Injury and muscle imbalances are the two most common causes of lower back pain. Muscle imbalances can cause you to have poor posture. Poor posture is also called “forward head posture” and “collapsing posture.” This causes pain.
Poor posture includes incorrect positioning of the pelvic bones and either too much or too little curvature in the spine. This causes increased wear and tear on your joints, muscles, ligaments and your spinal discs. This happens because muscles move bones.
NOTE: If you have loss of bowel or bladder control with your low back pain that can mean a medical emergency, so get to the Emergency Room in a hospital as quickly as possible.
What are the most common lower back pain treatments?
The most common treatment by doctors and physical therapists for low back pain are cortisone injections and prescriptions for muscle relaxants or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
Chiropractors and physical therapists usually offer spinal manipulations, hot packs, cold packs, ultrasound, electrical stimulation, and therapeutic exercises. Some chiropractors also have various types of moving tables for a patient to lay on which help relax muscles. Massage therapy is sometimes offered and helps muscles relax in many cases.
Why do traditional lower back pain treatments fail?
Most traditional treatments fail because they only address the symptoms and fail to address the cause of the pain.
No pills or shots can restore your postural balance in your body. Neither can they take the pressure off a nerve or make your joints work better. (But if the treatment reduces swelling that’s pressing on a nerve, it may feel better.)
In order to get rid of that nasty or nagging pain in your lower back you have to get rid of whatever is causing it first. That’s why so many back surgeries failed–they didn’t get rid of the cause; they were only treating the symptom (the painful area.)
Which lower back pain treatments work best?
I always vote for conservative treatments first. This is because your body is smart and sometimes just needs a little help to get better naturally. And I have seen LOTS of bodies get rid of their low back pain naturally!
Using ice or cold packs for the first 48 to 72 hours and heat after 48 hours can help control swelling, pain and stiffness. Some folks also report benefit from enzyme therapy taken in pill form.
Massage therapy can play a tremendous role in lower back pain relief depending on the training and skill of the therapist. You may be able to do-it-yourself with the correct tools.
Trigger Points are very irritable areas of muscle or soft tissues (not bones) which can cause an area to feel tight, weak and painful. Trigger Point therapy can be used along with muscle balance therapy to help get your posture and muscles back into balance.
Claire Davies created an easy to use, easy to understand Trigger Point Self Help book. You can find it at Amazon or ask your local librarian.
Inversion Therapy or placing your body in a upside down (inverted) position on a slanted device can also be very effective in releasing some of the pressure on the spine. Inversion therapy lets gravity help create more space between your bones. Inversion also is reported to have lots of other health benefits.
I believe one of the most important things to address is muscle imbalances. Your muscles can pull your body out of alignment. That’s the job of muscles–to move bodies and parts of bodies.
What’s the good news?
Muscle imbalances that are causing lower back pain are relatively easy to identify and address. Once you know which imbalances you have, you then can start to fix them by performing the right combination of corrective lower back pain exercises and stretches.
Your body is a wonderful machine. Sometimes it just needs a little help–and you need a little more information–to get rid of low back pain naturally.
