Low back pain, also known as lumbago, is among the most common musculoskeletal complaints. For approximately half of all adults, low back pain will occur at least once in their lives. The lumbar spine is made up of many small bones called vertebrae. These vertebrae are stacked on each other and held together by ligaments and tendons. Ligaments keep the vertebrae together, while tendons connect one bone to another.
The low back is made up of many ligaments that connect each vertebra. The spinal nerves also pass through the vertebrae and are the primary source of sensory information for the individual vertebrae. The ligaments that connect the vertebrae become injured or damaged, called a “spiral” vertebral compression fracture. When the ligaments and tendons that connect the vertebrae are inflamed or injured, this is called “spinal” arthritis. The spinal column supports the weight of the upper body and is made up of 34 vertebrae. The most common vertebrae to be injured in the low back are the L1-L4. This can result in a lumbar back pain flare-up. A lumbar back pain flare-up can be caused by several factors, including The impact of the injury on the ligaments and tendons that connect the vertebrae causes the pain.
My Lower Back Pain Flare-Up
I had a lower back pain flare-up about two weeks back.
I am still recovering from it. Well, kind of.
The pain is gone, but I am trying to write down and take some videos on what I did to help recover from the lower back pain flare-up in three days.
Here is a little video explaining the three things I addressed to have a speedy recovery.
The video above explains things but let me write out a little bit.
When it comes to a lower back flare-up, there are three things you need to do when you have lower back pain flare-up. They are dealing with pain, addressing muscle imbalances, and improving mobility. I almost look at each phase.
Let me explain more.
#1 – Dealing with the Pain
When your back flares up, you need to deal with the pain. This is the first thing to hit. The pain slows you down and slows your recovery. It would help if you addressed it; medication is not always the best answer. I talk more about what to do in this phase here.
#2 – Addressing Muscle Imbalances
When a back flare-up hits, muscles around the back and body tighten to protect the body from more damage. With most lower back pain flare-ups, it is not severe. No serious long-term damage will occur to the body, but the body does not know this. Addressing muscle imbalances helps recover a lower back pain flare-up so you can get back to doing what you enjoy.
#3 – Improve Mobility
Joints above and below the lower back begin to tighten up. It is not necessarily tightening up. It is more than the muscles around the joint tightens up, which affects the movement in the joint. The other thing is the movement joint ends up being involved. The mobility needs to be addressed to speed up the recovery of a lower back pain flare-up.
I will go into more detail soon.
I have written a little more on this in another blog post:
What I do When a Back Flare Up Hits
I will do more videos and blog posts soon.
Thanks for reading.
Rick Kaselj, MS
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