Lower Back Pain Causes: Common Causes of Lower Back Pain

There are many possible causes of lower back pain, and I’ll review the most common causes and symptoms here, as well as some good lower back pain exercises and lower back pain treatment that helps.  Lower back pain causes usually include over-using or over-straining the back, bad posture or positioning, lifting heavy objects or awkward movement, accidents, falls or other injuries or traumas to the back or spinal column, etc.

Lower back pain causes usually include muscle strain that can lead to overall imbalance of the muscles and spinal column.  This can lead to constant tension on muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones and discs, which makes your back more prone to injury.  Many times these are cumulative, or add on to each other, because you’ll move differently to avoid the pain, or use muscles that aren’t sore.  This can cause you to overcompensate, straining these muscles in addition to the ones you’ve already strained or injured.

The most common causes of chronic lower back pain include what I indicated above:

• Over-use, strain or injury to muscles, ligaments and joints including the sacroiliac joint.
• Pressure on the nerves in the spinal column including the sciatic nerve, which can be caused by a herniated disc
• Fractures to the vertebrae caused by an accident, fall or other trauma to the spine, compressing it
• Osteoarthritis, which is a degeneration of the joints including the hips, usually when we get older
• Vertebra defects that cause vertebrae to slide over each other (Spondylolysis and Spondylolisthesis)
• Narrowing of the spinal canal which can also develop with age (Spinal Stenosis)
• Spinal deformities that cause a curvature of the spine like Kyphosis or severe Scoliosis
• Compression fractures most commonly found in post-menopausal women with Osteoporosis, which even a sneeze can cause a compression fracture, or after extended use of a “corticosteroid”.
• Kidney or ovary problems, tumors and pregnancy and other less common issues can all contribute to lower back pain

Lower Back Pain Exercises

Lower back pain exercise is VERY helpful in alleviating most types of back pain, including chronic lower back pain and acute back pain.  Lower back pain exercises include stretching and strengthening the muscles of your stomach (abdomen) and back (spine), which help reduce and prevent back problems.  This will also help improve your posture, which is Key, and keep your spine in the correct position.

You should warm your muscle up with a light activity like walking before doing stretching or strengthening exercises.  Wear loose clothes and DON’T do any low back pain exercises that hurt unless you’ve talked with your doctor.  They can also help you develop an exercise program.  NOTE:  If you have a herniated disk or other disk problem, you should also check with them First.

Some good lower back pain exercises can be found at my Back Strengthening Exercises page and here: Lower Back Pain Exercises

Lower Back Pain Treatment

Other lower back pain treatment can include ice and heat, back pain massage therapy, back pain medicine including anti-inflammatories and muscle relaxers or injections depending on the lower back pain cause, spinal decompression therapy, physical therapy or alternative back pain therapy like accupuncture for back pain, and other back pain therapies.  Electric muscle stimulators like a TENS unit (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) is Great.  I still use mine when I need to.  Muscle strains including lower back muscle strains usually heal with Time (couple days to few weeks).  Resting for a couple of days helps, but no more than that.

Lower Back Pain Massage Therapy

Lower back pain massage therapy like the Homedics back massager, Jeannie Rub massager (hand held massager), a back massage chair, or car back massager are all great back pain massage options, and some include deep tissue massage therapy.

Back Pain Massage Therapy

Other articles around the web related to lower back pain causes:

Important Information About Lower Back And Hip Pain | E-Book Store

Several things can cause lower back and hip pain. By far, the most common cause is a muscle strain, …

Is it true that Botox can help ease lower back pain? | Alternative …

im not sure I have heard of it being used for low back pain bit it’s often used for trigger poin …

X-ray For Lower Back Pain Showed Nothing Why? « Physical Therapists

I have had lower back pain for the last 2 years. Recently the pain started again about a month ago. … 

Low Back Pain Causes More Condition_symptoms What Are Possible …

What are possible causes for my lower back and leg pain? – low back pain causes more condition_sympt …

Popularity: 2% [?]

