Tips for Reducing Low Back Pain

Natural Approaches to Care for Your Back

As a massage therapist and a mother of an infant, I do a lot of work that can strain my back. I see many clients, as well, whose main complaint is low back pain. This debilitating and common problem can be prevented and relieved by following my easy suggestions.

This article is not intended as medical advice, but only a guide to help you address your low back pain. I offer you what has worked for me and for my clients, as well as my knowledge as a body worker. If these tips do not help, or if your low back pain is severe or debilitating, please see an osteopath, chiropractor, or medical doctor.

The first factor to look at in the instance of low back pain is posture and body alignment. Many people, especially women, arch our low backs by sticking out our butts. This overstretches the hamstrings, weakening them, and tightens the Quadratus Lumborum (QL) muscles, which sit between the rib cage and the pelvis. Hypertension or chronically tight QLs is a common cause of all sorts of low back and hip pain. Tight muscles can cause trigger points, which are spots that trigger pain in another area; for instance, a trigger point in the upper QL, just below the twelfth rib, can cause pain in the butt muscles and thighs. What is often mislabeled sciatica can actually be due to trigger points in the QL or a chronically tight piriformis muscle, which runs from the sacrum (the flat bone at the top of your butt) to the top of the leg bone. The piriformis can be tight from rotating the legs outward, or even from tight QLs that are tweaking the entire hip area.