Low Back Pain Causes and Risk Factors

It boils down to non-neutral spinal alignment and/or poor body mechanics, in combination with an out-of-shape body. The classic example is stooping over with a hunched back to pick up a heavy crate - or not so heavy crate, or even a small child - and lifting with the lower back muscles (erector spinae), while the legs do practically nothing. The victim may feel immediate sharp pain.

Or, the pain may gradually creep up over the next few hours, until it's anywhere from annoying to unbearable. Low back pain (LBP) can also arise over a longer period of time, from habitual poor body mechanics of a less-severe nature, such as prolonged slouching in a chair.

The erector spinal muscles are designed for one purpose: spinal stabilization. They are small muscles, and a cross section of their muscle fibers reveals a horizontal pattern. When you "lift with your back," you make these relatively weak muscles absorb forces that they are not built for. They become overloaded and thus injured.

The reason you should "lift with your legs" is because leg muscles are designed for force production. They are large muscles, and a cross section of their fibril makeup reveals a diagonal pattern. A diagonal arrangement packs in as many fibers as possible in a random cross section. Thus, there is more force generated per cross section, compared to the same-size cross section of erector spinae fibers.

Nevertheless, even physically fit people can "tweak" their lower back by bending over-especially with a twist added in-without support, for instance, reaching into a low crawlspace to grab something. But such tweak occurrences are rare in the trained body.

The movement required to create a strong core is not the same as the movement you do every day on the job or around the house. This movement must be in the form of deliberate exercise, including core-targeting routines.

In addition to improper biomechanics coupled with poor physical condition, other risk factors contribute: