Low Back Pain - Causes and Prevention

How many times have you heard someone complain of pain in their low back? Perhaps you were the one complaining.

Low back pain is a common occurrence in today’s world.  Low back pain can be caused from osteoporosis changes, sprains, muscle strains, disc degeneration and over use injuries from lack of strength.

The muscles of the low back give the strength and power for every day activities we take for granted such as standing, walking and lifting.  The ligaments of the low back act to provide stability and support.

Causes of Low Back Pain

Trauma and muscle imbalances are common reasons for low back pain. Imbalances also have a negative impact on alignment and posture of the pelvis, sometimes causing a curvature of the spine. This misalignment increases the strain on the joints and muscles in the back, causing low back muscle pulls.
The most common to the athlete and young person is the low back pain muscle pull from athletic activities or twists and turns in other activities.

Low Back Pain Develops Over Time

It is important to remember that, baring a significant traumatic injury, these types of injuries or muscle pulls do not happen overnight.  You may feel the symptoms quickly but the condition developed over time as the muscles, joints and ligaments in your back became weakened from the misalignments.

A sprain of the lower back, or muscle pull, can happen when a sudden forceful movement injures a ligament that is weak through poor conditioning or overuse.  The most common reasons for lower back muscle pulls are poor conditioning, improper use of the back muscles, obesity and smoking.

Preventing Low Back Pain

Another process that affects the strength of the lower back is the aging process.  Although you can’t halt this process you can slow the changes through:

• regular exercise
• not smoking
• knowing how to properly lift and exercise
• proper nutrition to give your low back the nutrients needed to build strong muscles

If you do these things you will be less likely to injure your low back. You will be building strong low back muscles so any injury will be less likely to cause any damage to your low back.