In the past, people were commonly told that they should rest their back after experiencing back pain. One of the most common recommendations on how to rest your back was to wear a back brace. Both of these pieces of advice are outdated. Rest is no longer recommended for those with back pain in Fox Chapel and for the most part neither are low back braces.
WHY SHOULDN’T I WEAR A LOW BACK BRACE FOR MY BACK PAIN?
Back braces increase intrabdominal pressure and stability while they are being worn. This allows for the abdominal and low back musculature to relax. While this may seem like a good thing, it can prolong recovery time. Part of the recovery from a low back pain episode should include strengthening of the core and make sure the muscles activate at the appropriate time. Wearing a back brace instead of strengthening the core actually weakens it. The muscles of the low back become reliant on the brace and stop activating when they should. Due to this weakening, one becomes reliant on the back brace to relieve their pain and instability. If instead, the patient had never worn the back brace then they would have never developed this dependence.
THAT SAID SOMETIMES IT IS OKAY TO WEAR A BRACE
If you recently suffered a back injury and you are returning to heavy lifting, Tauberg Chiropractic & Rehabilitation explains that a back brace may be useful at first. In such a scenario the brace should only be worn when lifting heavy objects. This helps to protect the back from further injury. The use of the brace should slowly be discontinued as one recovers from the initial injury. Powerlifters may also wear a back brace when lifting near their maximum. This helps to prevent injury. During their normal training they, however, should avoid wearing a brace.