Little mistakes while exercising can lead to big-time back pain
I was reading an article about back problems and some of the various attempts to alleviate the pain they have. I have also read that back problems are one the biggest causes of work absenteeism in the workplace. I tell people that you can’t really understand a sore back unless you have had the problem. It is tough to sit down, stand up, walk any distance, or even lie down.
Some back problems have a physical cause and need some corrective measures to take care of the pain. Many of them stem from a small beginning and lead to bigger problems as time goes on. One of the most common beginnings of back problems is how a person stands. Think about how you stand still while waiting for something. Do you stand with equal weight on both legs or do you tend to stand with more weights on one leg? Observing most people you will see that they tend to shift their weight to one leg when standing still. The problem is that people are creatures of habit. When people shift the weight to one leg it will always be the same leg. They do not stand on the left leg Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and then shift to the right leg on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
There is a muscle in the buttocks called the gluteus medius that keeps the pelvic girdle level. The problem when people stand on one leg consistently is that the muscle on the supporting leg is put on a slight stretch. The muscle on the other side is relaxed and tends to shorten and get weaker. When you decide to return to normal after doing this for months, or years, is that with one muscle stretched out and the other one shortened, you do not come back to a level pelvic girdle. A pelvic girdle that is tilted to one side tends to cause a pinching of the nerves coming out of the back and causes pain in the back and down one leg.
To correct the problem you have to stand with equal weight on both legs and do some strengthening exercises for the gluteus medius that is stretched out. This is best done by reverse leg lifts at a 45-degree angle with outward rotation of the leg. It is best done by lying on your side and leaning forward to a 45-degree angle and lifting the leg up for 30 repetitions. Start with only sock feet, then try a shoe on the foot, then a heavy boot for 30 reps. You will notice which side is weak very quickly. This can be done leaning over from the waist and lifting the leg backward at the 45-degree angle. In a pinch, I have been able to do it standing. If you don’t feel the muscle tighten up where your back hip pocket is located you need to change the angle of the movement.
The other cause may come from doing incorrect abdominal exercises. Leg lifts and sit-ups with the feet secured use the iliopsoas muscle that is attached to the lumbar vertebra and the inside of the pelvic girdle and runs down to attach to the inside of the femur, the upper leg bone. Most people think they are exercising the abdominal muscles but the abdominal muscle attaches to the rib cage and the top of the pelvic girdle and does not cause flexion of the hip. It causes flexion of the trunk only and does not cross the hip joint to cause flexion at the hip.
The problem causing back problems is that the iliopsoas becomes stronger and causes a sway back and anterior pelvic tilt. When this happens the abdominal muscle is put on a slight stretch and the low back muscles are shortened. The sacral muscles that run along the vertebra are now shortened and anytime the person leans forward or lifts something incorrectly, the muscle is strained and the result is back pain. When a person does sit-ups with the feet secured and sits up it is the iliopsoas muscle that does this motion. The abdominal muscle will contract isometrically to hold the trunk rigid, but will not shorten. If the person is on an incline board and as they come to the sitting position with a slight arch in the back the abdominal muscle is being stretched and stained and results in a stretch weakness. This means the pelvic girdle will tilt forward all the time and the low back muscles will be shortened. The next step is a pulled back muscle and resulting back pain. A problem for runners that do leg lifts, or incorrect abdominal exercises, is that the hamstring muscles that attach to the backside of the pelvic girdle are put on a slight stretch. Any fast running where the leg reaches out will result in a hamstring pull. It is the little things that lead to big problems.
