Pain is generally the result of damage to the body. Pain from a broken bone or surgery is easy to understand because there is a clear episode of damage to tissue. The drugs we use for the pain are readily chosen based on our knowledge of the pain mechanisms associated with damaged cells. Sometimes however the pain persists even after the usual six weeks healing time. Where is it coming from? Actually, for longstanding back pain, many physicians believe we do not understand the mechanism and therefore the most common diagnosis used is non-specific low back pain, accounting for 70-80% of cases. Many of these patients have MRI's that show some damage in the spine or in the disc but we know that many patients have the same findings of damage without any pain at all. Although abnormalities seen on the MRI may be associated in some patients with the major reason for initiating the pain, the mechanism associated with the perpetuation of the pain may be more complicated and include such factors as emotional state and levels of physical conditioning. At our center we believe that muscle related pain is one of the perpetuating factors involved in most non-specific low back pain and it could be diagnosed and treated effectively. In fact we have patented our technique to diagnose and treat pain coming from muscles and refer to our approach as the Marcus Method. There are four mechanisms that can contribute to soft tissue pain Stress may result in prolonged contraction of muscles resulting in back, neck and head pain. Being preoccupied with thoughts and feelings of anger, fear and anxiety may result in misinterpreting normal aches and pains as signs of disease father increasing tension and pain. Being out of shape can lead to weakness and stiffness and can produce pain by forcing muscles to work beyond their capacity. An involuntary contraction of muscle that causes pain and prevents movement, such as, the inability to turn your neck or stand up straight. Small hard areas of muscle that are painful with any activity that strains the muscle but may be silent if the person is inactive. The pain from a trigger point may mimic a herniated disc. A thorough evaluation should include a muscle examination, which can identify any of these problems with a specific muscle diagnosis leading to a specific treatment plan.