Acute low back pain is when back muscle function is limited, usually in the lower back region. It often occurs during daily movements such as lifting, bending, or getting up from a seated position. Lumbago is the body’s way of protecting itself – it’s a reflex response where the muscles in the lower back contract. This protects the spine and nerve fibers from injury. This increased tension causes the usual symptoms of restriction of movement and pain, but also greater sensitivity to pressure in the lumbar region. Good to know: lumbago does not damage your spine. Your doctor will not notice any changes in “passive” structures such as vertebrae, discs and ligaments.
Symptoms of lumbago:
The main characteristic of lumbago is a feeling of sudden and intense pain in the lower back. The pain is often spread out, and everyone describes it differently. Either way, you will barely be able to stand or move normally, if at all. The reason for these symptoms? Your severely overworked muscles and fascias in your back have to work even harder when you’re standing. This sends pain signals to your brain.
Back pain usually goes away after a few days. It’s important, however, to make sure you don’t suffer from any neurological damage or signs of a herniated disc, both of which should be taken seriously.
See your doctor right away if you have any of these symptoms of low back pain:
- tingling or numbness
- Total loss of sensation
- Loss of motor control (inability to control your physical movements)
- Loss of bowel or bladder function
- Severe inability to move and/or walk (not to be confused with painful movements but still possible).
What are the causes of lumbago?
Sitting or remaining leaning forward often:
If you often sit leaning forward, you create an imbalance in the biomechanics of your pelvis and spine. This is because the seated position makes the muscles and fascias in the front of the body harder and less flexible over time. The muscles that allow your abdomen and hip to bend put a strong pulling force on your pelvis and lower back. The muscles of the back and buttocks try to oppose it. If this imbalance is so great that the body can no longer compensate, you get the typical lumbago muscle tourniquet.
Muscle weakness as the cause of your reduced mobility:
It may also be that your deep core and stabilizing muscles are too weak and you are unable to restore myofascial balance between the front and back of your body. In this case, if you perform a jerky movement — like lifting a crate of drinks — your back muscles will reflexively tense up to protect your spine.
Lumbago treatment
You need to get moving as soon as you can!
As soon as you can move again, it is very important that you do so, even if it hurts you a little. The gentle movements help treat lumbago by stimulating the tense area and helping it nourish. This will relieve the discomfort much faster than resting it completely.
Reduce tension:
The regular pressure that you create with self-massage using the fascia rollers helps to improve nourishment and hydration of the fascia surrounding your muscles. The exercises intended to fight against lumbago make it possible to act on the central nervous system, which manages, among other things, muscular tension. Slow rolling in a straight line, combined with pressure point techniques, reduces muscle tension. This is important to restore balance to the pelvis and lumbar spine.
Muscle lengthening exercises:
You can now take advantage of the reduction in muscle tension to specifically increase the mobility of the affected area. As it was stretched, the fascial tissue hardened and lost its natural tendency to mesh. This tendency is the basis of mobility in all directions. By stretching, you can help reorient the structures of the fascias and relax them further.
To strenghten :
By performing targeted strengthening exercises, you will reach the very muscles that can help restore balance to structures under stress.
Long-term behavior change and non-specific movement:
Movement is an often underestimated technique for treating lumbago. It does not involve specific stretching or strengthening exercises, just a walk or normal exercise. The most effective and lasting factor in your physical activity and general behavioral change is to stop doing all the things that triggered the problem.
Here’s how to prevent lumbago.
The ideal is to avoid suffering from lumbago. How to achieve it? Moving more and with more balance, and quickly addressing any limitations in your mobility or noticeable poor posture. Reduce the movements and postures in your daily life that shorten the front part of your body. This includes seated positions, typical core exercises where you shorten your muscles, and sleeping on your side with your legs up. Our advice: keep moving in a varied way.
