Where Does Your Low Back Pain Come From?

As a chiropractor I often see people who are suffering with low back pain (LBP). Within society there is a feeling that LBP is normal, it is just wear & tear and everyone will suffer with it at some point...I don’t agree.

The reason is that this area of your body is designed to lock together and has large strong ligaments and facia covering the whole area making it very stable. The stronger or more active you are the stronger and more stable your pelvis and lumbar spine will be and less likely you will have a problem there. 

The question I always ask myself when helping someone with low back pain is “as this area of the back is really stable and not interested in moving much, why has it moved out of place and why is it painful?”.

There are of course mechanisms of injury that will cause LBP problems, a fall, car accident a sports injury where the impact can be so forceful that it causes an injury. The truth is that very few people who come to me actually report such an injury. Just a note here – bending over to do up your shoe or unpacking the dishwasher is not a mechanism for injury, you should be able to bend down and tie your shoe without injury, there is something else that is going on.

So why are so many people suffering from LB Pain?

The reality is there are as many reasons as there are people, so I am going to touch on a few general issues that I commonly find.

Neck and Upper spine issues:

One of the reasons that people end up with LBP is that there are other issues further up the spine that cause a neurological deficiency in the muscles and ligaments around the LB therefore allowing it to become unstable and go out of place.

It is common for people with LBP to have other issues; like a chronic shoulder problem or unusual issues that they think are unrelated like muscle weakness or pins and needles in their hands which they did not know could be helped. Often fixing this problem is essential to a long-term solution for that persons LBP.

Inguinal Ligament Problems:

The inguinal ligament actual comes out of the external oblique muscle which has its origins in the ribs but for practical purposes you can feel the ligament by putting your fingers on the bony prominence at the front of your pelvis and moving your fingers down and in towards the mid line of your pubic bone. The inguinal ligament provides pelvic stability and if you have pulled or strained this area it will cause instability in the whole pelvis and you can feel this as LBP. For example someone suffering from constipation can result in LBP and inguinal problems from straining to go to the loo.

Other complex issues:

It is actually quite common for someone to come looking for help with LBP when their actual issue is to do another chronic condition. 

For example somebody with a gastrointestinal problem, diminished stomach acid, leaky gut and an inability to absorb nutrients like magnesium, calcium, b12 all of which are essential for the correct functioning of nerves and muscles can result in back pain due to nutritional deficiency.

Whilst LBP is common and can be very debilitating it is NOT normal and can be helped.  That is true for simple misalignments and back pain which is a symptom of a more complex problem.  Simple issue are often helped with chiropractic, more complex ones require a different approach and that is where Functional Medicine approach can help.