# The Back-pain virus **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 31, 2021, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-back-pain-virus/947710 "2021-07-31T15:11:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2021, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-back-pain-virus/947710/21 "2021-07-31T19:17:18Z")
As far as Sarno having been a “respected back specialist”, he seems to have a mixed reputation as a mind-body guru who went too far down the road of blaming back pain on mental factors, including anxieties (!). You can get away with a certain amount of trauma to the back in younger days, due to improper lifting technique and such, but cumulative trauma can certainly manifest later on. Since we lack evidence of viral transmission and presence in key tissues correlating with back pain, the OP’s theory makes as much sense as attributing depression to a virus. I’m glad he didn’t single out 5G though. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2021, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-back-pain-virus/947710/22 "2021-07-31T19:21:21Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > Seems to me a hod-carrier gets the same exact treatment from a practitioner that a typist gets, mainly based on which treatment for generic back pain that practitioner is used to prescribing, though one of them lifts loads for a living and the other barely lifts a finger. Is _this_ something you have done research on, at least? ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2021, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-back-pain-virus/947710/23 "2021-07-31T19:30:42Z")
Well, I have been asked (or told) about things I might have done to cause the back pain, like lifting heavy weights. I don’t do much physical labor in the past few decades and would remember doing some if I had done some recently, but that was where this particular practitioner wanted to go. Similarly, my brother was laid up recently with a severe backache and was told that he was suffering from stress. He’d retired from a stressful occupation, had resolved some lingering issues in his marriage, had re-discovered pleasant hobbies from his youth–in short, he was a model for “de-stressing” but that was where the practitioner’s training told him to go so that’s where he went. Needless to say, it was a waste of time. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2021, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-back-pain-virus/947710/24 "2021-07-31T19:33:56Z")
So, instead of one practitioner giving the same treatment for different ailments, your current example shows different practitioners giving different advice to different patients. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2021, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-back-pain-virus/947710/25 "2021-07-31T20:02:20Z")
Correct. No one seems to know what they’re doing, and nothing seems to work. One reason I was wondering if this could be viral is that it always seems to clear up, on its own, within a week or two, whatever you do. And the MD usually manages to take credit when it clears up on its own, and when it doesn’t, they always have another random therapy to suggest, which may or may not work. Rinse and repeat. Muscle relaxers, lying in bed, going out and working through the pain, hot compresses, cold baths, massage, talk therapy, extensive stretching exercises–it’s all the same shit. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2021, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-back-pain-virus/947710/26 "2021-07-31T20:18:36Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > Correct. NOT “Correct”! I wasn’t agreeing with you-I was showing how your claim that a medical practitioner will give the same treatment for different cases _wasn’t_ backed up by your follow up that had _different_ practitioners giving _different_ treatments to _different_ patients. If you refuse to understand that back pain can come from many different sources and might require different treatments because of that, I don’t know what to say. ---
**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:** [July 31, 2021, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-back-pain-virus/947710/27 "2021-07-31T20:19:55Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > bacterial infection of herniated discs could be a cause of lower back pain Yes, I’d mentioned discitis. The disc need not be herniated to be infected either, though herniation increases the risk. And many antibiotics have anti-inflammatory properties too, and relieve pain through this mechanism. It’s complicated. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2021, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-back-pain-virus/947710/28 "2021-07-31T20:20:25Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > One reason I was wondering if this could be viral is that it always seems to clear up, on its own, within a week or two, whatever you do. Ever hear the phrase “Not even right”? This statement of yours falls into that category. ---
**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:** [July 31, 2021, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-back-pain-virus/947710/29 "2021-07-31T20:23:49Z")
Most musculo-skeletal/mechanical back pain is self-limited and improves no matter what the doctor does. Lots of treatment is aimed at decreasing the pain in the meantime. Or stunning the patient with muscle relaxers and/or opioids (less so lately with the latter, thankfully) so they have less misery while waiting for the improvement. Viruses seldom have anything to do with acute or chronic back pain. And when they do, it’s often a cold virus causing lots of sneezing or coughing which ‘throws’ the back out. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2021, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-back-pain-virus/947710/30 "2021-07-31T20:36:02Z")
Since this seems more like it’s about opinions (and medicine) than about any great debate, I’m moving it to IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2021, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-back-pain-virus/947710/31 "2021-07-31T20:56:16Z")
