Back muscle pain is the most common reason people call out from work. Most of population will experience back pain at some point in their lives and be searching for back pain relief. Do you know how to cure back pain?
A sore back can be caused by muscular dysfunction, but it can also be caused by a slipped or ruptured disc, spinal arthritis or a pinched nerve. The first step in curing your back pain is determining what caused it. Back pain caused by muscular dysfunction is more easily treated than these other causes.
Treatments for Back Pain
Treatments for back pain vary depending on the cause of the pain.
Rest
The first course of action for dealing with back pain is usually rest. The pain in your back is usually caused by a muscle injury from straining to lift something or even from just moving in the wrong way. Rest will give the muscle time to heal.
Pain Killers
A doctor may prescribe pain killers to ease your pain. The problem with using pain killers for your pain is that it addresses the symptom without addressing the cause. Your pain is gone but whatever has caused your pain is left untreated.
Anti-Inflammatory Medication
These medications reduce swelling thereby reducing the pain you experience, but still don’t address the reason the swelling is occurring.
Muscle Relaxers
These medications relieve muscle spasms and loosen tense muscles.
Surgery
If other methods fail, surgery is preformed to deal with the problem. Surgery for back pain is performed on fewer than 1 out of 100 people who experience back pain. If your pain is muscular in nature surgery is not required.
Muscle Imbalance and Pain
If you’re suffering from chronic back muscle pain, muscle imbalance may be the cause. Muscles work in teams that oppose each other. Let’s look at the at the arm as an example. There’s a muscle on the front of the upper arm called the bicep. Most people are familiar with that. The bicep is used the bend your elbow. On the back of the upper arm are the triceps which are used to straighten the elbow. If either of these muscles get hypertonic or too tight it would cause pain in the area.
The same thing is true for the back. The muscles of your upper back hold it up straight. The muscles in your chest counter balance those muscles and can be used to pull your shoulders forward and round your back. The muscles in your chest are quite strong and commonly used. It’s not uncommon for them to become hypertonic. When they become too tight they constantly pull your shoulders forward rounding the upper back. This causes your upper back muscles to become hypertonic or stretched out.
Once the muscles in the back are chronically stretched the tissue in the muscles becomes stuck together. This restricts the flow of blood and lymph in the area and causes that steady ache to occur in your upper back.
Muscular imbalances can effect all parts of your body. Let’s look at an example in the lower back. The muscles on the front of your thighs attach the your pelvis. If these muscles become hypertonic or too tight they pull on your pelvis. Your pelvis reacts by tilting downward. The downward tilt of the pelvis increases the arch in the lower back. The compression in that region that results from this exaggerated arch causes back pain.
When muscle imbalances occur strengthening weak muscles and loosening tight muscles will get rid of the pain you’re experiencing. While strengthening exercises can be used to restore proper tone to tired stretched out muscles, massage and stretching exercises can loosen tight muscles restoring balance to that area of the body and healing your pain.