Muscle strain can cause low back pain. No surprise there because muscles are the most common cause of back pain. They are also the most commonly overlooked cause of pain.
Medical tests look for pressure on nerves. But what causes the pressure? Muscles.
Medical tests look for damage to joints. Outside of direct injury, what’s the most likely cause of damage to joints? Muscles.
And how about discs or spinal bones pressing on nerves? What causes that? I bet you know the answer. Muscles!
Muscles pull on and move bones and discs. Muscles are movers. They are the only tissues in your whole body that have that ability. That’s their job!
Muscle imbalances cause lower back pain. What is an “imbalance?” If the muscles on one side of your body are tighter or stronger than another side, that’s an imbalance. One side has more “pull” than the opposite side so two things are possible:
1. The tighter muscles may be in spasm and hurt. Or you may not even realize that they are tight.
2. The weaker muscles on the opposite side may go into their own specialized type of spasm. They are trying to protect themselves from being stretched too much. This is muscle strain.
Either situation can cause pain in your lower back (or anywhere else.)
The good news is that by getting your muscles back into their proper balance–so all of the muscles on all sides of your body are equally strong and happy–your lower back pain can go away.
Sometimes part of the solution is as simple as changing the way you sit or stand but, in any case, you have to take action. It’s your body. No one cares as much about it as you need to.
Actually, I’d like to tell you that I do but that wouldn’t be quite true.
I would love to see you have no more back pain; in fact, that’s my goal.
But you have to be your own doctor sometimes. You have to discover the cause of your pain and figure out what natural steps you need to take. And then you have to take them.
Just knowing what to do won’t cure your lower back pain. Action will. I’d be happy to help.
