You wake up, take two pills for your lower back pain, and then get ready for work. About 10AM, you start to feel the stiffness again, so you take two more. You pop another two after lunch, and you have to resist the urge to take two more before you commute back home. A few days later, you’re standing in line at the pharmacy to refill your prescription again, and wince when you see the bill. This medication is expensive, but it’s certainly better than suffering from chronic pain. You don’t want to go through invasive surgery that might not work, and you don’t have time for physical therapy, so medicine is clearly the best way to go. (more…)