A ProSport Therapist Reveals… How To Beat Your Lower Back Pain

Lower back pain can be incredibly frustrating. You’ve tried hot or cold packs, bed rest, and pain killers but only ever get temporary pain relief. It keeps returning. The problem is, living in pain has a huge knock-on effect.

Maybe your back pain is stopping you from doing simple things like going to the gym or picking up your kids. Maybe it is stopping you from sleeping at night. Life without back pain can seem like a distant memory. But you’re not alone.

Numbers suggest that lower back pain affects around 1 third of the UK adult population every year. It’s safe to say we see a lot of lower back pain in the ProSport clinic but there is one common thread for back pain sufferers.

Most people don’t actually believe they can leave their low back pain behind. They don’t believe they can get back to life before pain.

Well, if this sounds like you, if you do suffer from acute low back pain, then today I want to show you that there is a way to beat it and it may be simpler than you think.

Read on to find out;

• How serious your back pain may be.
• What could be causing your low back pain.
• Why this could be happening.
• Our approach to your back pain.
• Some useful exercises to implement today.

How Serious Is Your Lower Back Pain?

For most, their lower back pain symptoms come in the form agonising ache and muscle spasms. It may feel like muscle strain, muscle tension, or stiffness of the lumbar region. But most find it hard to relieve pain. The problem is these symptoms put your life on pause. They stop you from doing things that others, without chronic pain, wouldn’t think twice about.

Of course, we are all taught that anything to treat any issue around the spinal column or spinal cord with real respect and for good reasons, but for most patients we see at the ProSport clinic, it isn’t a case of serious damage to the spinal nerves or spinal cord.

So when asked if I think a patient’s low back pain is serious I say yes. You should take all lower back pain seriously. No matter how mild you think it is, if your chronic low back pain is stopping you from doing something then you should take it seriously and take action

What Acute Causes Lower Back Pain?

Lower back pain is probably the most common injury that we see here in the clinic at ProSport Physiotherapy.

There can be many causes, such as a herniated disc or damage to the sciatic nerve but it isn’t always one of these severe sounding issues. At the clinic, we see one common cause for lower back pain.

Often the reason for an acute onset of pain is likely due to the area becoming overloaded as a result of something else within the chain not wanting to do its job effectively.

Within sporting people, it’s more common for this kind of issue to come on with more high-impact activities that involve high loads for example jumping, sprinting, weight lifting in the gym.

For those who perhaps aren’t as active in sports, symptoms can be bought on by the heavy lifting, picking up children.

Why Could Your Lower Back Be Overloaded?

The reason why certain areas may not be tolerating load as well and why the lower back is compensating causing that low back pain can vary from person to person.

Every patient is different which is why it is always important to seek out professionals who can provide medical advice and carry out a full physical therapy assessment, finding the true cause of the problem so the right rehab programme can be put in place.

At the ProSport clinic, we understand that not everyone experiences acute back pain in the same way. Not everyone will respond to low back pain relief or rehab the same as the next. That is why we always look at the individual first.

We look at your story, we look at your injury history, use hands-on treatment, and target soft tissues to relieve pain. Once you’re no longer in pain we create a bespoke rehab plan for you.

Physical therapy is not a one size fits all kind of thing, it has to be about you.

Where Do We Look First When We Treat Low Back Pain?

Of course, every patient is different but there are a few places we look to initially to establish why you are in pain.

One of the first things that we look at is the rib cage. Now, some people may find it a strange place to start but most don’t understand the effect of the rib cage on your low back or lumbar spine.

Rib cage mobility is incredibly important for all everyday functional activities, for example, reaching down to put your shoes and socks on, picking up your kids from the floor.

If your rib cage can’t go through a full range of motion it can cause stress on other areas including your lower back. So, if we can restore a full range of motion of the rib cage then very often it can really help.

Could Your Obliques Have Something To Do With Your Back Pain?

One of the main muscle groups that are key in enabling your rib cage to go through a full range of movement is your obliques.

These muscles will need to produce a lot of motor output for even the simplest of activities like reaching down to pick something off the floor, so imagine how hard they will need to work to deadlift a heavy weight in the gym!

These muscles will also need to be able to lengthen fully in different planes of movement like reaching across our body or up towards the ceiling.

Often if someone has an issue lengthening the obliques then it can have a negative impact on rib cage mobility and in turn, the lumbar spine. It could possibly be contributing to your back pain.

So what if your obliques are contributing to your low back pain? What can you do?

Well, the exercise below is incredibly powerful. It will load your obliques a little bit more, aiding to restore rib cage mobility – more specifically rib cage depression and targeting the areas that may not be loading efficiently.

Don’t Live With Severe Pain

Back Pain may seem like a constant in your life and believe me, most patients who step foot through our clinic doors say the same thing. They think the only answer is a cold pack, pain medications, injections, or even surgery.

For us, every patient is different but our approach is the same. Get rid of your pain and make sure it doesn’t come back again.

No one deserves to miss out on the activities they love. Take back control. If you need help beating your back pain, pick up the phone and book your appointment today.