Back pain explained: What you need to know to find lasting relief

Maybe you know what brought on your back pain, maybe you don't.

"All I did was bend over to pick up a pen and my low back went out!"

"I lifted a heavy suitcase and that's when I tweaked my back"

"I woke up one morning in excruciating pain!"

However it happened, there's often stress and confusion in many of my clients around why their back pain happened and why it's not going away with "taking it easy" and taking over the counter meds.

In my almost twenty years of being a massage therapist, one of the biggest myths I encounter is that "maybe the pain will just go away with time." Moderate to severe pain rarely resolves itself on it's own, whereas mild pain from a strained muscle after working out will.

So what's happening in the body to cause this level of persistent, moderate to severe pain?

Most of us aren't tracking our day to day physical, mental, and emotional tension levels as they gradually accumulate with stress, physical inactivity with sitting for extended periods (driving to work, sitting and /or standing all day, driving home, and relaxing on the couch), and repetitive tasks such as carrying groceries, carrying and playing with little kids, gardening, etc. But these things all add up over time, taking a silent toll on our bodies that are always keeping score.

So we have accumulated tension and then we a quick move to pick up something small on the floor, or we lifted something awkward and heavy that's not something we normally do and our body isn't used to, or the tension finally caught up with us while we were laying on one position too long during sleep.

Muscle spasms cause pain, which then cause more muscle spasms - the pain-spasm-pain cycle, which continues until something interrupts this vicious cycle to provide relief. Muscles can also be inflamed, prolonging pain and limiting mobility.

Low back pain over time can cause people to have a forward lean when walking, to take the pressure off the painful area, often shifting weight to one side leaning away from the painful area. Upper-mid back pain can cause people to hold themselves more stiffly in their upper body, perhaps clenching their jaws and limiting breathing to reduce the sensation of pain, which in turn causes more stiffness and pain in the long run.

How to treat your back pain:

• See your doctor to rule out a serious underlying cause of your pain that may require surgery. Cortisone shots may provide relief lasting a couple of days to a week, and in some cases a few months, though this is more of a temporary band-aid.

• Whether your pain's been around for 3 months or 3 years, or even longer, it's time to schedule regular massage visits to bring back circulation, muscle flexibility, and improve ease of movement.

• I often recommend applying a heating pad (electric or microwavable) or a cold pack, depending on what I find in clients' muscles during their sessions. Heat brings local circulation to tight muscles providing pain relief and increased muscle flexibility. Cold packs reduce inflammation and pain, speeding the healing process. There are also benefits to alternating hot and cold packs (end with cold).

• Regular daily stretching to target the specific muscles that are in spasm or holding too much tension decreases the source of the pain and increases muscle flexibility and ease of movement with daily activities.

• Once the pain has subsided to a mild and intermittent level, I recommend seeing a physical therapist to identify and strengthen weak muscles to balance the ones that are used to working too hard and creating the original muscle tension in the first place.

• Massage therapy sessions continue to help relax tight muscles from doing PT exercises which help muscles recover more quickly and strengthen more efficiently over time.

I recommend massage visits once a week if pain is moderate-severe and limiting daily actvities and impacting work and personal life, tapering off to once every other week as pain improves.

Don't let pain run your life! Schedule your massage therapy appointment today by emailing me at inspirationhealingarts@proton.me or call me at (719) 654-4553.