Do i need to rest more for back pain

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Do I Need to Rest More for Back Pain?

Michael Brantley, a star outfielder for the Cleveland Indians, suffered back pain even before the season began. Like many others in professional sports, he apparently was — and possibly still is — trying to “play through the pain.” Meanwhile, many, many others who work in other jobs suffer back pain and similarly try to “play (or work) through the pain” — in many cases because they feel they have no choice. But from the perspective of healing your pain, is this the best thing to do?

Rest More for Back Pain in Bed: What Does the Research Say? It used to be standard to recommend prolonged bed rest to heal back pain, and many physicians still do recommend it. However, now research shows that continuing on with your daily activities leads to better flexibility while bed rest alone may make back pain worse (while also leading to depression, blood clots and decreased muscle tone). As explained by Kush Goyal, MD, a medical spine specialist in the Center for Spine Health and the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at the Cleveland Clinic:


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