The different ways your low back can become injured

Do you worry that your lower back is in pain simply because you're getting older? While this is partly true because more time has passed, there will still be specific reasons causing the discomfort.

We’ve talked, previously, about sciatica, disk bulging and herniation and various other conditions or disorders that can affect the lower back. Now, in this tutorial, I talk about how these injuries can occur. So you can understand better, and identify quicker, any movements or postures that might be causing damage to your low back. Making it easier to rehabilitate.

What causes lower back injury?

Firstly, it’s important to note there may be genetic factors at play here. Things that have impacted parents or other relatives could give you a clue as to what’s going on. Alternatively, there might have been one traumatic event or injury that has taken place. Something like a car accident or fall from a height that’s created a crack in a vertebra, or a disk bulge.

But as a general rule, these types of injuries are few and far between.

For the general population, we tend to find that injuries to the lower back occur due to a build up of different things. Then, suddenly, there will be a seemingly nothing event that acts as the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back’. Something where you find yourself thinking, “But I hardly did anything.”

In these cases it might be that you’ve been lifting weights for a while with a slightly incorrect technique. Or perhaps sitting poorly during office work, or lifting boxes in the wrong way. These might be exacerbated by predispositions to back injury, or not, depending on your make-up and history.

The impact of micro injuries on the lower back

When you start reading enough information around lower back pain, you’ll keep coming across particular words like microtrauma, micro injuries, stress fractures  etc. These are all types of small injuries that you don't notice happen. Of course they can occur in many parts of the body, but here we’re really focussing on the impact of micro injuries on the lower back.

The problem with micro injuries is that they don’t necessarily show up with symptoms or pains that deter you from continuing with movements that might cause issue. In the beginning at least.

Over time though, if you don’t allow them to recover properly they can accumulate and eventually cause a problem. And you might suddenly notice that problem when you’re doing something really innocuous. Reaching across a table, for example, bending down to tie your shoelaces or even sneezing.

And when it happens, you tend to think it was that one moment that caused the problem rather than a build up of poor habits or small movement errors that have never been corrected or allowed to recover.  Eventually the back can't cope anymore and something has to give.  

So which movements, specifically, might cause the problem?

There are various postures, positions and movements that can cause a problem to build up over time.  Spinal flexion and spinal extension will play their part, as well as the shear forces that operate on the spine, causing injury to one or more areas. I talk about these forces in the video tutorial, if you’d like to understand more.

Add in poor movement habits and a heavier load and you’ll speed up the process, meaning the injury develops quicker. It won’t necessarily get worse.  Genetic predispositions will also mean it happens to some people quicker than others. Some people may avoid it, some may be lucky, but generally, if you understand that it can be certain movements that cause a problem, it will be in your best interests to avoid them where possible.  

Lower back injury and how I can help

In summary, the low back becomes injured over time due to microtraumas, micro injuries and stress fractures that can build up over time. When these aren’t allowed to recover, are exacerbated by genetic factors or we add load into the mix, it speeds up the process. And while it’s very rarely one movement that causes the problem, there are several things you could look out for in terms of bending, sitting and lifting. We term this flexion, extension and various types of shear force.

If you’re struggling with low back pain and would like to understand more about why it’s happening and how to improve your symptoms, book a How to Overcome Low Back Pain Face to Face Consultation & Rehab Package https://www.christopherholetraining.com/overcome-lower-back-pain