Weak or damaged muscles, not the spine, are the cause of most back pain, according to pain specialist Dr Norman Marcus.
The director of muscle pain research at New York Universitys School of Medicine says that although conventional back pain treatment aims to address the spine, muscles may be the root of up to 75 percent of problems.
Marcus disapproves of the high rate of spinal surgeries in the U.S., which continues to increase each year, as he believes they are unnecessary.
“Reliance on invasive techniques, such as spinal fusions, and implanting spinal cord stimulators and morphine pumps without even determining if there is a muscle component can result in surgeries that are doomed to fail and to prolonged suffering,” he explains.
Marcus, along with the Stevens Institute of Technology, has developed an instrument that allows doctors to identify and treat the muscles that may be causing back pain.
Figures from the National Institutes of Health indicate that 8 out of 10 people will experience back pain during their life.