What Causes Lower Back Pain?
A common way one may get back pain is a muscle strain, poor posture over time, lifting heavy things, and sports injuries. When you try to lift heavy weights too soon at the gym or when you do a sudden movement and you feel a strain in your back muscles.
This can cause painful spasms or uncomfortable aches in your back. Another way you may have lower back pain is if you rupture your disk and it’s pressing on a nerve. Disks sit between each vertebra in your spine and act as an extra cushion to protect your spine.
How Do You Treat Lower Back Pain?
If you’ve tried using heating pads, back braces, and resting, waiting for your back to heal on its own then you need to try these couple tips on how to treat your lower back pain. One tip is to try to avoid sitting for long periods of time.
Sitting for longer periods of time can cause your back to stiffen up. If you’re able to, try getting up and taking a short break more often by taking a walk, filling up your water bottle, and stretching your back. If you’re unable to get up often, try having a better chair to sit in. Make sure it provides you with good lumbar support.
To Learn More About If You Need An MRI For Low Back Pain Read This Blog.
Do I Use Heat Or Ice For My Back Pain?
This is a very popular question I get for every sort of ache and pain. For back pain, you should actually use both ice and heat. They are used for different occasions. Use heat when you are getting your back ready to get up in the morning or exercise. Make sure to place something between your skin and the heating pad so you do not burn your skin.
A hot shower can also provide you with relief. The best time to use ice is after exercise or throughout the day. Use an ice pack for around 10 minutes but apply it often. Make sure to use a towel or something to place between your skin and the ice pack.
Low Impact Exercises For Lower Back Pain
Low impact aerobic exercises are your best bet when struggling with lower back pain. These low-impact exercises are more unlikely to strain or pinch your back. These types of exercises include swimming, walking, pilates, and stationary bikes.
Stretching is another important part to help relieve lower back pain such as:
- One common stretch is called the Cat-cow stretch. To perform this stretch you start by getting on your hands and knees. You arch your back by pulling your belly button up toward your spine, letting your head drop. This is the cat position. It’s called the cat position because it looks like a scared cat with its back arched. Hold this position for around 10 seconds and then return to the starting position. Then raise your head up and push your back towards the floor making sure you are engaging your core.
- Pelvic tilt: To perform this stretch you start by lying on your back on the ground or your bed. Have your knees bent while having your feet flat on the floor. Then use your abdominal muscles to pull your pelvis in toward your belly button and then outwards. Hold this position for about 10 seconds and then release and restart the exercise. This stretch helps to relieve tension in your lower back.
- Knee to Chest: This stretch helps your hips and glutes more than your lower back. Lie on your back either on the floor or on your bed for more cushion. Keep one leg extended and have your other left bent so your hand is on your knee. Draw your knee into your chest, while avoiding lifting your hips off of the ground. If your hands can not meet with your leg you can use a towel around your leg. Make sure to breathe throughout the exercise and hold around 30 seconds to a minute and then repeat with your other leg.
Hear From One Of Our Patients
Meet Anna, one of our past patients. Over time her pain began to prevent her from dusting, vacuuming, and doing other everyday tasks. Her pain was even impacting her to be able to get any sleep. She was suffering from back pain for over three years. She did not think the improvement was even possible because her pain got so bad. After one-on-one care with our therapists, Anna is now able to finally move without pain even without the help of pain pills, surgery, or injections.
Preferred Physical Therapy in Glendale, Arizona
At Preferred Physical Therapy we want to know your story and what you are going through so we can help you live pain-free and avoid using painkillers and surgery. Once we have a call with you to discuss your health goals and to see if we would be a great fit together. Once we know it will be a great fit together we work to get to the root cause of your pain.
An example of a case we corrected is Shoulder pain and difficulty sleeping because of a herniated disc in the neck resolved with neck exercises, decompression, and dry needling after they spent months at a regular physical therapy clinic doing shoulder exercises for his rotator cuff.
We create a personalized plan of care just for you since each person and case is different from one another. With a Personalized Plan of Care, you will understand why we’re prescribing you exercises and choosing specific hands-on treatment with feedback from you about what is working and what you’re comfortable with.
Learn More About How We’re Different From Other Physical Therapy Clinics.
If you’re ready to live pain-free without the use of painkillers, surgery, and injections then call our clinic at 623-486-3333 to see if we can help you.
Dr, Nick’s greatest passion is seeing his patients recover from injury and return to their activities that bring them joy.
- Overcoming Shoulder Pain from Sleeping: Your Guide to Comfortable Rest - March 4, 2024
- 5 Essential Knee Stretches to Enhance Your Joint Mobility - February 2, 2024
- 5 Benefits of Shockwave Therapy: Your Path to Freedom from Lower Back Pain - January 23, 2024
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August 26, 2021
