Last Updated: June 13, 2026
You bent down to pick up your kid, felt that familiar twinge, and did what you always do — straightened up slowly, told yourself it’s nothing, and got on with your day.
With Father’s Day this Sunday, here’s a gift idea that doesn’t come in a box: actually dealing with the back pain you’ve been waiting out for months. Because “I’ll just tough it out” is one of the most costly sentences a busy dad can say.
The “It’ll Go Away” Trap
Let’s be honest about how this usually goes. The pain shows up, you back off the heavy stuff for a few days, the sharp edge wears off, and you take that as proof the problem is gone.
Here’s the catch: the pain quieting down and the problem being fixed are two very different things. Most low back pain is mechanical — a joint that’s stuck and not moving right, a disc under too much load, muscles tightening to protect the area. When the flare settles, that mechanical issue is often still sitting there, waiting for the next time you lift a cooler, swing a golf club, or shovel mulch. That’s why it keeps coming back.
And this isn’t a minor problem. The CDC finds that nearly 2 in 5 U.S. adults — about 39% — report back pain in any given three-month period (CDC / National Center for Health Statistics, 2019). If you’ve got kids, a job, and a yard that won’t mow itself, you’re squarely in the group that can least afford to be slowed down by it. Common does not mean “just accept it.”
Why “Toughing It Out” Backfires
There’s an old idea that resting and powering through is how you handle a bad back. The current understanding is close to the opposite — prolonged bed rest isn’t recommended, and staying gently active while you address the actual mechanics works better.
The bigger issue is what happens to a structural problem over time. A joint that stays restricted forces the joints above and below it to pick up the slack, and muscles compensate, fatigue, and weaken. What started as a stiff segment you could have handled in a few visits can turn into a disc problem or nerve irritation that takes much longer to settle. Earlier usually means simpler.
The 5 Signs It’s Time to Stop Waiting
If any of these sound like you, the “it’s fine” story has run its course:
- It keeps coming back. Same spot, same pain, every few weeks or months. Recurrence is a sign of an unresolved mechanical problem, not bad luck.
- It’s been hanging around for weeks. Acute back pain often eases within four to six weeks with self-care. If it isn’t improving within a couple of weeks — or it’s dragging past three months — it’s worth getting evaluated (Cleveland Clinic).
- It’s changing what you do. You’re skipping the basketball game in the driveway, avoiding the lawn, or sleeping badly because of it. Pain that reshapes your day has earned a look.
- It started after a real impact. A fall, a car accident, a hard hit — new, severe back pain after trauma deserves a proper evaluation rather than a wait-and-see (Cleveland Clinic).
- You’re reaching for pain relievers to get through the week. Masking it daily so you can keep going isn’t a treatment plan — it’s a workaround that lets the cause keep progressing.
Red Flags: When It’s Not “Wait and See” at All
Most back pain is mechanical and not dangerous. But a few symptoms are genuinely urgent, and this is the part no dad should sit on. Seek medical care right away if back pain comes with:
- New numbness, tingling, or weakness running down a leg
- Numbness in the “saddle” area (inner thighs, groin, buttocks)
- Any loss of bowel or bladder control
- Severe pain following a serious accident, or pain with fever or unexplained weight loss
These can signal nerve compression that’s time-sensitive. As the American Medical Association notes, leg numbness or weakness and any bowel or bladder dysfunction are “never normal” and should be evaluated sooner rather than later. For the most serious version of this — cauda equina syndrome — outcomes are dramatically better with rapid treatment, often within the first 24 hours (American Association of Neurological Surgeons).
What Back Pain Treatment Actually Looks Like
Here’s the part that keeps a lot of guys away: the fear that walking in means surgery, or being told to give up everything you enjoy. That’s not how it works. The large majority of low back pain and sciatica respond to conservative, non-surgical care — surgery is a last resort, not a first step (American Medical Association). And back pain is close to universal: by most estimates, as many as 80% of people experience it at some point in their lives — yet the overwhelming majority recover without an operation.
At McAlpine Chiropractic, the goal is to find why your back keeps flaring and fix the mechanics behind it to get you back to your life as quickly as possible. Depending on what we find, that can include chiropractic adjustments to restore proper motion to restricted joints, non-surgical spinal decompression for disc-related pain (it gently creates negative pressure in the disc space to take pressure off the nerve), and Class IV laser therapy to calm inflammation and speed tissue recovery.
