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Why is back pain still a huge problem? 

 •  • by Paul Ingraham
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Weekly nuggets of pain science news and insight, usually 100-300 words, with the occasional longer post. The blog is the “director’s commentary” on the core content of PainScience.com: a library of major articles and books about common painful problems and popular treatments. See the blog archives or updates for the whole site.

Why is back pain still a huge problem? Here’s an articulate explanation from a new paper by Max Zusman:

Nicely said. More simply: patients believe back pain is caused by structural fragility, and therapy careers are often built on catering to that belief.

If only I could edit it, though, I would say instead that it is difficult to alter that belief in anyone, patient or professional. The overemphasis on fragility isn’t just reinforced by the practices of manual therapists, it’s the reason for many of them.

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