The truth about bed rest for back pain

If your back 'goes out,' your instinct is to lie down and wait it out. I get it. But more than two days of bed rest actually slows recovery — your muscles deconditioned, the joint gets stiffer, and the fear of moving grows.

The modern approach is relative rest: keep doing gentle, tolerable movement. Walk a little. Do the offloading positions from Module 1. Motion is lotion for an irritated back.

This doesn't mean push through sharp pain — it means don't freeze. Your spine is robust. Treat it like it's resilient, because it is.