Up to 90% of Americans will experience low back pain at some point in their lives.  That is a statistical fact.  Why is that number so high?  Well, it is one of the prices we pay for our modern lifestyle.  In short, we sit way too much and do not move enough.  Over time, some of the muscles that support our lower back atrophy  while others become very tight.  That throws our posture out of alignment and puts too much pressure on the lower back.  As a result, we experience pain.  So, here are three quick tips to help you get back on the road to a pain free lower back.

Low Back Pain Tip #1 – Stand up and take a lot of breaks

This is the easiest one on the list.  The main is idea is to make sure you never sit for more than 30 minutes or so.  It doesn’t matter where you are, you can always stand up and take a walk to the restroom or somewhere else to give your body a dose of movement.  You can even just stand up and stretch out.  But, you need to get the muscles in your body moving and the circulation going.  Sitting for hours at a time is a great recipe for low back pain.  keep yourself moving as much as possible during the day.

Low Back Pain Tip #2 – Stretch

We can guarantee you have tight muscles.  We all sit too much and that causes our muscles to get tighter over time.  Depending on your posture, certain muscles will be tight and others will be weak.  you don’t want to stretch the weak muscles, because they are already too loose.  Instead, you want to stretch the tight muscles and strengthen the weak ones.  That is what will help get your posture back into alignment and take the pressure off your back.

So, which muscles do you want to stretch and how do you do it?  That is the subject of a whole book.  You will need to go to a good rehab specialist so they can take a good look at you and examine which muscles are too tight.  Or, if that is not an option, you should get a good at home rehab program, (like the S.M.S. Low Back Program – which will also help you learn which muscles are tight on you and how to stretch them).

In a nut shell, you will most likely have lordotic or kyphotic posture and that will help determine which muscles need to be stretched.  We have a good article/video on that subject here… Once, you have a better handle on your posture, then you can start figuring out what to stretch.  But, in a nut shell, once you start stretching those overly tight muscles, you will start feeling a lot of relief.  It will really help take the pain and pressure away from your low back.

Low Back Pain Tip #3 – Exercise

Similar to tip #2, you will have many weak muscles that support the low back.  Most people have a weak core.  Most people have weak glutes.  But, everyone is a little different and your posture will really help determine which muscles have to get stronger.  Again, a rehab specialist or the S.M.S. Low back Program is your best bet.  Once you start strengthening the weak muscles, it will help support your lower back and take the pain away.

Also, strengthening the muscles in and around the lower back help protect you from further injury.   The whole goal with the exercises is to get you moving more naturally again.  To get your alignment back into a healthy place and allow you to move without pain.  Muscles that are too weak right now will make it physically impossible to stand up straight and move safely.  For more on core exercises, please click here…

If you are serious about getting rid of pain in the lower back, please go see a specialist or learn more about the S.M.S. Low Back Program.  We have written a full review of that at home low back rehab program.  Click on the image below to read our complete review…

The symptoms of low back pain can sometimes be a little hard to understand and distinguish.  The reason is that low back pain isn’t just in the low back.  Sometimes, people don’t feel any pain at all in the low back.  But, that doesn’t mean the problem doesn’t originate right there.  The reason is that low back issues can lead to all kinds of other pain in the body.  The low back, when out of balance and alignment causes the discs in the low back to wither flatten or over curve.  Both are postural distortions that can lead directly to low back pain.

But, in some cases, if the vertebrae in the low back are pushed together by a flat low back, they will start to crush the delicate nerves inside the discs.  The discs are in between the vertebrae and a flat back will cause the bone to work on these discs (and the nerves) like a vice grip.  Sometimes this will cause pain directly in the low back.  But, sometimes, the pain will actually be felt in the buttocks and down the back of the leg.  This is known as sciatica.  If you feel pain down the back of one or both of your legs, then you most likely have a flat back and kyphotic posture.  This is important to understand, so you can start addressing these issues in your rehabilitation.

One of the keys with sciatica is to avoid aggravating the sciatic nerve.  the nerve runs from your back, through your butt and down the back of your legs.  If the nerve is being pushed on by the bones in your low back, even though you may not feel any pain in the low back, that is most likely the cause.  So, be ware if you have this kind of leg pain that your low back may need to be addressed.

