Low back pain, the truth that they don't tell you!

Low back pain (the truth)

We are a flexed society, everytime we sit or stand up/walk around, we tend to flex our bodies forward, when we should be standing up & sitting up straighter! When people are working their Abs, they also flexing their hips either from raising them up, bringing them to the chest during bicycle kicks or being prone and sliding the knees up to the chest on a Ab glider type machine. For years as you went to the chiropractor or orthepedist, or someonem, you were told that you needed surgery or an adjustment, etc. based on your x-rays or how the doctor felt about your back issues. Well with muscles aside, all they think about is the money they can make from giving you a surgery, their magical treaent and medications to correct your back pain. They see that you got bulging discs or herniated discs, or perhaps you have calcium deposits building up on the vertebrae or something. They give you a reason why they need to continue seeing you or continue their plans to treat you. BUT they never tell you that your muscles could be too tight and they're pulling on your bones, pulling on your spine or pulling your pelvis forward, and causing you to lean forward or side to side; things like that. They make it a bigger deal than it really is!

All you need to do is have your posture evaluated by someone such as a corrective exercise specialist and also by doing some exercises to see how you move. Then the corrective exercise specialist like myself, can then create a program to help you stretch and work out those tight muscles to correct your posture, which will correct your pain. Massage therapist should be able to evaluate your posture also, the ones who incorporate stretching and can identify more than one muscle group that's causing you pain. Personal trainers and massage therapist can sometimes dictate each other, but I became both a trainer/exercise specialist and a massage therapist. We are a flexed society, and it causes us all pain, unless we get smart and have better habits!

Causes for low back pain

Deep Longitudinal Subsystem of the body. When you walk, the force from the ground with each step, shoots up through these muscles and up your erector spinae muscles. When on your feet too long, these muscles overuse and fatigue. Then comes the pain!

Posterior Oblique System. If the lats are tight and the gluteus maximus is weak, it causes lumbar pain. Both muscle groups attach to the center part of your lumbar (thoracolumbar fasciae/aponeurosis), plus the iliac crest of the ilium bone, and sacrum bone. Everytime you walk, before each step, the lats and gluteus maximus load up with energy, then when you take each step, it causes a force, back in 4th on the sacrum bone or sacroiliac joint (sacrum/ilium). Bending over and picking things up or sitting for long periods will wear out these muscles, plus the erector spinae. You need the iliac crest and sacrum pressed on during a massage. Plus do the stretches @ the bottom of this blog.  

• Sitting too long at a desk or anytime you sit in front of the TV, etc. causeing an arch in your back
• Doing hip motions during abdomenal exercises. Leg raises, bicycle kicks and Ab roller type stuff. All those tighten up the hip flexor muscles more
• Having tight quadratus lumborum muscles, hipflexors (iliopsoas, rectus femoris, which both cause you to pull you in a bent-forward position, pectineus, adductor longus, brevis and magnus). If you're bent forward, it'll activate the hamstrings more, they'll compensate for it, then you'll pull your hamstrings.
• Tight latissimus dorsi muscles, pulling your shoulders forward, which prevent from you holding your back up straight as well as your body. The lats originate off the T7-L5 vertebrae, plus the iliac crest of the ilium bone, thoracolumbar fasciae, and sacrum. So it pulls on the low back, the fasciae and iliac crest, which is why it's tight.
• Quadratus lumborum is tight and also your erector spinae group muscles could be weak or be tight if you have a lumbar curve from overusing it throughout the day
• Tight (gluteus maximus) mostly because it pushes your iliac up or pushes on your iliac crest & creates tension in the low back fascia.. The thigh muscles will compensate for your back. Your gluteus maximus  attaches from the iliac crest, thoracolumbo fascia, sacrum, and coccyx, and then inserts onto the gluteal tuberosity on each femur. 
• Weak core muscles. The muscle in on your vertebrae and muscles that connect your pelvis to your vertebrae. Local and global muscles that break your posture. 
• Also the thoracolumbar fascia or aponeurosis in the small of your back will be tender and tight possibly because of the butt being tense.

