When I first talk to many of my patients with back pain, I often get told their primary care physician or even a specialist told them to rest for a few weeks and “see how it goes”. This is often confusing: staying active and exercising is supposed to be healthy, so why is your doctor telling you to rest? This is where I believe the message changes meaning as it travels from the physician to the patient. What the physician PROBABLY meant (and what I normally advise these patients to do) is rest from the SPECIFIC activities that aggravate their pain. At least temporarily, until they find the root cause of the pain and get that fixed. So, in this way, you don’t want to just lay in bed or sit down for 2-4 weeks, expecting your back pain to just magically go away. What you DO want to do is find some exercise or activity that will keep you engaged, healthy, and in minimal pain. Moreover, when you rest by staying in bed or sitting, minimizing your movement, you may even be DOING DAMAGE to your back. Muscles and joint receive nutrition and “healing stuff” through healthy movement. If no movement is happening, it is unlikely your back pain is going to just resolve on its own (especially if it has been over 9 days since your back pain began). Now, the real question is: how do I know what to do to manage my back pain so I can get back to my active life? The first step is to read our Free Tips Report on Back Pain. In this quick report, we provide 8 tips to reduce back pain that you can start doing today! Check it out by clicking here