In other cases, some people actually feel pain in the middle or upper back.  Some people feel pain in the neck or shoulders.  If you have poor posture and muscle imbalances that are seen in the low back, it can cause other muscles to compensate which leads to pain.  In almost every case, it is advisable to understand where your body is having alignment issues and deal with them at the root.  This way, other areas will not keep compensating for you and that will allow them to come back into balance.  And when you come back into balance, the body can start to relieve the pain.

When you are looking at yourself in the mirror, turn to the side and see if your butt sticks out too far behind you or if it tucks too far under you.  If it does either of these things, then chances are you will experience some kind of low back pain or sciatica.  The key is to start following a good back rehab program (assuming you have the okay from your doctor), so that you can address these postural issues that are causing the pain.   Check out our review of the SMS Low Back Program below if you are interested in a really solid at home low back rehab program.

When we talk about low back pain, we usually recommend what you should be doing.  But, talking about what not to do is equally important.  Doing anything that can aggravate the pain in your lower back and make you worse in the short or long run is very critical to know.  In some cases, you would be much better off doing nothing than making yourself worse.  There are a few simple things to know that can really help save your lower back.

1) Stop Doing Anything That Causes Pain

This one should seem pretty obvious, but you would be shocked at how many people just take advil or pain killers, then grin and bear the pain as they go about their daily lives.  Well, guess what?  the pain is only going to get worse.  You have to take some time and focus on your injury and pain.  You have to pay close attention to the positions or activities that are causing pain and make sure you stop doing them!  If sitting is causing pain, then find a more comfortable way to sit.  don’t sit for more than 10 minutes at a time, etc…

And this goes doubly for people who play sports.  I can say for myself, I have definitely gone down the road of ignoring the pain and continuing to play a sport.  Then, later my low back is really stiff and sore.  Do I stop playing the next day?  of course not.  And then, before I know it, my back pain gets intolerable.  Is that an intelligent way to live?  But, it is easy to see the mistakes in others.  When you have low back pain, you have to slow down and really take the time to correct the issues that cause the pain and stop making it worse.

2) Do NOT stretch your lower back

Everyone loves to stretch out the lower back, because it feels good.  But, then ten minutes later, the lower back feels even worse.  Why?  Simple… the low back is not meant to be stretched, it is meant to be stabilized and strengthened.  All those lower back stretches will make your low back feel worse.  It will not help you get out of pain.  So, stop stretching the low back.  You want to stretch something?  Try stretching your hamstrings, quads and hips.  THose are probably pretty tight and they support your lower back.  If one set of muscles is not tight, great, focus on the ones that are tight and really stretch them out 5-10 times a day.  It takes persistence to start loosening these muscles up.

3) Do NOT do NOTHING

You like that double negative?  What I mean to say is, don’t lay on your back all day.  It will only get more stiff and weak and you won’t get better.  You have to find ways to move and rehab your back that don’t cause pain and actually help your condition.  That will require a rehab specialist or a really good at home rehab program.  As you start to fix muscle imbalances and postural distortions, you should find that your low back pain starts to lessen dramatically.  But, just laying around in bed hoping to heal will almost always not help at all.  You will just stay the same or get worse.  You have to get in there and start combating the underlying issues and fix the problems.  If you want to read a good review of the best at home low back pain program we have found, check out the SMS Low Back review below…

When you think of core exercises, most people think about the stomach.  But, the low back is also part of the core.  Another thing- when people think about core exercises, they think about sit ups, crunches, oblique twists and so on…  We are not a big fan of any of these exercises for two important  reasons:

1) You should not typically move the core with a core exercise.
Why?  The core is meant to keep you stable when you move.  In other words, when you twist or when a twisting force is placed on you, your core should keep you stable and protected.  Your upper/middle back has flexibility and so do your hips.  But, your core does not have good flexibility precisely because it is your main stabilizing area.

So, why in the world would you train your core to move during an exercise?  That makes no sense.  Instead, do exercises where your core works really hard to keep you stable.   And so, we are not a fan of crunches and other types of core movements.  Instead, do planks and other core exercises where the core does NOT move.