Tight muscles in an area will eventually break away from each other (fibers snap), then muscles try to grow back to each other and form soft tissue or scar tissue in that area. 

Treatments and Prevention/Corrections

Keep in mind that it's 33.5 lb of pressure per sq inch put on you.. 

So if you lean forward 4 inches, 33.5 lb x 4 in =  134 lb of pressure on you, not to mention on your neck also... It doesn't matter what your posture is.. Besides any surgeries and medications, try to stretch out those tight muscles listed above and strengthen the weak muscles also listed above. Find exercises to help strengthen the weak muscles or have a good trainer show you. Get a massage on those tight muscles and also stretch them. Massage the glutes! The iliac crest will be tight around the back along with the sacroiliac joint. It may need pushed on and you need to do back stretches for the back muscles. You should condition your body a little bit before doing heavy work outside or heavy lifting at your job. With a weak back, it'll become overused and hurt, then your legs will take over. When you pick something up off the floor, it pulls on your lower back and your butt, and also your hamstrings as you stand back up. Try doing deadlift exercises, do back extensions on a ball or machine too.. Do planks and proper Ab crunches on a ball to strengthen your core. Also do back extensions to strengthen your erector spinae muscles if it's weak.

Avoid any Ab workout involving hip movement, such as bicycle kicks, leg raises while lying prone or on  roman chair, and any kind of Ab rolling on a machine where you roll your legs up into your chest almost. Any hip movement like that will work your hips, once your Abs have tired out. The hip flexors and all them hip muscles will start being worked. Having those tight, will pull you forward into the anterior pelvic tilt and will cause hip pain and/or back pain! Avoid sit ups too as it puts strain on your back and works your hip flexors once again.

In some cases you or someone may have that posterior pelvic tilt as in the picture above, for that, your hip flexors as I listed above are weak instead, and then the rectus abdominus is too tight along with the buttocks (glueteus maximus) and hamstrings.

Below are some stretches and exercises  Perform 1-2 sets and hold stretches for 30 sec. Elderly ppl hold for 60 seconds.  

Lat stretch on a ball. You can stretch both arms on the ball too. Stretch the arms out much as you can. You can also lean your body over the ball from the side, and reach up and over.

 Use a chair or a kitchen counter top, etc.

Outer hip stretch for your gluteus medius/minimis, and for your back

Piriformis stretch

  

With this piriformis stretch the girl is doing, try having someone stretch you out with that instead. You'll benefit from it better. They stay in front of your body and pull push your knee toward you and pull your ankle away from you carefully. Have them pull from your ankle, not the foot bones.. This stretch is good for sciatic nerve pain, because the pirformis muscle wraps over the nerve and pinch it when it gets tight.

Hip flexor stretch, lean forward more if you can, keeping knee at 90 degrees still

Side lying quad and hip flexor stretch. Also standing quad stretch. Stretch the hip back more in order to stretch the hip flexors. Have someone help pull your leg back if you need it. 

 

Hip flexor stretch on a table, massage table or athletic table. Sit on the very edge of the table and let one leg hang down and have someone push on it while pushing the bent leg back toward their chest.

 

(Hamstrings) 

            

You can use an athletic band also, get assistance or use a wall for better support 

      

      

 Floor bridges for your back and butt

Also having a rotated pelvis or one side is rotated inward/anteriorly, it'll cause low back strain across hour iliac. Such as these pictures. 

Watch Erik Dalton videos and you'll learn things that massage therapists can do on you if they so it hopefully. 

Taking wild Alaskan Salmon oil & Arnica pills will bring relief to your arthritis or any type of body inflammation.. The Salmon oil is @ SamsClub, and the Arnica pills are @ CVS, The Vitamin Shoppe or may have to order them.