Treatments for Chronic Back Pain

1. Exercises:

   • Emphasis is placed on slow, gradual progressions. You can even start from walking or any other type of exercise you like, and stay there, and work on gradually increasing the time you do it for. Increase in pain when you start a new exercise may not be bad, you may just have to work up to it, and be cautious of certain signs. Start all exercises with belly braced and proper form. Use an EXERCISE PLAN for step by step progressions. Exercise alone is often helpful for those with low risk for delayed recovery. If exercise alone is not helping, add behavior therapy as below:

2. Behavior Therapy:

   • Learn about pain, how it is mediated through reflex, stimulation, generalization, abnormal responses, and other complex ways. Learn about how it affects you and controls your life through unrelated examples. Work on pain management through easy to set small goals and thought experiments. There are 12 steps to a comprehensive pain management plan, that includes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (through a printout or apps). Finally print out a commitment calendar and mark for each day you accomplished your exercise and therapy commitments. Measure your progress.