This is even more important for the low back.  We never recommend stretching the lower back nor forcing it to move to strengthen it.  Instead, do a stabilizing and endurance hold like the Superman exercise, which is particularly safe and effective for making the low back stronger.

2) Sit ups and Crunches will NOT give you a 6 pack
Sorry, but that is a myth.  What gives you a 6 pack is a strong core, but more importantly, you have to burn off the layers of fat covering your core.  Have you ever seen those guys with big stomachs that still have a 6 pack?  Those guys have muscle on top of their fat!  Yeah, it looks gross.  You don’t want that look.  You want to do fat burning exercises that engage the core so that you have a flat stomach with natural looking abs.  So, don’t waste time and energy with crunches and sit ups that won’t do anything for your 6 pack.

In the end, we want you to focus on stabilizing exercises that make your core work (plank, superman, as 2 quick ideas) instead of moving it.  Then, when you do more compound exercises like squats, you will still be engaging your core and making it stronger, but the other specific core work will help protect your lower back once you begin these more challenging full body exercises.  If you would like to learn more great low back core exercises, please check out our full review of the S.M.S. Low Back Program by clicking on the image below.

Low back pain is caused by poor posture which warps the spine and puts pressure on the discs and nerves.  Poor posture is caused by muscle imbalances.  Muscle imbalances are caused by overuse of a set of muscles and/or under use of other muscle groups.  It happens easily when you wear uncomfortable shoes (ie. high heels), sit for extended periods of time your whole life or play sports where you overuse a specific set of muscles without stretching their counterparts.

Long story short, anything that causes a postural distortion for low back pain ends up in two basic camps, lordosis and kyphosis.  Lordosis occurs when you have TOO MUCH of a curve in your lower back.  It usually is more prevalent in women who are trying to make their butts look better and wear high heels too often, although it still occurs in many men too.  Kyphotic is the opposite (NOT ENOUGH curve in the low back).  This occurs when someone tucks their butt under their low back for a very flat butt look.

But rather than try and make you picture it too much, here is a great video that was created by the author of the SMS Low Back Rehab Program. Check out this great short video for a good visual understanding of these two main postural distortions that cause low back pain…

To get out of low back pain without drugs or surgery and fix lordosis or kyphosis and regain a natural and healthy posture, we recommend reading using the SMS Low Back Program or read our review of this program below…

What causes low back pain?
Unlike many other websites out there, we have a slightly different view on the cause of low back pain.  We aren’t interested in the surface causes.  We dug deeper so we could understand the real underlying cause of low back pain.  After all our digging and research, we discovered a very simple and overlooked explanation.

In a nut shell, we live a very sedentary lifestyle that requires a great deal of sitting and very little movement.  Over the years, that causes a lot of disuse of the body.  Take a look at a child and how perfect their posture is and how gracefully they move.  Contrast that with the modern adult.  We say modern, because centuries ago, men and women had much better posture and agile bodies.  Today, we are stiff and weak in most areas of our body.

As a result of all the lack of movement, our bodies become very inflexible in certain areas and very weak in others.  And this actually significantly effects our posture.  And as our posture gets bad, it has a very negative effect on the spine, which begins to warp and cause pain.

What are the treatment options?
Well, you can take a wide variety of steroids, anti-inflammatories, epidural shots, surgery, or a more natural approach of rehab.  Your doctor is the best person to determine which you are a best candidate for depending upon the specifics of your injury.  Hopefully, you will be a candidate for rehab, because we believe that is the only way to address the underlying problems that cause low back pain.

What is muscular imbalance?
Take two opposite muscles like the chest and upper/middle back.  If you sit all day, hunched over a desk, after some time, your shoulders are going to round.  That is going to put your chest in a tightened position, which over time will make it less and less flexible.  Now, since your shoulders are rounded, it puts your upper and middle back in a constant stretching state, which makes those muscles weak.  So, if one side of the coin is too tight and the other side is too weak, you get a muscle imbalance that will negatively effect your posture.  In other words, just trying to stand up straight won’t do the trick, because the muscles will snap you back to what hey have been used to for years.  It takes rehab to stretch and strengthen yourself back into alignment.