“Most of the back pain I see is due to a mechanical problem that was ignored for days to weeks. The body compensates for mechanical pain and many of us push through the pain, but at a certain point the body can’t compensate further. The good news is that if the pain is caught early, it’s usually straightforward to treat and most people see improvement within a week.” — Phillip Maletta, DC
If your pain is being driven by something we don’t handle in-house, we’ll point you in the right direction — physical therapists we trust for strengthening and rehab, or a specialist if imaging is warranted. Chiropractic, physical therapy, and medical care are complementary tools, and the point is getting you the right one. You can read more on our back pain treatment page and our sciatica treatment page.
A Father’s Day Worth Giving Yourself
Time after time we see fathers with the same motivation for seeking chiropractic care — they want to be able to play with their kids or pick up their kids without feeling broken. Even if the pain is manageable most of the time, your body is still telling you it needs help.
Fathers spend all year making sure everyone else is taken care of, but fathers need to treat themselves like someone worth taking care of too. This year, try hands-on chiropractic at McAlpine Chiropractic — it may just be the best thing you do for your family this Father’s Day. We think you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to get back to the things you love and keep yourself pain-free and moving well.
Frequently Asked Questions About Back Pain
How long should I wait before seeing someone about back pain?
Acute back pain often improves within four to six weeks with self-care. If yours isn’t getting better within a couple of weeks, keeps coming back, or has lasted three months or more, it’s worth being evaluated (Cleveland Clinic). If you have any red-flag symptoms — leg numbness or weakness, or bowel or bladder changes — don’t wait at all.
Will my back pain just go away on its own?
The flare often calms down, but that doesn’t mean the cause is gone. Most low back pain is mechanical — a restricted joint, a loaded disc, compensating muscles — and if that isn’t addressed, the pain tends to return.
Is back pain just a normal part of getting older?
Age plays a role, but persistent or recurring pain is a signal, not something you have to accept. Back pain is one of the most common health complaints among U.S. adults — but being common doesn’t make it normal, and it doesn’t mean you just have to live with it.
Should I see a chiropractor, a physical therapist, or a medical doctor for back pain?
All three can help, and they’re complementary. Chiropractic care is a reasonable first step when the pain is mechanical or joint-driven, which most back pain is. Physical therapy is excellent for strengthening and rehab. A medical doctor or specialist is the right call if there are red flags or imaging is needed.
When is back pain an emergency?
Get care right away if you have new numbness or weakness in a leg, numbness in the saddle area (inner thighs, groin, or buttocks), any loss of bowel or bladder control, or severe pain after a serious accident. The AMA notes these nerve-related symptoms are “never normal.” For cauda equina syndrome specifically, outcomes are far better with treatment within about 24 hours (American Association of Neurological Surgeons).
Should I just push through the pain and keep working?
Total rest isn’t the answer, but neither is grinding through sharp, worsening, or radiating pain. Staying gently active is good; ignoring pain that’s getting worse or shooting down your leg is how a small problem becomes a big one.
Ready to Stop Waiting It Out?
Drs. Ben De Young, Ann McAlpine, and Phillip Maletta treat dads (and everyone else) throughout Holland, Zeeland, and West Michigan. Whether your back has been nagging you for weeks or you want to get ahead of it before it sidelines you this summer, we’ll find the cause and build a plan around your life.
Give yourself the Father’s Day gift that lasts. Call us at 616-392-7031 or book online to schedule your evaluation. Our office is at 500 West 17th Street, Holland, MI 49423.
Sources:
– American Medical Association, “What doctors wish patients knew about sciatica” (Dr. Kevin Taliaferro, Henry Ford Health) — https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/prevention-wellness/what-doctors-wish-patients-knew-about-sciatica
– Cleveland Clinic, “When Should I See a Doctor for Back Pain?” (Dr. Kristin Powers, MD) — https://health.clevelandclinic.org/when-to-see-a-doctor-for-back-pain
– CDC / National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey 2019 (NCHS Data Brief No. 415) — 39.0% of U.S. adults had back pain in the past 3 months — https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db415.htm
– American Association of Neurological Surgeons, “Cauda Equina Syndrome” — https://www.aans.org/patients/conditions-treatments/cauda-equina-syndrome/
– Lifetime prevalence of low back pain (~65–84%) and sciatica (10–40%): StatPearls (NCBI) / spine-pain epidemiology literature — https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507908/
