Good Back Days

The science

What the research actually found.

Plain words first. The sources sit in small print under each card, so you can read every study yourself.

University of Colorado, 2022

2 out of 3 were pain-free or close to it after four weeks.

  • Learned to retrain their brain66%
  • Placebo injection20%
  • Usual care10%

Pain-free or close to it, four weeks later.

What it found

Scientists took 151 adults who'd had back pain for about ten years. One group learned that their brain was keeping the pain going, and practiced changing it. The others got a placebo injection or stayed on their usual care.

What it means for you

Pain that has lasted a decade can still change when your brain learns it's safe. Most of the people in that group were still doing well a year later.

Ashar YK et al. Effect of pain reprocessing therapy vs placebo and usual care for patients with chronic back pain. JAMA Psychiatry, 2022.

A Harvard teaching hospital, 2021

64% pain-free at six months, compared with 17%.

Small pilot
64%learned the method
17%usual care

What it found

At Beth Israel Deaconess, 35 adults with back pain took part. One group learned that the brain can produce real pain, and how to answer it. Six months later, 64% of them were pain-free. Of the people on usual care, 17% were.

What it means for you

It's a small pilot, so treat it as an early sign. It points the same way as the Colorado trial.

Donnino MW et al. Psychophysiologic symptom relief therapy for chronic back pain: a pilot randomized controlled trial. PAIN Reports, 2021.

MRI scans of people with no pain, 2015

Plenty of healthy backs look "worn" on a scan.

37%of 20-year-olds with no pain
96%of 80-year-olds with no pain

What it found

Researchers pooled scans from 3,110 people who had no back pain at all. At age 20, 37% already showed disc degeneration. By age 80, 96% did.

What it means for you

A "mild" finding on your report may have nothing to do with why you hurt. Your scan and your pain are allowed to disagree.

Brinjikji W et al. Systematic literature review of imaging features of spinal degeneration in asymptomatic populations. AJNR, 2015.

The book, 1991 to today

More than a million people have read the book this is based on.

What it found

It spread mostly by word of mouth. Thousands of readers say it ended their pain.

What it means for you

Stories like these got scientists curious enough to test the idea properly. The cards above are what they found.

The New York Times, June 23, 2017.

The original theory, not proven

Why does it ache?

Not proven

What it found

The original theory is that your brain slightly cuts blood flow, so the muscles in your back get a little less oxygen. That's the ache.

What it means for you

This part hasn't been proven. Researchers today describe it as your brain turning up its pain alarm. Either way, the pain is real and physical, and your brain is running it.

We include it because you'll read it elsewhere. Treat it as a theory.

That's what happened to the people in each study. Results vary, and a study isn't a promise about you. Have a doctor rule out anything serious first.

See if your pain fits the pattern.

A quick safety check, then five questions about your life.

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