The foundation of your home supports your entire family.
It creates core stability for your friends and family to safely move about within. Likewise, your back is the foundation of your body.
It holds an enormous responsibility in your core stability and keeps the rest of the house from breaking down.
When people experience chronic back pain, their entire lives change. Lower back spasms can prevent people from playing with their grandchildren, showing up to perform basic work duties, and even missing out on a good night’s sleep.
Living with lower back pain can drastically decrease a person’s quality of living. If you’re wondering how to find pain relief through treatment that suits your need, we’ve got..your back.
What’s Causing the Severe Pain?
Health concerns can pile an immense amount of stress onto an already full plate. Especially when it comes to your daily functioning.
The hardest part about experiencing chronic pain is the absence of answers needed to keep your sanity. Knowing the cause and effect can empower you to make educated decisions about the right physician’s group to work with.
Severe back pain can be caused by improper loading and poor body mechanics.
If there’s a muscle or ligament strain, typically caused by heavy lifting, you may experience constant, painful muscle spasms. In these cases, some people report the presence of bulging or ruptured discs.
Those small but mighty discs create padding between the bones in our spinal cord. The disc protects the soft material inside that can bulge or impede a nerve. In this case, a spinal x-ray may be ordered to provide more clarity on the ruptured discs.
Another common cause of back pain comes from osteoarthritis. In the spine, arthritis can create a narrowed space surrounding the spinal cord. This is referred to as spinal stenosis.
And, osteoporosis is a pernicious visitor. It occurs when the vertebrae of your spine develop fractures and small breaks due to your bone’s porous and brittle nature.
What’s Causing Muscle Spasms?
Muscle spasms have a broad range in severity.
They can range from minor tingling sensations all the way to the debilitation of normal body mechanics. Spasms can cause severe pain, stiffness, and sharp sensations in your body. These signals could be your body’s way of telling you there’s an underlying concern.
Spasms occur when a strain or serious injury to the soft tissue, like your muscles, tendons, and ligaments. If the muscle spasms continue and do not heal on their own within a couple of weeks, it might be time to connect with your physician.
The pain associated with ongoing inflammation is not to be dismissed. And while cold therapy and resting can offer intermittent relief to your body, it is not a long-term solution.
You may find that working with your physiotherapist to set up a home exercise program will help your rehabilitation in correcting your spine.
What Does a Back Spasm Feel Like?
Back spasms can occur due to irritation from incorrect posture.
Lack of activity and sedentary day jobs set our bodies up for failure. Especially if we’re not using any preventative exercises. If you’re overusing a muscle, you may find yourself favouring that area due to tenderness and pain.
Other conditions like radiculopathy, a form of nerve damage, can encourage tingling spasms and nerve pain. Sciatica is a great example of a form of radiculopathy that many people experience.
But those diagnoses aren’t far from herniated discs and spondylolisthesis- both of which can cause extreme stress on the spine. The resulting misalignment can trigger pain that mimics muscle spasm pain.
Body Positions and Posture
The average person is not usually sitting in perfect alignment with their spine.
And yes, it might sound like a lot of extra work to think, “head above heart, heart above pelvis” every time you sit down. But this level of awareness can help contribute to pain-free living for years to come.
And when we slouch, we put unnecessary pressure in between our shoulders. When that pressure is nestled between our shoulder blades, we flatten the muscles on her back.
If the pain you’re experiencing is below the neck or near your tailbone after a long day, you may be sitting incorrectly, creating an unnecessary weight load. Posture takes practice, and practice makes perfect. The lack of awareness around our posture can put pressure on our posterior muscles.
This could impact your next ability to move freely without pain. Hunching in slouching contributes to the tightening of neck muscles. Together, this is the perfect recipe for tension headaches.
Proper posture can contribute to our spine’s natural ability to absorb the shock. And if we aren’t careful, that absorption rate can slowly deteriorate.
Immediate Relief for Lower Back Spasms
Immediate relief for lower back spasms includes a few modalities.
Massage can be utilized by applying firm pressure to the muscle. This can help the affected area reduce tensions and eliminate the spasm. You can press on the spasm area anywhere from 30-60 seconds.
Heat and ice play a huge role in the pain relief of a muscle spasm. Both temperatures can lessen the brunt of inflammation and relax the muscles. If you alternate heat and ice, 20 minutes at a time with a short break in between you may find your symptoms become more manageable.
Over-the-counter medication can support anti-inflammatory properties. Using NSAIDs like ibuprofen can slow the spasm down within an hour or so. Like OTCs, is a doctor can prescribe you muscle relaxers when your case of spasms is extreme.
Hydration is crucial to prevent and alleviate muscle spasms. Make sure you are drinking water and supplementing with electrolytes if your physiotherapist suggests to.
Stretches For Lower Back Spasms
Starting your day with a series of low-impact stretches can set you up for success and support your range of motion. Stretching reduces tension within your muscles and can completely stop spasms from happening.
You can utilize a child’s pose a popular yoga pose by kneeling on the ground with your knees slightly apart. My folding forward, You encourage your back muscles to release tension. Stretch your arms out in front of you and bow onto the ground.
Hip lifts, or bridges, can also support pelvic floor stability which can take some pressure off of your lower back. To practice bridges you’ll lay on your back, knees bent and feet planted on the ground.
Lay your hands down at your sides and slowly raise your hips until you are making a straight angle with your body. Hold that position and repeat your own set of reps.
Long-Term Treatment
When it comes to long-term treatment, the goal is to learn supportive, preventative measures that remedy your spasms.
In physiotherapy, your provider can offer spinal manipulation, soft tissue massage, and rehabilitation practices. Similarly, biofeedback, yoga, and laser therapy could be appropriate options depending on your condition.
Being open-minded to a combination treatment plan can open up more doors for you along your path to healing. When you combine these supports with lifestyle changes like daily exercise, your relief may start to feel within reach.
Physiotherapy & Why It Helps
The goal of physiotherapy is to combine the study of neurology, physiology, and your body’s anatomy.
A physiotherapist can work to overcome injuries and increase your quality of life. Restoring functionality and proper body mechanics can act as a preventative measure lowering your injury risks significantly.
The main focus of physiotherapy is to treat muscular-skeletal tissue. So whether you are seeking sports medicine support or have a workers comp claim, physiotherapy and help speed up your treatment to help you regain your strength.
When Should You Call For Help?
If you have a history of lower back pain that has never been treated by a professional, the best time to call for help is right now.
With the proper home exercise program and the support of your mobile rehab team, you will be on your way to mobility in a matter of weeks. Receiving treatment in your own home is one of the safest, most effective ways to start your journey.
If you have problems completing your daily activities or feel like your workload is becoming physically debilitating, your mobile team can connect you with the proper resources to approach a more functional movement program.
The Relief You Deserve
If you’re feeling discouraged about your past experience with lower back spasms and pain management, you are not alone.
It takes the average person a few injuries to finally seek the support they need. And by that point, they wish they’d connected with an active rehab team from the first sign of pain.
If you’re ready to connect with a team of professionals built to help you navigate a pain-free life, request a call back on our website today.
