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The most common cause of Low Back Pain: Muscle Strains

You are comfortably resting on your sofa, you get up for a beer and “yikes” you get low back pain that makes it hard to move. You have to crawl to the fridge or ask your significant other to go fetch the beer.  While there are many causes of low back pain, here we will discuss the most common cause of low back pain: the muscle strain.

MUSCLE STRAINS 

Imagine a rubber band. When it is stretched far beyond its capacity, what happens?  It snaps. It is the same thing with the muscles in your back. Sometimes the muscle is streched far beyond its means and it gets a strain. What is a strain? It is a slight tear of the muscle.  Let’s examine how this can happen and how we may be able to prevent it.

How does it happen? A typical Profile

Bill is a 35 year old weekend warrior. He plays basketball every weekend. One Saturday he had a great game playing 3 on 3 and leading his team to victory. While jumping high for the ball, he felt a slight discomfort on his back but nothing that prevented him from continuing on his game.  The next day as Bill woke up, an excruciating pain came over his lower back that prevented him from moving.

The above is a common way that this strain may happen. Lower back pain when the muscle is at rest and a person suddenly moves and tears the muscle.  It doesn’t always have to happen at rest. It could have happened with any movement that stretched the muscle beyond it capacity.

What does a lower back muscle strain feel like?

It is a sharp pain in the lower back that prevents you from moving well. The pain can come later after the activity (in this case Bill’s pain came after basketball when he was getting up from bed). This is because when muscles rest they are less pliable and more likely to tear. Imagine taffy candy. When it is cold it is very brittle and breaks easily; when it is warm it stretches easily. This is also a reason why it is easier to get muscle strains during cold weather.

The pain of lower back pain in a muscle strain is localized to the area. This means it hurts just in that general spot. If the pain shoots down your leg, then it more likely to be a disc herniation or any other condition that pinches your nerve in the lower back.

The pain will hurt more when you move.  This is a good indication that the problem is a muscle strain and nothing more serious.  This is because the muscle is torn and any activity will irritate the muscle.

Ouch, now what can I do.

Typically muscle strains feel better in 2-4 days. You will know that it is a muscle strain because it slowly starts getting better. Every day as time passes the pain will progressively diminish. Of course it also matters how much you take care of the strain. If you start feeling a bit better and decide to go help your friend move, then obviously you will cause more damage and the healing will take much longer.  Rest for the aching back here is the best medicine.

Ice or Heat? Which should I use?

ICE OR HEAT – If you immediately strained it and the pain is excruciating, there may be a lot of inflammation. In this case ice should be used for the first 24 hours. Ice will help prevent the inner swelling and slow down circulation to the area. Try to apply ice throughout the day but do it only for 15 minutes with about a 15 minute pause between intervals.  After the 24 hour period you can try some moist heat or those heat patches you can find at the market. Heat will help relax the muscles and make it more pliable. 

What else can I do?

You can buy a support belt. This will help you support the back and make the area of the back muscle that is in pain less prone to movement. You will notice you will be able to move a bit better with it on.  You can also try over the counter muscle relaxant medicine Doan’s. These will help relax the muscle and make you feel like jello.

Prevent future back pain

1. Before any exercise, make sure you stretch. Stretching helps the muscle extend to its capacity and helps it prevent from injury. Go take that yoga class you have been meaning to take.
2. Take your calcium, magnesium, and potassium. These will help the muscle contract and relax better. Potassium also helps to prevent cramps.
3. Are you overweight? Lose the belly weight. Being overweight causes strain in your back muscles since they have to work that much harder. A fat belly also tightens the back muscles making it harder for them to relax.
4. After exercise, keep your muscles warm.  Have you ever noticed why sports athletes wear a jacket when they go to the bench?  It is not because they are cold, after all they have just been through some rigorous exercise. Rather, it is to keep their muscles warm. By keeping the muscles warm, they are more flexible and less likely to be injured.
5. Try not to play in cold weather - If you are going to do an activity such as basketball and the weather is cold, it is better to do it in a gym rather than on an outdoor court. This is for the same reason that muscles will get more “brittle” in the cold weather and it will be easier for them to tear.
6. Visit your chiropractor for regular check ups. They will adjust your lower back and help it be more flexible. A lower back adjustment also aids in keeping the muscles around it more relaxed.
7. Use a support belt – If you have a regular job lifting items, make sure you use a support belt. It will save your back.
I hope these back tips have helped you to deal with that nagging, excruciating low back pain caused by a muscle strain. Please feel free to write any comments or questions on your back pain.