# Milk and back pain, can somebody please explain this? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 21, 2002, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milk-and-back-pain-can-somebody-please-explain-this/137857 "2002-11-21T02:50:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Asbestos_Mango)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milk-and-back-pain-can-somebody-please-explain-this/137857/1 "2002-11-21T02:50:21Z")
OK, I have suffered from chronic back pain for a good long while- we’re talking spine pain, I have some degeneration, and an impaction injury to my lumbar area- forced me to drop out of my Middle Eastern Dance Class, which I was not happy about. I have a good chiropractor who keeps me up and functioning, but no real, permanent relief. Until… OK, my mom and I have been doing the whole soy milk thing, bought into the idea the cow’s milk is bad for you (she actually does have problems with it- we both have asthma, and if she drinks milk, she gets worse, what with all the mucus, but I don’t have this problem) Anyhoo, last week, I was talking to a friend of hers who, years ago, was run over by a car while riding his bike, and ended up with a broken neck and back. He did recover, and still rides, but he told me something interesting. He tried doing the soy milk thing for a while too, but he found that he gets severe pain if he doesn’t drink cow’s milk. I thought it was strange, but he told me if he doesn’t drink milk for a day or two, his back and neck start to hurt, but if he downs a big glass of the stuff, the next day, his pain is mostly gone. I figured, what the hay, can’t hurt, might help. I went out and bought a half gallon of moo juice. Within a couple of hours after drinking the first glassful, my back was feeling much better. I went through the whole half gallon in about three days. I still have some pain, but it’s significantly less than before I got back on the bovine lactates. Monday, no milk, Teusday, my back was feeling sore again. I went up to the employee dining room, downes a glass of milk, and within a couple of hours, I was feeling better again. So, milk has become a regular part of my diet again. Can somebody please explain this? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milk-and-back-pain-can-somebody-please-explain-this/137857/2 "2002-11-21T05:22:37Z")
If there are low calcium or magnesium levels in your diet without plain old milk, that could have something to do with it. Otherwise, I’m at a loss. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milk-and-back-pain-can-somebody-please-explain-this/137857/3 "2002-11-21T13:47:47Z")
Welcome to the wonderful world of suggestion. **Qadgop the Mercatan** will probably be in here to offer a better explanation, but I think you’ve just succumbed to the placebo effect. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milk-and-back-pain-can-somebody-please-explain-this/137857/4 "2002-11-21T13:53:03Z")
I was wondering if it might be a mild allergic reaction triggering a release of endorphins or something… ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milk-and-back-pain-can-somebody-please-explain-this/137857/5 "2002-11-21T13:58:57Z")
I have no clue as to why this should be. QtM Fighting ignorance sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milk-and-back-pain-can-somebody-please-explain-this/137857/6 "2002-11-21T15:21:15Z")
Dang, Ultrafilter beat me to it. Yeah, my guess would be calcium. Your muscles need calcium ions to work properly, and if you cut out all sources of calcium, you start getting muscle cramps. And calcium moves immediately across the cell walls (unlike potassium, the lack of which also causes muscle problems), so you get immediate relief from drinking milk. You can use calcium pills for the same effect, if you don’t wanna drink cow’s milk. And you can test it for placebo effect yourself–have somebody mash up a couple of calcium pills in one pile and a couple of chewable vitamin Cs in another pile, and put the pile in the middle of something like a spoonful of jam, and then give you one spoonful to swallow (no peeking, and no chewing, so you don’t taste it), then see which one makes you feel better after 15 minutes or so. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milk-and-back-pain-can-somebody-please-explain-this/137857/7 "2002-11-21T17:11:24Z")
Many brands of soy milk include a version that is enriched with calcium and other things. Do you know if the kind you were drinking was enriched or not? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milk-and-back-pain-can-somebody-please-explain-this/137857/8 "2002-11-21T17:36:11Z")
If you want a (lactic) acid test, have somone serve you milk without telling you what type it is. If there is a noticeable taste difference, try masking it with Quik or some other additive. Do this every day for a week with the type of milk randomly changing. This may help eliminate any placebo effect. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milk-and-back-pain-can-somebody-please-explain-this/137857/9 "2002-11-21T17:40:17Z")
Um, obviously you’ve never tried soy milk. the difference in taste between the soy moo and the moo moo cannot be disguised by Quik. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milk-and-back-pain-can-somebody-please-explain-this/137857/10 "2002-11-21T18:18:20Z")
Then load it up with scotch. By the third glass, you won’t care about your back or anything else. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Asbestos_Mango)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milk-and-back-pain-can-somebody-please-explain-this/137857/11 "2002-11-21T19:28:44Z")
Actually, I’m not a really suggestible person (I once went in for clinical hypnosis, and the guy couldn’t put me under), so I really don’t think it’s the placebo effect. Also, I’ve had a few different brands of soy milk (Silk is the best, btw), some of which were calcium enriched, and no dice. Calcium supplements don’t help either. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milk-and-back-pain-can-somebody-please-explain-this/137857/12 "2002-11-21T21:04:08Z")
sorry **Thea** but the placebo effect has absolutely no correlation with susceptibility to hypnosis. Even the most hard-bitten cynic is impacted by the placebo effect. The person who figures out why will be due for major awards. ---
**Author:** ![deanigirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@deanigirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deanigirl)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2013, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milk-and-back-pain-can-somebody-please-explain-this/137857/13 "2013-12-18T11:40:22Z")
I made an account just to respond to this topic . I was googling ’ back pain without milk " to see if anybody else has had this strange problem . If I go even 1 day without milk my back starts getting very sore . I dont have an answer as to why but im glad to see im not the only one . ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2013, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milk-and-back-pain-can-somebody-please-explain-this/137857/14 "2013-12-18T12:02:02Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > sorry **Thea** but the placebo effect has absolutely no correlation with susceptibility to hypnosis. Even the most hard-bitten cynic is impacted by the placebo effect. > > The person who figures out why will be due for major awards. But it does depend on your thinking you are getting a treatment, no? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2013, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milk-and-back-pain-can-somebody-please-explain-this/137857/15 "2013-12-18T12:18:26Z")
[Duralactin is a dog nutraceutical](http://www.duralactin.com/product.htm) that is used for joint pain. It is made from milk proteins. Just something I recalled from an advertisement in a dog magazine… ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2013, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milk-and-back-pain-can-somebody-please-explain-this/137857/16 "2013-12-18T12:24:07Z")
[Casomorphin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casomorphin).