Published: 09/30/2014 - Updated: 09/30/2014
Author: MSc. Miriam Reyes
The lumbar area is located at the base of the spine, at the height of the coccyx, roughly including the area from the hips to the glutes. A lot of people frequently suffer from lumbar pain from puberty to their fifties. In the majority of cases, the lumbar pain does not require medical treatment, and disappears on its own, although other times the pain could not only persist, but get worse.
In order to make a clear diagnosis as to whether the pain requires certain treatments, you must ask yourself where exactly you hurt, and when you hurt, etc. Does it start in the soft tissue surrounding the spine, like the tendons, ligaments, muscles, or other pathological changes that start in the vertebral discs.
Causes of lumbar pain:
- Sedentary lifestyle.
- Poor posture while working or walking.
- Sitting incorrectly.
- Muscle weakness.
- Incorrectly performing certain exercises, like abs.
- Shortened ligaments and tendons from chronic retractions.
- Mechanical overload.
- Joint inflammation (osteoarthritis caused by improper efforts, and efforts you are not used to).
- Working in the same posture, usually sedentary with the spine curved.
- Stress, anxiety, fear, which cause severe muscular tension.
- Hormone changes
- Muscle tears that appear by forceful movements, like lifting a heavy object from the floor, or lifting it higher than your head. In these types of muscle tears, the pain appears slowly.
- Being overweight.
- Modifications to the spine’s normal curvature, which causes lumbar pain even while resting.
In fact, the bone itself doesn’t cause the pain, it’s just that it is weak or sick. When referring to osteoporosis, for example, it is thought that so long as there is no micro-fracture or spinal column deformation, there will be no pain.
Intermittent pain
When you have temporary and acute pain that appears and disappears, an abrupt change in spinal structure is most likely responsible. This has immediate consequences, like edema, histamine and bradykinin (an allogeneic substance) release, and muscle spasm reflex.
Chronic pain
Chronic pain is more complex as it includes both somatic and psychotic causes, which, together, are what continue the pain. One of the primary causes is emotional tension combined with physical trauma, infections, etc. Muscular tension caused by emotional states of resistance, control, and tension cause muscular tension and pain, which unleash ischemia, inflammation, or edema. Inflammation, for example, causes a lack of joint mobility, which in turn causes functional incapacity. This triggers a vicious circle in which one or another symptoms affect and increase other symptoms.
Intense lumbar pain
This is an quick and acute pain, like the effect from an effort, be it either light, moderate, or abrupt, like coughs or sneezes. This pain can be so intense that the person may remain hunched over, in a semi-bent position. This type of pain lessens with rest. To remedy and solve your pain, we recommend that you practice the following tips:
How to remedy lumbar pain?
- Moderate rest: if your lumbar area hurts, do not rest too much. It’s fine at the beginning, but you should promote circulation and muscular strength. You should walk, albeit slowly, for half an hour every two or three hours.
- Release your stress: Remove or learn to handle important responsibilities that cause you anxiety, tension, or pressure. Stress is one of the principal causes of pinched nerves surrounding your spine, and that cause the surrounding muscles to tighten. The best remedy for this is a good massage, or doing appropriate exercise. The recommended massage could be Swiss or bioenergetic.
- Exercise!:you must avoid being sedentary, and dedicate at least 15 minutes to stretching exercises like yoga, and every once in a while, do a light weightlifting routine to strengthen your muscles. If this is the first time you have exercised or lifted weights, remember to start slowly. If you exert inappropriate efforts, or exercise too much, you could without a doubt damage the lumbar area of your spine even more. It’s best to consult a professional, or if at home, begin with very simple stretching exercises. You could buy a yoga book and begin very slowly. One way of starting would be walking or lightly jogging, carrying light weights in your hands. You must do aerobic exercises to stimulate circulation and to strengthen all of your muscles. Walking or jogging in sand, as well as water exercises, are unbeatable for reducing lumbar area tension.
- Correct your posture!: bad posture also causes lack of circulation, both of energy and blood. The habit of walking slouched over only makes your lumbar area carry more weight than it should, putting it is a forced posture. This, over time, will tire out your muscles and tendons, and the area will grow weak. Take a look at your posture whenever you ca, and sit upright, with your chest lifted up and your pelvis in line with your back. You shoulders should reach backwards, but not look exaggerated. Relax your arms, and let them hang naturally, but with your spine erect.
- Natural alternatives: Hydrotherapy, massage, and saunas are excellent ways of helping the body relax. They are big helps to people who can’t perform exercises.
- Footwear: high heels or bad shoes can cause a lot of tension in the spine, due to the fact that these types of shoes do not absorb your step’s impact. We recommend you change shoes for another type that absorbs impact.
- Diet: Try to drink fresh vegetable juices, as well as almonds, broccoli, and whole grains that are rich in nutrients.
Emotional causes:
One of the emotional causes of lumbar pain comes from a sensation of lack of support, be it economic, family, spiritual, etc. One of the spine’s functions is to keep the body upright, and to serve as a primary and basic support for the entire body, which is where this relation comes from to this emotional cause. Feeling that we lack elemental support for something can cause a lot of stress and anxiety, energy that accumulates in this area and causes all of the aforementioned consequences.
Revised by: Dra. Loredana Lunadei on 09/30/2014
About the author