Back Problems and Society

When you have back problems, it can severely change your life. People don't seem to understand how hard these back ailments can be on a person. Some people act like it is no problem at all and you should be able to do things normally just like a healthy person!

I understand this very well, as I personally suffer from back, hip and joint problems due to multiple back injuries and arthritis--plus all this at a young age! However, I have trouble getting people to understand how it severely hampers my lifestyle. Whether at work, home, or in the general public, there are people who don't believe me when I say how bad it is or simply dismiss it as nothing!

Some of us struggle to walk most days and people still act like its nothing important. I frequently wonder how people can just ignore these things. Our society seems to ignore this fact all the time, just not wanting to deal with it, with bad results. Perfectly capable and intelligent people frequently get shut out and alienated from many activities and the workforce just because they have a slight disability.

It is very disheartening that special accommodations are not made for these people. It's not that society can't make special accommodations, it's that it won't. If you don't have a doctor's excuse or haven't been proclaimed handicapped by some authority on the matter, they won't accommodate you at most jobs. This is true even if you limp in or have a reaction in your body to a work behavior that triggers it. I'm not sure if they just don't believe a person or think its favoritism, but if you saw someone limping into work, wouldn't you think they deserved to sit and do work? Apparently, not so at a good deal of workplaces in the United States.

The problem is that our society tries to fit everyone in the same category and make people to do the same things when it comes to certain activities or jobs. Sure there parking places for the handicapped, not to mention bathrooms, along with other accommodations made for the more severe disability cases. However, if you are just slightly disabled, it seems that people don't want to bother helping you and think you should be made to do the same things as everyone else, even if it is very hard for you.

My hope is this message gets through to those who are unwilling to bend in policy to help slightly disabled people keep jobs and be able to function adequately at them. It is much too demanding to believe these people can do things just like a perfectly healthy person at all times. I wish for these people to learn that despite the fact you don't have a wheelchair or a handicapped sign, that a person really may need special accommodations for them to do the job. It is just expecting way too much to make people suffer just to have a job or be a part of a group.