Low Back Pain (LBP) affects almost everyone at some point during their lifetime.
MISCONCEPTIONS OF LOW BACK PAIN:
Unfortunately, there are many misconceptions about the cause of low back pain. Often this pain is attributed to “arthritis,” “Degenerative Disc Disease,” “Degenerative Arthritis,” “Muscle Spasms,” “Degenerative Joint Disease,” “Slipped Disc,” or a “weak core.” The truth is, most low back pain is what we term Mechanical, that is, related to movements and positions of parts of the spine and is NOT the result of a disease process or weak muscles.
YOUR SPINE ANATOMY:
Your spine is composed of vertebrae (bones) which stack on top of each other. In between each vertebra or bone is an intervertebral disc (often referred to simply as the “Disc”). The spine protects the spinal cord, and nerve roots branch off the spinal cord at different levels of the spine to provide strength and sensation (ability to feel) to your muscles, skin and joints of your arms and legs. Ligaments and muscles support your spine and give it stability. The intervertebral discs allow the spine to move in a variety of directions and act as shock absorbers for the spine. The bottom three nerves form the large sciatic nerve that goes down the leg and provides power to the muscles of the leg and sensation to the skin of our thigh, leg and feet. Our spine forms a natural curve, called the lordotic curve, that provides the spine stability and allows us to maintain good upright posture.
HOW MECHANICAL LOW BACK PAIN DEVELOPS:
Mechanical low back pain typically develops with repetitive and excessive forward bending and prolonged sitting postures. The 1st pain we typically feel is usually as result to stress on the ligaments of our spine. If pain, numbness or tingling is felt to move down our leg, a disc may be pressing on a nerve root.
Typically, patients will feel worse with movements or postures that involve bending forward or sitting for prolonged periods of time. It is estimated that we bend forward between 3000 to 5000 times per day! Think of how much we bend with our daily activities such as making our bed, loading the dishwasher, doing our laundry, washing our face, brushing our teeth, doing dishes, mopping the floor, vacuuming and bending over to take care of pets and young children.
Patients will feel stiffness in the morning and when first standing up after sitting for prolonged periods of time. Patients will typically feel better with movement and when “on the move” and feel worse when still and with prolonged sitting. Slouched sitting produces tremendous strain on the ligaments of the spine. If ligamental strain continues, the disc may start to press upon nerve roots, causing pain, numbness and/or tingling down into the leg and/or foot. Patients suffering from mechanical low back pain will have periods of time when they don’t have any pain, and will have flareups of pain that can be debilitating, often with each successive episode being worse than prior episodes.
The good news is that THERE IS HELP for mechanical low back pain. At Britt Zink Physical Therapy Services, we utilize the McKenzie Method ® of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy® in the evaluation and treatment of low back pain. This method empowers patients to help themselves to finally be rid of their pain so they can return to the activities they love without medications, injections or surgery.
Stay tuned for the next Blog where I discuss the concept of a “bulging” or “herniated” disc and how this develops with the progression of mechanical low back pain.