Lower Back Pain

Are you suffering from sharp, stabbing, or urgent pain in the low back ?

This is a symptom of a hypertonic (“tight”) lower back musculature.

Low back musculature pain is commonly caused by the Quadratus Lumborum muscle. The QL connects from the last rib to the pelvis, and it is responsible for pelvic stability and structural alignment.

Another muscle that commonly effects low back pain is Gluteus Medius. The gluteus medius is a posterior hip (your bum) muscle that frequently causes pain when the QL muscle is irritated. Your gluteus medius will become strained while compensating for QL dysfunction.

While treating your lower back pain, your massage therapist will also focus on treating connective tissue, as well as muscles such as hamstrings, abdominals, hip flexors and your quadriceps. Massage therapy can effectively relieve your low back pain by improving circulation and reducing “tight” musculature.

What's causing this strain in your lower back and surrounding tissues?

• Poor posture over time: musculature imbalance

• Sudden lifting movements: twisting the spine while lifting

• Impact injuries: injuries which involve twisting or large forces of impact

• Over use injury: constant repetitive motions

Its important to remember that there are other more severe causes of lower back pain such as:

• Degenerative disk disease

• Disk bulge or herniation

• Facet joint dysfunction

• SI joint dysfunction

• Spinal Stenosis

• Spondylolisthesis

• Osteoarthritis

These conditions are often accompanied by inflamed and spasmodic muscle tissue surrounding the injury site. It is up to a medical health professional to diagnose these more severe conditions of the lumbar spine. Massage therapy will promote improved tissue health, and help reduce pain and inflammation in the low back.