Most people have lower back pain at some point. Often it disappears after mild anti-inflammatory medication, a little rest, or light massage. But sometimes pain remains. This longer lasting back pain might simply be annoying, a bit better when you warm-up but always there in the background. At worst it can be a constant debilitating pain.

Often pain radiates down into the buttock and legs (sciatica) sometimes leading to strange, tingling or loss of feeling down an affected leg to the toes. This type of chronic back problem can stop your working, playing, sleeping, eating, thinking, and can leave you frustrated, especially when you can’t get treatment to resolve the issue.

Many individual causes can lead to chronic back pain but (in most instances) chronic pain develops as follows.

A simple overuse or other injury, results in the release of a variety of molecules by the injured cells and damaged tissue. These molecules cause fluid and immune cells that come/s from the blood stream, and affected back muscles swell and shorten (tighten). The same molecules cause nerves in the affected area to inflame sending pain signals to the brain. The muscles reduced ability to contract, plus swelling, can lead to lowered blood and lymph flow away from the tissue, resulting in inefficient clearing of inflammatory molecules away from injured tissue.

Injury is often also one sided, the resultant shortened muscles on the affected side may result in altered spinal alignment.

Under such conditions the affected muscles and connective tissue can become locked into a cycle of shortness/tightness and inflammation/pain. Exercise may help relieve pain, but exercise may sometimes also worsen problems. The solution lies in using specific remedial techniques to:

1. Remove the inflammatory fluid that has built up, and
2. Lengthen the affected back muscles and connective tissue.

Once inflammatory chemicals are removed, muscle function, pain, spinal alignment can normalise.
Back pain is often completely relieved, even in many long-standing cases. The same is often true for some chronic shoulder and knee complaints. If you’d like to know more call Andreas at Beautiful Health and Wellness on 02 4777 5264.

 

Article Written + Submitted by:

Andreas Klein Nutritionist + Remedial Therapist from Beautiful Health + Wellness
P: 0418 166 269