Back pain

Back Pain in Bristol

Just about everyone has experienced some level of back pain.  It is one of the most common ailments brought on by disease, injury or mis-alignment of the spine.  It can be a dull muscle ache in the lower back or a severe, sharp pain that affects your ability to bend over or stand up straight.  Usually, back pain results from strained muscles and ligaments that surround the spine.

Types of Back Pain

Muscular lower back pain is most often felt from the spine outward along the crest of the hip and into the upper half of the buttock.  Unless you have severe and constant shooting, stabbing and numbing pain in your arms or legs, your pain is most likely muscular in origin.

Excessive curvature of the lower back can create back pain, increase wear and tear on the intervertebral discs of the lower back and cause weakness and tightness of the abdomen, hip flexors and hip extensors.  As a result, the body cannot properly stabilise the spine.

How to eliminate back pain?

To eliminate excessive lordotic curvature, I recommend strengthening the core muscles.

So, what are the Core muscles?  You may be surprised to learn that they do not just comprise of the ‘six pack’ muscles found on the front of the abdomen.  They actually run the entire length of the torso.

It’s not enough to just do abdominal crunches and sit ups.  To build a strong core you need to exercise a variety of muscles from your hips to your shoulders.  They make it possible to stand upright and move on two feet.  They help control movements, transfer energy, shift body weight and move in any direction.  A strong core distributes the stresses of weight bearing and protects the back.

Core conditioning exercise programmes need to target all the core muscles to be effective.