pain is massage. On July 5, 2011, The Annals of Internal Medicine shared the results of a randomized control trial where massage was used to provide relief from chronic low back pain. After 10 weeks, participants that received massage therapy reported a decrease in pain and an increase in function. Experts commented that the ability for massage to relieve pain was better than that of NSAIDS (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs).

If you are a back pain sufferer and have tried therapies that haven’t worked, then give massage a try. Massage combined with exercise and rest could be just what you need to keep your back pain under control.

Amber Mills – Curriculum Director

“It is my hope that our students walk away from Soma with confidence in their clinical massage skills and their ability to naturally help the body heal.”