Cause #1 - Bad Posture: We sit way too much. We sit at the dinner table, we sit in front of the tv too much, we sit at desks way too long and over time, our muscles start to get really tight and shortened. That pulls our bodies in unnatural ways. When you stand up, these tight muscles exert their force on the way we stand too! You have probably gotten so used to it, that it seems perfectly natural, but you most certainly have bad posture. Let's put it this way... in all my years, I have never come across an adult that lives in an industrialized society with healthy posture.
When you sit in a chair and are at a desk, a table, or driving in a car, become more aware of your posture. Are you hunched forward with your shoulders totally rounded? Are you slouching in the chair so your low back is not straight? Obviously, this makes it even worse. There are a bunch of different possibilities in regard to which muscles get too tight or weak. And these relationships between muscles make your posture unhealthy, which usually gets worse and worse over time.
So, how does bad posture cause pain? Well, primarily, it forces your low back out of whack. Let's take a simple example. In Kyphotic posture, the butt tucks under the back, while the shoulders are rounded and the neck protrudes forward. First of all, this kind of posture is extremely common. Second of all, as you can see, the lower back loses its natural curve and becomes very FLAT. In healthy posture, there is a nice little curve in the lower back. But, when the low back becomes flat, the vertebrae in the spine are pushed together. And that forces the powerful bones in the vertebrae to crush delicate nerves, including the sciatic nerve. And that can cause pain in the low back all the way down the back of the leg.
So, how do you fix bad posture? That is what the S.M.S. Low Back system is all about. It addresses postural problems and gives you a very specific system of exercises and stretches (based off your specific kind of poor posture) which get your body back into balance. By stretching out the tight muscles and strengthening the weak muscles, the body comes back into balance which takes the stress off the lower back and eliminates the pain. Once, you feel better, we also hope you will make an effort to sit straight up and make an effort to stand up every 30-60 minutes and stretch out a little bit. It feels great and will keep your body in much better balance.
Cause #2 - Injury: This cause of low back pain is actually much less common. But, actually, it is still completely related to bad posture. Why? Well, when your body is out of balance and certain muscles are too tight while others are too weak, you are at a very high risk of injury. Think about it... your muscles are not in a healthy position. Sometimes, all it takes is a strong sneeze. Sometimes, it takes more, like a sport or sudden twisting motion to totally throw your low back out. But, the better your posture and the more stable your core, the more protected you will be from injury.
But, let's say that you have injured your lower back from a specific injury. What can you do now? Keep this in mind, the low back can barely twist. It is not meant to twist at all (it only gets about 12-13 degrees of motion). When you twist, it should NOT come from your lower back. It should come from your hips and upper back. But, if those areas are too tight, then your body will twist from your lower back. And that WILL cause an injury.
So, the first thing you should understand is that you should NEVER stretch your lower back. Unfortunately, we see this all the time. Not only do people stretch their lower backs, they also do exercises that twist their lower backs. This kind of bad training actually sets you up for a low back injury. In your training and rehab, you want to do the exact opposite. Keep your core and low back stable when and if you have to twist. You want to train your hips and upper back to move. You want to strengthen your core.
And, just as important, you also have to address any postural problems as well. If you have a low back injury with Lordotic or Kyphotic posture, you also have to address that too. The S.M.S. Low Back System addresses all of this, so that you can rehab and then properly prehab your back to get you out of pain and then help you dramatically reduce the risk of future pain and injury.
Low Back Pain Blog
