3 Lower Back Pain Causes

Lower back pain causes come in several varieties.

And, because we are all unique in our level of imbalance and in our movement patterns, lower back pain treatments may vary as well.

Before deciding upon a treatment course of action, your health professional should administer a series of postural and movement assessments that will help gather information specific to your body and your needs.

If you are suffering from severe lower back pain, it is always best to have a full examination by your primary care doctor so that he or she may refer you to a specialist if need be.

Here are 3 leading causes of lower back pain.

1) Poor hip mobility - We, as a society, spend so much time sitting each day, that our joints tend to "freeze up" on us. When we think about the joints of the lower body, the ankle should be mobile; the knee should be stabile, and the hip mobile, as well. If the ankle is restricted in its mobility, the body will look to compensate by adding mobility somewhere else. That somewhere else is usually the knee. That's not a good thing. If we move up the leg to the hip, that joint should be mobile. If it isn't, the body will again look for an area at which to compensate and oftentimes, that area is the lumbar spine. There's your lower back pain.

2) Poor core stability - I know this term gets thrown around loosely, but what we are looking for mostly is the ability to activate the muscles that hold onto or stabilize your spine and stabilize your hips. These are the muscles of your core that you can't see when you look in the mirror; not because they are covered in fat, but because you aren't supposed to see them. They are considered the deep muscles of your core. They are your foundation. If they aren't strong, then your lower back muscles won't be strong.

3) Improper weight training technique - Understanding how to correctly perform exercises in the gym is a necessity. Too many male clients come to me with bad weightlifting habits that they've had since high school. And, too many female clients come to me having been taught by their boyfriends (with those same bad habits) how to lift weights. Almost always, improper weight training technique is to blame for pain or injury at several joints within the body, with the lower back being one of the most common.

Incorporating back strengthening exercises into your current weight training workout routines, will help you combat the negative effects of sitting all day. You'll be on the road to a more toned body, but more importantly, you'll be that much closer to living without the constant reminders of your lower back pain.