The Root Cause of Low Back Pain and How to Reverse It

The root cause of lower back pain is actually nowhere near as complicated as people make it out to be. I have read so many different theories about the cause of back pain and it baffles me that people do not understand the simple basic truth of why 90% of Americans are estimated to have low back pain at some point in their life! I mean, that is an alarming fact. And it is not as if that was the case 100 years ago. No, low back pain has become a much more prevalent problem in the last century. Why?

Well, think about it like this... how many house a day do you sit in a chair? Do you realize how unnatural that is for the human body? Anatomically, we were not meant to sit in chairs. But, we sit in them for hours and hours a day. Now, how many hours do you stretch, exercise and correct the problems created by sitting in a chair? Obviously, nowhere near enough. Are you beginning to see the problem?

Now, let me explain what happens to your low back over time and why you have low back pain. Over time, because we sit too much and do not move enough, certain muscles get very tight, other muscles get very weak and the core becomes unstable. All those things together warp the natural curve of the spine. And when the natural curve of the spine warps, the vertebrae lose their natural spacing. For example, in kyphotic posture (which is extremely common), the vertebrae start to squeeze together and put a lot of pressure on the soft discs in between the vertebrae. And inside those discs are very sensitive nerves. So, guess what happens when nerves get crushed by bone? Yep, really serious back pain.

Now, there are all kinds of treatments out there, but I have never seen any of them deal with the simple root cause of back pain. To get relief and reverse back pain, you have to do the following- fix your posture so that the natural curve of the spine becomes health again. How? Simple... you have to strengthen the weak muscles, mobilize the tight muscles and stabilize the core. Remember, muscles are not set in stone. With the right kind of exercise and stretching program, you can regain your natural posture and then your back pain will be eliminated. Obviously, if you have a much more serious low back injury or condition, this may not apply to you, but it is true for the vast majority of back pain sufferers.

A few other quick tips- First of all, make sure you have a comfortable chair, especially at work. And make sure you stand up every 30 minutes and move around a little bit. Get the blood moving and do a few stretches. It will give your and mind a nice little break and help your body relieve some of the tension that causes all these problems in the first place. And obviously, another important factor is that you should really try and sit less throughout the day. Don't just sit and veg out. Stand up, move around, go for short walks and try to limit how much you sit. Even on an airplane, you can get up and go stretch by the bathrooms. It is the little things that will add up over time and help you out a lot.