p a n a c h e
R
oughly 80% of the
world suffers from this
at some point in their
life. It is singularly responsi-
ble for more sick leaves and
disability than any other dis-
order in the world. Popularly
characterised by a lady whim-
pering ‘ooh, aah, ouch!’ on
the telly, lumbago or low-
back pain is what we’re talk-
ing about, and talking about
the pain is exactly what the
doctors are advising to its vic-
tims! The study was conduct-
ed by Professor Sarah E Lamb
and her colleagues from The
University of Warwick and
the University of Oxford, and
their findings were published
in the peer-reviewed medical
journal The Lancet. Cognitive
Behaviour Therapy (CBT), a
short-term treatment that
challenges and reframes neg-
ative beliefs, has been judged
as an economical option to
aid recovery by this study.
While back pain is a physical
problem, a person’s mental
make-up affects the way he/
she manages their health,
which can significantly ben-
efit or deteriorate the patient’s
condition. The study found
that people who were pro-
vided with CBT group-sup-
port sessions experienced
greater physical fitness and
enjoyed a better quality of life
than those who were given a
one-off advice session.
CBT sessions involve talk-
ing about beliefs relating to
physical activity, helping re-
solve negativity and teaching
patients to relax and be less
fearful about their situation.
Most people’s reaction to
lower-back ache is to avoid
activity, which only goes on
to make the muscles more
stiff and so contribute to the
existing pain. CBT ensures
86 19 march-1 april 2010
Talk away pain?
Now you’re talking!
Your low-back ache can be considerably
aggravated by your thoughts and notions. Try
a bit of CBT, and you might just be talked out
of causing debilitating pain to yourself...
people don’t fall into this vi-
cious circle, and instead pro-
vides advice on appropriate
activities they should pursue
for faster recovery. At the In-
dian Spinal Injuries Centre,
CBT is an accepted tool for
the treatment of backaches
and a psychologist is a mem-
ber of the team treating back-
aches. Dr. H.S. Chhabra,
Chief of Spine Service &
Medical Director, explains,
“Cognitive-behavioural ther-
apy can change the way our
mind influences our body.
When we shift our thinking
away from the pain and
change our focus to more
positive aspects of life, we
change the way our body re-
sponds to the anticipated
pain and stress.”
CBT is usually used to treat
anxiety, substance abuse, per-
sonality, eating and psychotic
disorders. “How we think and
respond to pain can contrib-
ute to the perception and per-
petuation of pain. If we take
it negatively, i.e. panic at the
thought of pain, it can trigger
physical changes like muscles
spasm. The spasm in turn
generates more pain, which
in turn increases the spasm.
This can thus set-in a vicious
cycle increasing the pain even
when the stimulus remains
the same. However, if we
think positively, this cycle
does not set in and the pain
does not increase,” asserts Dr.
H.S. Chhabra. He further ex-
plains, “Cognitive-behaviour-
al therapy for back pain has
generally three components:
Understanding that thoughts
and behaviour play a central
role in how we experience
pain; Learning skills, such as
relaxation techniques, to help
reduce muscle tension and
divert attention from the
pain; And applying these
skills in every day life.” The
whole exercise is aimed at
helping people to get back to
enjoyable activities and find-
ing relief from their pain.
Back pain is one of the
most common ailments,
which cuts across sections of
society, and affects from the
office-goer to the neighbour-
hood milkman. When it is
caused by an infection, can-
cer or an injury, there is need
for serious steps, but for oth-
er cases, acupuncture and
yoga have been noted to be
helpful. Though talking your-
self out of pain has to be the
simplest solution yet!
Anu Gulmohar
business&economy