Low back pain relief

Lower back pain is often caused by an injury to the structures in the lumbar region of the back, with symptoms ranging from pain and decreased range of motion to muscles spasms and numbness

Some of the most common causes of lower back pain include muscle strain, repetitive heavy lifting, poor posture, disc herniations, arthritis, and more.

What does lower back pain feel like?

Lower back pain most commonly emerges when there is some sort of injury to the soft tissues, nerves, or ligaments in the lumbar region of the back. This can include things like muscle strain, damage to the spinal discs, improper movement of the spinal joints, and more.

If you think you may have sustained a lower back injury, some common symptoms to look out for include:

• Pain with movement 
• Pain with sustained positions (ex: lying, sitting, standing) 
• Clicking or sharp catches with movement
• Stiffness and decreased range of motion in lower back and/or legs
• Muscle spasms in the back
• Pain travelling to the hip, thigh, lower leg and/or foot
• Neurological symptoms such as weakness, numbness, tingling, or burning
• Inflammation of the tissues

What causes lower back pain?

When lower back pain is present, there can be many structures involved in contributing to the pain and discomfort. So, it’s important to conduct thorough movement assessments to examine what activities, positions, loads, and postures exacerbate or relieve symptoms.

Some of the most common causes of lower back pain include:

• Muscles strain
• Trauma (ex: motor vehicle accident, fall)
• Repetitive heavy lifting
• Poor posture
• Disc herniations
• Fractures
• Arthritis
• Osteoporosis

How do you relieve lower back pain?

To help relieve a patient’s lower back pain at The Bridge, we start by performing a thorough assessment to determine what structure or structures are causing the pain and determine what activities, movements, and positions aggravate or relieve symptoms.

This movement diagnosis allows us to teach the patient how to modify their movement to decrease or remove the painful stimulus. Once the patient has learned how to control their pain and discomfort by modifying movement and activities, we will create a personalized active rehabilitation program focused on exercises that progressively load the tissues both locally and globally through strength and mobility training.

Other therapies such as manual therapy, needling, electrotherapy, cryotherapy, and more may also be utilized to help alleviate pain and increase mobility. With proper therapy, common low back pain can resolve within 2 to 8 weeks; however, more severe lower back injuries can take up to 12 weeks or more to rehabilitate.

How can I prevent lower back pain?

Lower back pain and lower back injuries can never be completely prevented, but research has shown that continued strength and conditioning is the best tool to mitigate the risk of injury. You can’t go wrong getting strong.

In terms of specific conditioning, we recommend working with a physiotherapist or trainer to create an exercise plan that works on spinal mobility to ensure that each spinal joint is moving adequately. It’s also important to focus on hip and thoracic spine mobility to allow more stress to be dissipated at these joints rather than targeted to the lumbar spine.

Another way to prevent lower back pain and injury is to be cautious when lifting heavy loads or performing high-risk movements. Be sure to slowly ease into the movements and ensure that you are practicing proper form.

The Bridge model consists of three pillars

improve performance

Performance or return to sport training: Is the last part of our model and reserved for those needing to return to a competitive sport or wanting to train at a higher level.

Contact us today and learn how our team can help you build a recovery plan, in person or virtually.