Exercise for Low Back Pain
Video by Dr. Antonio Flaquer
One of the common things we see as chiropractors is people with low back pain. Whether that’s chronic low back pain, or even something that happened recently, but all in all most of the time it is coming from some type of muscle imbalance. Strengthening exercises can help reduce low back pain when done correctly. Your back in general has a ton of muscles that are utilized for several different movements to allow your spine to move certain ways. Your glutes play a major role in hip activity and stability. When your glutes are tender to touch and feel weak this means they are not activating, which in turn means there are other muscles that are compensating to keep your low back upright. Glute inactivation doesn’t just come from lack of exercise, it also comes from lifestyle such as desk jobs and sitting a lot, or even car/truck drivers. Most of the time, for people who sit a lot experience some type of shooting pain down their legs and the most common term used for that would be “sciatica”. Sciatica is just a nerve within your buttocks area, but what’s causing that numbness or tingling sensation down into your legs is an interruption and stress on the nervous system from lack of motion in specific joints such as the hips and low back. Lack of motion in joints causes the muscles to cease up and stop functioning the way they should be, therefore other muscles must take over and compensate for them. This is where most people start moving towards stretching or strength training to regain that muscle activity but what they don’t realize is the root cause of their inactivated muscles is coming from lack of motion in the joints. So yes, stretching and strengthening can help relieve the pain, but to really make sure it doesn’t come back and is taken care of for good is by getting adjusted and restoring motion in those joints so there isn’t an interruption between the nervous system and the body.
Reference
Butler, A. A., Lord, S. R., Rogers, M. W., & Fitzpatrick, R. C. (2008). Muscle weakness impairs the proprioceptive control of human standing. Brain Research, 1242, 244–251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2008.03.094
Our Message
Our Dallas Chiropractors, located in Lakewood near the corner of Mockingbird Ln and Abrams Rd., know how to get you out of pain and moving better through better exercise AND making sure you are getting the proper nutrients. We also teach our patients how to manage their stress for optimal health. When you are looking for a Chiropractor near you, choose one who will not only help with your shoulder pain, low back pain, neck pain, or headaches but who will also guide you to living a healthier lifestyle so you can stay out of pain.