How to relieve lower back pain - exercises and recommendations

Today we will tell you why low back pain occurs in men and women, as well as give practical advice on how to relieve low back pain with exercise.

Main causes of back pain

Passive lifestyle

The first major cause of low back pain is a sedentary lifestyle. Did you know that, for example, the average American sits 10 to 15 hours a day? Incredible! He sits behind the wheel, sits at work, and then at home watches TV, again sitting.

When sitting, the body is in a bent state, the thigh muscles (quadriceps) are pulled up and contracted. And quadriceps are, first of all, flexors. They straighten the lower leg and help pull the hip up. Another flexor in the lower back is the psoas. If you spend a lot of time sitting, the quadriceps and psoas become shorter, and when you stand up, these muscles will be tense. This will cause changes in the pelvis, which will subsequently have a compensatory effect on the muscles of the lower back and will introduce these muscles into constant tension and contraction.

The best remedies for combating the effects of a sedentary lifestyle are either walking or a good stretching program. You do not need to pump muscles, but stretch them, and achieve their symmetry.

With a sedentary lifestyle, due to too tense flexors, the quadriceps shortens, the gluteus maximus muscles weaken. Buttocks change shape, become flat, flabby, atrophied. Such a person does not have strong extensors, that is, opposing muscles on the other side (buttocks), so the muscles of the lower back take over. This is where back pain most often comes from.

Vitamin D deficiency

The next common cause of low back pain is a lack of vitamin D. If you have back pain and you take vitamin D, it is likely that it can get you out of pain very quickly, because a lack of vitamin D causes back pain more often than anything else.

Pinched sciatic nerve (sciatica)

The sciatic nerve comes from the sacral plexus, passes through the buttocks, behind the hamstring, and goes to the foot. Sciatica is an inflammation of the sciatic nerve, it is as thick as a thumb. A pinched sciatic nerve can be treated at home.

If a person has a pinched sciatic nerve on the right side, you need to knead the sciatic nerve on the opposite side.

Treatment for sciatica begins with kneading a place called the ischial notch in the sacrum. You need to press on it, then track the nerve down the leg. You need to do this slowly, and continue to massage the leg along the sciatic nerve to the foot.

The most important thing to get rid of pain in the sciatic nerve on the right is to stimulate the sciatic nerve on the left, because they are connected. When pressed on the opposite side, the pain in the nerve may be even greater than where the pinching occurred.

The treatment for the sciatic nerve is to look for the sensitivity of the nerve on the opposite side and knead it. It is necessary to press each point for a couple of minutes along the entire leg to the very foot.

To cure the sciatic nerve at home to yourself, you need a tennis ball. It is necessary to sit on the ball in the place where the sciatic nerve begins, let the ball press on it. Sit on the ball and knead the sciatic nerve with it, going down the nerve, thereby putting pressure on the right points. The lower part of the leg (calf) can be massaged independently. Thus, you can treat yourself with the sciatic nerve.

Asymmetry in the muscles

The next reason is asymmetry in the muscles. Either the front of the body or the lower or back of the legs are too stressed, so that there is constant wear and tear on the joints when walking. Therefore, it is necessary to check the mobility of the joints. Try to reach your toes without rounding your lower back. Happened? If not, you need to stretch.

If your neck, middle or upper back is tense, this can also affect your lower back. Therefore, you need to work on the entire spine, since it is connected.

Displacement of the lumbar vertebrae

Displacement of the lumbar vertebrae (spondylolisthesis) is a common disease that affects one or more vertebrae. It causes pain, discomfort and disruption of other organs. Spondylolisthesis is diagnosed in middle-aged and elderly people. Young people face pathology with excessive physical exertion or injury.

Signs of spondylolisthesis do not appear immediately. A person may feel discomfort after a few days and even years. In rare cases, there is pain in the back, which goes away on its own. But with increased loads or a sharp slope, the condition may worsen. The disease is treated by a vertebrologist. To identify the disease, the doctor prescribes x-rays, computed tomography and MRI. In most cases, an X-ray of the lumbar spine helps determine the diagnosis.

Intervertebral hernia

Intervertebral hernia (herniated disc) is a protrusion (extrusion) of the nucleus of the intervertebral disc into the spinal canal as a result of a violation of the integrity of the fibrous ring. The most common hernias of the intervertebral discs of the lumbosacral spine, hernias are much less common in the cervical spine, the most rare - in the thoracic region.

