You can not stretch your back pain better

I see a lot of clients with lower back pain, it is one of the most common complaints that people seek treatment for.  Sometimes these people have been experiencing pain for a long time, sometimes it is a new pain experience for them.  Sometimes they have seen another health care professional before coming to see me or sometimes they have got information from friends or the internet.  The one piece of information that always annoys me is when they have been told to do stretches to fix their lower back pain. YOU CAN NOT STRETCH YOUR BACK PAIN BETTER!

To start with, there is very little evidence to suggest that stretching has any long lasting effects on muscles.  The best you could hope for is some short term neurological relief, which I understand can be amazing for someone who has been experience back pain, but stretching will never give you long term relief.

Secondly, we need to understand that pain is a protection mechanism of the body.  When it comes to the lower back, if the surrounding muscles are not strong enough to stabilise the spine when we move, the body will use its protection mechanisms to not put itself in a position that could cause damage.  It does this by either causing pain to prevent a movement that it can’t control or it will make the muscles spasm to limit the movement.

If the problem is not being able to control movement it doesn’t make sense to stretch, when the goal of stretching is to increase movement.  The solution is strengthening the lower back muscles.  Once the muscles are stronger your body will be more confident moving and will no longer need to use its protection mechanisms to limit movement.

You can have a look at the starting exercises I use for my clients with lower back pain here.

If you are experiencing lower back pain or restrictions in movement come and see us and we can work with you to increase your lower back strength, decrease your pain and increase your movement.