10 facts every person should know about back pain
Tags: back pain, etiology, diagnosis, treatment, study_opinion, pain problems, spine, anatomy, spine pain, pro
Two pages on PainSci cite O’Sullivan 2019: 1. When to Worry About Low Back Pain 2. The Complete Guide to Low Back Pain
PainSci notes on O’Sullivan 2019:
A highly credible and readable explanation of back pain myths. Lead author Peter O’Sullivan shared the myths and a nice featured infographic in a tweet. Here are the “unhelpful” low back pain beliefs, “culturally endorsed and not supported by evidence,” identified by the authors:
- FALSE: Low back pain is usually a serious medical condition.
- FALSE: Low back pain will become persistent and deteriorate in later life.
- FALSE: Persistent low back pain is always related to tissue damage.
- FALSE: Scans are always needed to detect the cause of low back pain.
- FALSE: Pain related to exercise and movement is always a warning that harm is being done to the spine and a signal to stop or modify activity.
- FALSE: Low back pain is caused by weak “core” muscles and having a strong core protects against future Low back pain.
- FALSE: Repeated spinal loading results in “wear and tear” and tissue damage.
- FALSE: Pain flare-ups are a sign of tissue damage and require rest.
- FALSE: Treatments such as strong medications, injections and surgery are effective, and necessary, to treat Low back pain.
related content
Specifically regarding O’Sullivan 2019:
This page is part of the PainScience BIBLIOGRAPHY, which contains plain language summaries of thousands of scientific papers & others sources. It’s like a highly specialized blog. A few highlights:
- Long-Term Effects of Repeated Injections of Local Anesthetic With or Without Corticosteroid for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: A Randomized Trial. Friedly 2017 Arch Phys Med Rehabil.
- Cannabis-based medicines for chronic neuropathic pain in adults. Ateş 2026 Cochrane Database Syst Rev.
- Effect of exercise on depression and anxiety symptoms: systematic umbrella review with meta-meta-analysis. Munro 2026 Br J Sports Med.
- Optimizing elastic band resistance training for Metabolic Syndrome components in older adults: A systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression of randomized controlled trials. Saez-Berlanga 2026 Arch Phys Med Rehabil.
- Biomechanical insights into Achilles tendinopathy risk and protection in runners: a large prospective study 4HAIE. Jandacka 2026 Br J Sports Med.