We hear this all the time. Someone bends down to pick up a sock or shoe, and suddenly their back “goes.” It feels like it came out of nowhere. But in most cases, that simple movement wasn’t the real cause – it was just the final straw.
The tissues in our body (let’s use our lower back as an example) have a certain amount of load that they can tolerate. When we expose those tissues to load, they get slightly weaker in the short term as they have been stressed, but this then triggers them to rebuild stronger. If we gradually increase our body’s exposure to load over time with enough recovery in between, these tissues will be able to handle more!
However, if they’ve been under constant stress, with no time to recover, their capacity will reduce. That stress doesn’t always come from lifting heavy things — it can be from prolonged time in one position (think sitting all day), poor sleep, stress, or even other areas of the body not pulling their weight (like stiff hips or a tight back).
Your body can tolerate a lot when it’s given the chance to rest and rebuild. But if it’s pushed a little too much, too often, without enough recovery, the tissues can become more vulnerable.
One way we can explain this is by comparing it to a pot of water on the stove. The water doesn’t suddenly boil. It heats up slowly, 1°C at a time, until it reaches its boiling point. The same applies to our spine, and many things influence how hot the ‘room temperature’ water is before the stove is even turned on. Sometimes, people are already starting at 90˚C because of certain areas not contributing enough to daily movement, forcing one area to handle all the stress and load that life throws at it.
That’s when someone says, “all I did was bend down”. What actually happened is that one movement added just enough heat to tip the pot into a boil, and pain followed.
So what can we do about it?
The goal isn’t just to cool the water (treat the pain), but to turn off the stove completely to prevent it from happening again.
We look at how your body is moving – are certain joints too stiff? Are some muscles doing too much while others do too little? Are your tight hips causing your lower back to work overtime to compensate? Is your rigid upper back causing your lower back to act like a hinge every time you lift your arm overhead? Over time, this extra strain builds up.
These patterns are everywhere in the body, and could be contributing to your pain. By finding and fixing these patterns, we’re not just treating your pain, we’re turning off the stove altogether.
If this sounds like you and you want to find a long-term solution to your lower back pain, rather than just a quick fix, then get in touch now to book with Joe – info@thehealthhub.co.uk or BOOK NOW
by Joe Lancaster – Chiropractor at The Health Hub, Haywards Heath