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My doctor said to skip the PT and just rest my back - 6 months later I'm worse than ever
After my car accident in San Diego, my primary care doc told me bed rest was all I needed for my herniated disk, but now I can barely walk. I finally saw a specialist who says I should have done physical therapy right away and now recovery will take way longer. Anyone else been told to just rest and ended up regretting it?
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uma_webb281mo ago
Did you ever look up that study from UC San Francisco about how bed rest can actually make back problems worse? I read it when I was dealing with my own back issues and it was eye opening. They found that prolonged rest leads to muscle weakness which just makes the spine less stable over time. Kinda wild that doctors are still telling people to do nothing when the evidence is pretty clear about staying active in a safe way.
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hannahcoleman1mo ago
Prolonged rest leads to muscle weakness" ok but like how much rest are we talking? I feel like people hear "bed rest" and imagine someone lying in a dark room for a month straight. If you're just taking a couple days to let the acute pain calm down then moving around gently I dont see how that's gonna ruin your spine. Plus not all back problems are the same. Some people have herniated disc stuff where moving too much can make things way worse. I think the study might be right for certain cases but it feels like people take one study and run with it like it applies to everyone. Doctors are probably just trying to keep people from hurting themselves more if they dont know what they're doing.
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