Technorati Tags: acute lower back pain, Back Pain Cause, back pain massage, back pain the, chronic lower back pain, low back pain exercises, lower back pain causes, lower back pain exercises, lower back pain treatment

Lower Back Pain Exercises to Strengthen Your Core

Alleviate lower back pain and reduce your risk of back injury with these lower back pain exercises and core strengthening exercises.

Lower back exercises can reduce risk of lower back pain and injury. Lower back pain hits many people, both young and old. The back is one of the most over-used and under-strengthened parts of our body. Our back is used for simple things like lifting, twisting, walking, and even sitting. This over-use of the back can eventually cause lower back pain. Additionally, without proper strengthening and stretching of the back muscles, you are at a higher risk of lower back injury.

Strengthening the core muscles, which include the lower back, abdominal and hip flexors, can help reduce risk of lower back injury and alleviate lower back pain. By strengthening the core muscles you are helping to improve your posture and support and stabilize the spine.

Core Strengthening Exercises

If you currently have a back injury, you should consult with your doctor before attempting any exercise routine. However, if you do not have a back injury, and want to help reduce risk of injury and pain, then try some of these lower back strengthening exercises.

Lower Back Exercise #1 Quadruped Lift

This exercise really focuses on the lower back.

• Start in a doggy position with both hands and knees flat on the floor.
• Begin this exercise by reaching your right arm straight out in front of you.
• At the same time lift the left leg straight out behind you.
• Repeat this several times and switch sides.

You can also perform this exercise by alternating sides each time.

Lower Back Exercise #2 The Bridge

This exercise works several core muscles including the lower back.

• Start by lying down on your back with your knees bent at a 90 degree angle.
• Place your lower back and feet flat to the floor.
• Lift your rear end off the floor keeping shoulders on the ground. As you lift, contract and tighten your abs and buttocks.
• Hold for a count of 5, then slowly return to starting position.
• Repeat this move several times.

This core strengthening exercise is great for the lower back, glutes and abdominal muscles.

Lower Back Exercise #3 Superman

This back strengthening exercise can be done with a boso ball or by simply lying on an exercise mat.

• Start by lying on your stomach, either on the ball or on an exercise mat.
• Place your arms straight out in front of you with your palms facing each other.
• Lift your head off the ground.
• To start this exercise, lift your right arm and at the same time lift your left leg.
• In a butterfly movement, alternate lifting your left arm and right leg, then the right arm and left leg.
• Repeat this movement several times.

In addition to strengthening the lower back to reduce back pain and injury, you want to strengthen the opposing muscles. This would be your abdominal muscles. The abdominal muscles consist of the rectus abdominis, also known as your six pack, the transverse abdominal muscle and the oblique muscles. The best abdominal exercise to work all these muscles is the bicycle crunch. If fact, this exercise was rated number one in a study of 13 common abdominal exercises.

Other effective abdominal exercises to help strengthen your core include the captain’s chair, exercise ball crunch, vertical leg crunch and the reverse crunch. Although the traditional crunch is effective at strengthening your six pack muscles, it actually came in third to last in this study. Many other ab exercises were found to be more effective on your abdominal muscles.

Lower Back Stretches

Stretching is a key component to keeping your muscles toned and healthy. So after a good strength training workout you should spend time stretching the muscles. Lower back stretches help keep your core healthy and minimizes risk of back pain and injury. Stretching your back keeps the muscles stretched and loose, which can alleviate lower back pain.

With any exercise, the key is to perform the exercise correctly in order to gain maximum benefit from your workout routine. Stretching is no different, and is often even more critical to ensure you are doing it correctly. Stretching not only helps lengthen and tone our muscles, but gives us increased flexibility, better range of motion, relieves stress, and improves our circulation and posture.

So keep your back healthy with lower back exercises, abdominal exercises and lower back stretches.

Check out these free fitness videos on how to do lower back strengthening and stretching exercises, abdominal exercises and strengthening exercises for the entire body.

By Julie Barros Published: 1/29/2009

Lower Back Exercise For Core Strength

Many people looking for core strength neglect lower back exercise while focusing on the abs. …   Read more…

Popularity: 8% [?]

Technorati Tags: all, back stretch exercise, back stretching exercises, core strengthening exercises, lower back exercises, lower back injury, lower back pain, lower back pain exercises, stretching of the back muscles