There are three factors for the appearance of an intervertebral hernia: genetic, metabolic or nutritional disorders, and mechanical, due to constant microtrauma and gradual destruction of the structures of the intervertebral disc.

Not only genetic endogenous factors, but also exogenous influences determine the nature and rate of degenerative changes in the disc. Physical activity in the form of weight lifting, torsion loads, that is, lifting weights in combination with twisting, or "golfing", driving a car are identified as the main risk factors for disc degeneration and subsequent herniation.

In adults, the intervertebral disc does not have a blood supply, and its nutrition occurs osmotically, that is, during movement, for example, when walking. Accordingly, with a sedentary lifestyle, the disc does not have enough nutrition, and over time it loses moisture and becomes brittle. This fragility is also influenced by heredity.

There is also a trigger theory of herniation. According to her, the root cause is contracted muscles, which, like a vise, compress the intervertebral disc, and thereby interfere with its normal nutrition. The consequence is a gradual loss of moisture by the disc and its fragility.

At the same time, the phenomenon of disc protrusion is physiological with its small manifestations. It is for this reason that a person is taller in the morning than in the evening.

To diagnose a herniated disc, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or multispiral computed tomography (MSCT) is used. If necessary, non-invasive MR myelography or invasive CT myelography is performed.

The main method of conservative treatment of intervertebral hernia is anti-inflammatory therapy using anti-inflammatory drugs (both NSAIDs and hormonal), muscle relaxants. The main objective of this treatment is to reduce inflammation at the site of the hernia in order to reduce its impact on the spine. For the same purpose, injections are used in the area of \u200b\u200bthe inflammatory process - blockade.

Surgical treatment of an intervertebral hernia should be considered only as a last resort and only after unsuccessful attempts at conservative treatment, which could not control the pain syndrome.

In addition to drug therapy, physical therapy plays a significant and often decisive role.

Incorrect barbell squat technique

If your lower back hurts after squats, then you haven't spent enough time learning proper squat technique.

We are all told to keep our heads high and our backs as straight as possible. We are taught not to lean forward when coming out of a deep squat. This almost absolutely guarantees that most athletes will put too much stress on the erectors and lower back. That is why the natural tendency of every person when lowering into a squat is to lean forward. The body simply does what is comfortable for it. Then, as we begin to rise, we suddenly remember that the back should be kept straight, and we struggle to get into the correct position. This back and forth twisting of the spine with each repetition is very hard on the lower back. As a result, you do something like half forward bends with a barbell on your shoulders and half squats. If the weights are very large and do not allow you to work in the correct form, then the head often drops, the pelvis rises, and all this puts a lot of stress on the gluteal muscles.

The first thing you should do is to hone the correct exercise technique. Before you start squatting, arch your lower back. And don't let it round. To establish this position of the lower back, when you remove the barbell from the stoppers, you need to lean forward slightly (10-15 degrees from the line of the legs), bending at the hip joints, and take the starting position for squats. It is not necessary to look up at all - you can look forward or even slightly below. The goal is to maintain the arch in the back both during the lowering into the squat and during the rise. If you feel the urge to round your lower back, your head wants to go down and your buttocks go up first, know that the weight is too much for you. Reduce it until all these tendencies disappear.

Other causes of back pain

If you've had an old injury, such as your calves or feet, it can cause you to limp, compensating for it with your other leg. Over the course of a lifetime, this can cause pelvic disruption and lower back pain. So stretching is extremely important, especially if there is an old injury (fracture or sprain).

Lower back pain can also be caused by kidney stones. The main thing with kidney stones is to drink enough, at least 2.5 liters of fluid per day. In this case, the formation of stones is very unlikely. This is for those who are prone to urolithiasis, because kidney stones are severe pain in the back, namely, in the upper part of the lower back.

With an enlarged prostate, usually due to an abundance of dairy products in the diet, pain can also be given to the lower back. If you often run to the toilet at night, the prostate is suspected. Limit your dairy intake and see if your lower back pain goes away.

If there is a problem with the uterus (fibroids or painful periods), this can also cause lower back pain. Take calcium lactate (during your period).