Most people are simply going about living their lives when the smallest thing triggers lower back pain. Things like picking up a pencil or clothing may not be much of a heavy load, or even getting out of bed from a long sleep. But in the next moment you could experience a sharp pain or ache that travels down your back. The resolution can be found with an Eden Prairie, MN Chiropractor.
It may seem like your back can go out from seemingly nothing, however there are actually many different causes; the slightest pressure, movement, or even sneezing! There can be physical, mental, and/or chemical causes, but for now we will focus on the physical.
Over Usage
In our society, it is expected that we must keep moving and never stop activity. Many of us keep moving by drinking caffeine – which in itself is not bad – and then move on to shovel show, mow the grass, do heavy lifting, etc. Or sometimes we don’t do any physical labor and we end up sitting all day. The upper body is about a third of your body weight and it is all supported by just a few muscles in our lower back. These muscles are usually the psoas muscles and a group of hip and torso flexor muscles.
If you are someone who is avid in exercising, this wouldn’t be as much of a problem. However, for the average person, it can become a problem after some time. Even if you sit all day with a couple of breaks in between an eight-hour period, the muscles in your lower back are still being used.
Imagine yourself holding a squat position or a plank all day. Your muscles will eventually get fatigued. Then once you get home and pick up some trash, the psoas muscles will be too fatigued, so your secondary muscles will try to stabilize your movement. This can cause muscle spasms in your back.
Lacking Support from Other Muscles
A lot of people would claim that their job provides them with plenty of physical activity; going up and down stairs, lifting boxes, pushing materials, etc. The problem with using this physical activity as a replacement for normal exercise is that you are only using selective muscles.
There are other activities that are needed to support your muscles, such as extending your lower back, side stepping, twisting, and holding a position. When these movements and muscles are not used for a certain amount of time during the day, they start to atrophy and you lose muscle mass.
When you depend on the same muscles that are being overused, eventually they will be damaged and it can cause spasms in your back.
Unresolved Damages to the Joint
Slipping and falling on the ice, a minor car accident, or falling off of a ladder onto your back can all be very painful and cause damage. The usual approach would be to take a pain killer or anti-inflammatory over-the-counter drug to get rid of the pain. These drugs can resolve your pain in order for you to keep going, but they will not heal your damaged joints, muscles, and/or tendons.
Continuing to use damaged joints will cause them to become degenerative and increase muscle weakness and vulnerability in any activity. Even minor movements!
If resolving your lower back pain with drugs is not an option for you, then you should check out an Eden Prairie, MN Chiropractor at Zen Chiropractic Inc.
Eventually, we depend on the same muscles that we over use and damage them and spasm your back.
Unresolved Damages to the Joint
That slip and fall on the ice, the minor car accident, falling off the ladder on your back, can all be very painful and causes damages. The usual approach is to take a pain killer or anti-inflammatory over the counter drug to get rid of the pain. That drug did resolve your pain to keep going but it did not heal your damaged joint, muscles, and tendons.
A damaged joint and continual use will cause degenerative joints and increase more weakness and vulnerability to any activity. Even minor movements!
Resolving your low back pain with drugs is not an option for you, then you should check out Chiropractor in Eden Prairie, MN, Zen Chiropractic Inc.