Are you one of the more than 3 million US cases per year of low back pain? You don’t have to be one of those statistics. Not only does low back pain interfere with your ability to do whatever you want or need to do, ignoring can lead to much more serious conditions. 

Maybe you suck it up and deal with it. Maybe you rely on medication to be able to get through the day. They both have huge downsides.

Just a few of the dangers of taking back pain medications:

• Drowsiness.
• Impaired judgment.
• Nausea or vomiting.
• Constipation.
• Itching.
• Slowed breathing.
• Addiction.

What about the grin and bear it approach? Back pain is a sign of a serious imbalance in the tissues of the lower back. The vast majority of the time the pain originates from the small spinal joints. This is how spinal degenerative arthritis develops. Arthritis is irreversible and it tends to become more and more painful over time. 

What is the Pain Costing You?

I’m sure you’d like to say goodbye to your pain but there’s almost always other costs when we experience chronic or recurrent pain. Sometimes the pain shows up infrequently enough that we endure it for that few days or few weeks and move on. 

But, how much did that pain interfere with your life during that time and how does it interfere even when you aren’t going through an episode? What activities that you want or need to do that you aren’t able to do, even if only partially?

Pain is expensive! It costs you now with limitations in your life. And, over the long term it will result in greater and greater limitations on what you can do and how well you can do it.

The Meaning of Pain

In western culture we’ve been led to believe that pain is evil and something to eliminate at all costs. Watch TV commercials for how many medications are advertised that have something to do with eliminating pain or discomfort. Even the most innocuous medications come with risks. For instance….

• Acetaminophen / Tylenol: severe skin reactions, acute liver damage, the leading cause of acute liver failure.
• Ibuprofen: headache, dizziness, drowsiness, restless sleep, heart attack, stroke

And, those are over-the-counter medications you can purchase without a prescription. Prescription pain medications come with much bigger and more severe risks.

Allow me to offer another perspective on the meaning of pain. Pain is your body communicating to you. Sometimes it is communicating damage to some tissue and other times it is helping you avoid movements and positions that might cause further damage.

When we shut down the message of pain without taking action to correct the underlying imbalance, not only are we ignoring the wisdom of the body but we are trading comfort now for greater problems down the road. 

I’m not debating how intrusive and miserable low back pain can be, but if we take the proper actions we can largely avoid it. Let’s see how…

4 Keys to Resolving Low Back Pain

Key #1: Restore Balance: All chronic pain and illness is an indication of imbalance. When it comes to low back pain we’re talking about structural balance. Let’s use your vehicle as an example. If you put new tires on your vehicle but the wheels are not balanced and the front end is out of alignment what is the result? Those tires last a fraction of the mileage they would if everything is balanced. 

Your structure is no different. You can check this out for yourself with someone’s assistance. Stand evenly on both feet in front of a full length mirror and have your assistant put their hands on top of your pelvis on both sides. Is one side a bit higher than the other? Is one shoulder higher than the other? Is one ear or corner of your eye higher than the other?

Any imbalance is putting additional stress on your joints, muscles and nerves. This is the imbalance that over time causes wear and tear of your spinal joints resulting in degenerative arthritis. Just as it takes those tires a few thousand miles to start showing the wear, so it is with the body. It might take a decade to start showing up but this is a process that is not reversible. It can be slowed down and improved.

Key #2: Restore Joint Motion: Balance requires proper joint mobility or function. If you think about it this is the purpose of joints, to provide movement. When you lose proper joint motion the result is a sequence of reactions:

• Other joints have to bear the burden of movement
• Those other joints get inflamed and experience accelerated wear and tear
• Some muscles get turned down because the joints they move aren’t working
• Other muscles have to work harder

This is an imbalance of function that causes a combination of inflammation and degeneration.

Key #3: Eliminate Pain Perpetuating Movements & Positions: Most of us have movement patterns that add stress to the joints and muscles of the lower back. Often in response to low back pain we adopt certain movements and positions in an effort to provide some relief. 

Over time these movements and positions end up contributing to the imbalances and altered function that cause the pain. Some of the most basic movements and positions to correct are:

• Stand evenly on both feet and avoid shifting weight to one foot more than the other. This is a deeply ingrained habit for many people. 
• Sit on both sit bones evenly. Avoid shifting to one side or crossing your legs. If you must cross your legs, do so at the ankles.
• Learn how to hip hinge. The muscles of the lower back are not intended to support you when you bend forward or lift. The largest muscles of the body, the gluteal muscles and leg muscles are intended for this. 

Key #4: Activate the Posterior Chain: The Posterior Chain are the postural muscles that run up the back of the legs all the way up the spine. Modern life with all the sitting and improper postures effectively inhibits these muscles. This is a primary driver and perpetuator of lower back pain. I think of the Posterior Chain muscles as your antigravity muscles. They hold you up against gravity and help minimize the stresses to the entire spine but the lower back in particular. 

Lower back pain is intrusive into your life and it comes with a cost whether that is the discomfort, the inability to fully participate in certain activities, or the long term degenerative arthritis. 

Wherever you are on the journey of chronic low back pain it’s never too late to take action and correct or improve the underlying imbalances. 

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