I am aware. My point, which you have nothing to dispel, is to say that various practitioners prescribe a variety of remedies and treatments, most of which do nothing, based on the symptoms presented, and don’t seem to vary their prescription based on the patient’s age, physical activity, history, or much of anything. Some are exercise-recommenders across the board, some are psychology-based, some recommend rest, some recommend painkillers, some prescribe muscle relaxers. The only thing that works, in my experience, across the board is time. Give it two weeks and it usually disappears whatever you do. Doctors can recommend voodoo for all I can see that their understanding has any effect at all. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2021, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-back-pain-virus/947710/32 "2021-07-31T21:06:52Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > The only thing that works, in my experience What is your experience, and how can you justify claiming that it has anything at all to do with the experiences of others? ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2021, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-back-pain-virus/947710/33 "2021-07-31T21:11:30Z")
I’ve lived, and I’ve spoken to friends and neighbors who’ve suffered from recurring back pain. It’s a horrorshow of random treatment that rarely have any effect at all, unlike any other complaint–earaches, sinus issues, sprains, headaches, knee problems, all of which have a few standard treatments that are arrived at by asking a few elemental questions, and which are normally effective in a known period of time. Backaches seem to present a mystery, in my experience. Or do you have a different definition of “experience” from everyone else? ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2021, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-back-pain-virus/947710/34 "2021-07-31T22:51:32Z")
I have scoliosis and serious back pain has been making overtures to me since I was 23. Through much trial and error, I discovered that my diet has a lot to do with it. As a result, I eat very little gluten. But removing gluten didn’t resolve it completely as I now have arthritis there. Therefore, for your story… I wonder if a food evolved (naturally or with the help of industry) to the point where digesting it could cause back pain. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2021, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-back-pain-virus/947710/35 "2021-07-31T23:18:59Z")
interesting, carnut. This is one of the oddball solutions, like a virus, that I wonder about. In 100 years, they’ll find out that eating grapenut cereal in great quantities cures back pain, and they’ll all go “Look at those idiots, thinking that swallowing muscle relaxers did anything!!” ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2021, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-back-pain-virus/947710/36 "2021-07-31T23:21:07Z")
I’d dispute the premise somewhat. Not that back pain is uncommon, but that joint and movement issues are common throughout the body and often hard to treat. Knee, foot / ankle, hamstrings, hip, wrist, neck (which we might group with “back”)…I know people with all these and many are niggling issues that can persist for years or even a lifetime. It’s interesting to note that of these, it’s the ball joints (hip, shoulder) where chronic issues can be treated with a high success rate. Anyway, considering this context, and that the back is the “Achilles lumbar” of a bipedal species, the incidence and difficulty of treatment of back pain is not that surprising. Frustrating, but not surprising. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-back-pain-virus/947710/37 "2021-08-01T02:24:53Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > As far as Sarno having been a “respected back specialist”, he seems to have a mixed reputation as a mind-body guru who went too far down the road of blaming back pain on mental factors, including anxieties (!). I don’t understand why you seem to find this so odd. It’s well known that (A) stress and anxiety can depress the immune system; and (B) many times when people are stressed they subconsciously tighten various muscles and do other harmful things (surely you’ve heard of teeth grinding!) It is entirely plausible that for certain people in certain situations, finding a way to de-stress might very well help back pain. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-back-pain-virus/947710/38 "2021-08-01T02:36:14Z")
From what I’ve read, Sarno went well beyond “certain people in certain situations”. People with established organic causes for back pain don’t appreciate hearing that it’s all in their head. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-back-pain-virus/947710/39 "2021-08-01T03:18:14Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > It’s a horrorshow of random treatment that rarely have any effect at all, That’s really not true either. While chronic back pain is a real issue, understanding the cause of the pain isn’t a huge mystery. We don’t have great solutions, but we do have some that work, at least for some periods of time. Backs are complex and difficult to fix, but they’re not a complete unknown. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-back-pain-virus/947710/40 "2021-08-01T08:05:48Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > From what I’ve read, Sarno went well beyond “certain people in certain situations”. Here’s a mostly laudatory article about Sarno’s techniques that (especially for people who find his methods silly and ineffective) illustrates how primitive and all over the map current treatments are. > **[America’s most famous back pain doctor said pain is in your head. Thousands...](https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/10/2/16338094/dr-john-sarno-healing-back-pain)** > > But Dr. John Sarno was largely derided by his medical peers. It’s completely unheard of for a complaint of a physical nature to be treated in so wide a variety of completely contradictory methods. I’d be curious what Qagdop the Mercotan makes of Sarno’s regimen. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-back-pain-virus/947710.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-back-pain-virus/947710.md?page=3)