Crouching Due to Low Back Pain Leads to Long-Term Hip and Joint Complications

When living with low back pain, it can often be difficult to stand erect. If you suffer from chronic low back pain, or any condition which prevents your posture from being erect, there can be long term implications to this crouching position. In many low back sufferers, walking, standing and sitting are often in abnormal positions, usually in a somewhat "crouched" position, so as to alleviate pain in the back.

Crouching gait, or walking in a position that is leaned over and not erect, is to be expected in low back pain sufferers, especially when the low back pain is not well managed. Because crouching over often alleviates the stress on nerves and muscles, it is the most comfortable way to walk and stand for many adults. However, continuing to walk and stand in this crouched over position may lead to an abnormal stance with aging.

With age, and as you continue to walk or stand in a crouched position, this type of position may become habit. Often, as this habit in stance develops, it leads to a worsening of stance and even more crouching with age. What is typically seen by physical therapists, it the development of degeneration in the joints, the creation of muscle tightness and, in some cases, even muscle weakness. The most notable complications involve the muscles and joints that are involved in hip and knee movement. Because the crouching position results in a slight knee flexion, you may find it difficult to, eventually, even stand up straight.

In addition to long term complications involving joint and muscle function, your energy levels can become depleted rather quickly when walking with a crouched position. Because the abnormal function of the muscles and joints develop, there is a greater expenditure of energy from those muscles. As a result, walking and standing in the crouched position may lead to exhaustion and fatigue sooner than normally expected.