How does posture relate to the spine?
As your posture gets worse and worse, the spine gets tugged out of its natural position.  Fir example, if you have a kyphotic posture, you will have a very flat lower back.  this will cause the vertebrae in the lumbar spine to lose their natural spacing and get shoved together and put pressure on the discs in between them.  And guess what?  That will cause some serious low back pain.

Why does the back of my leg hurt?
This is called sciatica.  When the lumbar spine gets compressed due to bad posture, the vertebrae compress enough to put significant pressure on the sciatic nerve which runs all the way down the back of your legs.  Again, the key here is to fix the muscle imbalances and get the spine back into alignment so the vertebrae stop crushing the nerve.

Will rehab help?
If your doctor says you are a good candidate and you follow a good rehab program, then it should be invaluable to you.  A good rehab program will help you fix your posture and get you out of low back pain naturally, without drugs or surgery.  It has been consistently shown to be the best treatment option for those who are ready to do it.  We believe the S.M.S. Low Back System is your best bet for a great at home rehab treatment that requires no equipment and can be done very easily.  Please, read our full review of S.M.S. by clicking the image below…

You’ve probably seen those low back braces and belts people wear when they are in the gym or lifting heavy objects or if their job requires to life things regularly.  And many people with low back pain rely on them to help alleviate pressure and pain.  Most people wear them under the clothes in the hopes that it will help reduce low back pain or lower the risk of injury.  But, do they actually work?   The answer may surprise you…

New studies suggest that these lumbar supports and belts do NOT prevent or alleviate low back pain.  According to the lead author of a new study, Ingrid van Duijvenbode, a teacher and member of the research group at the Amsterdam School for Health Professionals in the Netherlands, “We recommend the general population and workers not wear lumbar supports to prevent low back pain or for the management of low back pain,”   She and her colleagues looked at 15 studies — seven prevention and eight treatment studies — that included more than 15,000 people.

Remember, low back pain is caused by muscle imbalance that has warped the spine.  When the vertebrae in the low back are crushed together, because of poor posture, it leads to pain.  A low back belt or support isn’t going to change that at all.  In order to get out of low back pain, you need to address these underlying issues.  And that means a solid rehab program that incorporates exercises and stretches for your specific postural issues.

If you have low back pain, don’t waste money and rely on gimmicks like lumbar supports that don’t get good results.  Spend the time addressing what has caused the low back pain and fix it with proper exercise and rehab.  That has been shown convincingly to be of great value to people with lower back pain.  If you’d like to learn more about the low back rehab program we suggest, check out our full review of the S.M.S. Low Back System.

What are the main causes of low back pain?   Low back pain is caused by poor posture.  But, poor posture is the result of muscle imbalances that creep in over time, because we misuse and disuse our bodies.  The two main kinds of poor posture that we see related to low back pain are lordosis and kyphosis.   I go into more detail with these postural distortions in other articles and that is not the focus here, because this is more general in nature.  Just remember that your back pain is caused by bad posture.

Kyphosis

So, how do we get into such bad shape?  Well, most of us sit all day long. We spend 90% of our lives indoor and most of that time is spent sitting, hunched over desks and tables.  Our shoulders round, our chest gets tight and our back gets weak.  Then, all kinds of muscle imbalances occur in our hips and lower body.  In a nut shell, this warps the low back.  Either the discs in the low back get crushed together (kyphosis) into a very flat back or the muscles in the low back curve way too much (lordosis) and warps the spine.  Both cause low back pain and both are caused by poor posture as a direct result of our sedentary lifestyle.

As time goes on, these muscle imbalances get more and more ingrained and it becomes comfortable to stand in these warped ways.  In fact, if you have poor posture and I tried to get you to stand with a healthy curve in your spine, it would hurt after less than a minute.  Why?  Your body has become accustomed to it and the muscles are used to being too tight in one direction and too weak in another.  If you try and simply correct it manually, you won’t be able to hold a healthy position.

So, rehab is absolutely essential to fix the postural distortions that are holding you in this warped position.  By loosening the old knots in the muscle tissue and stretching the tight muscles while also strengthening the weak muscles, your body will start to naturally bring itself back into a state of healthy posture.  And this will, in turn, take the pressure of your lower back.  And of course, not only will this help you look much better, it will get you out of back pain.