Low back pain is no laughing matter. Whether it’s due to a sports injury, bad posture or a repetitive strain injury at work, most of us at one point in time have had low back pain. No matter what the cause, low back pain is a disruption to our lives. It can be a constant dull ache that never goes away or a sharp piercing pain that stops us from normal function in our lives.

The worst case would be that you have a disc herniation. This will cause sharp pain in the low back as well as shooting pain down the back of the legs. Another sing of a disc herniation in the low back is muscle weakness. A disc herniation is most often caused by lifting heavy objects improperly. The most frustrating thing about a disc herniation is that it will not heal on its own. Though a disc herniation is permanent the pain can be managed quite well with a combination of regular exercise, massage therapy treatments, chiropractic treatments, acupuncture treatments and other alternative health care modalities.

That sharp localized pain in your low back is likely to be a facet joint compression. The facet joints are the small joints situated on both sides of the spine between every spinal junction. An excessive backward bend or twist can compress or irritate these sensitive joints causing sharp pain. When one of these joints gets compressed it can be very difficult to release these joints as the muscles around the joint will go into spasm holding the joint tight in its compressed position. It’s very helpful to have a series of massage therapy and chiropractic treatments to help correct this problem. 

Deep dull Pain is often associated with muscle dysfunction.  There are many common ways that muscles will create pain. Trigger points (TRP), scar tissue, spasms and hypertonicity are the most common ways that I see in my massage therapy clinic. All of these are created by chronic repetitive actions. This chronic over use is especially harmful when the body is out of alignment or in an imbalanced position. Moms carrying children on one hip,  factory workers doing repetitive bending or twisting, office workers seated at a desk all day, painters repeating the same stroke with a brush or roller and a labourer digging, hammering or lifting are just some examples of how our lives can influence our muscle health.

Regular stretching and exercising is a very good way to help keep our muscles healthy and free of pain. Walking, rock climbing and yoga are my favourite ways to keep my muscles and joints healthy. Even though we do our best (or not sometimes) to stay in shape, the rigors of daily life can get to be too much for our bodies and minds. Regular massage therapy treatments is what keeps me going by helping to deal with my muscle tension build up.