What’s at stake if you pulled a lower back muscle? Just about everything! Or at least that’s what you seem to think. It’s The perfect definition of a “Domino Effect”
A lower back muscle pain can be merely irritating and unforgiving. It can range from a small amount of pain to an excruciating behavior. Your back is a complex structure
made up of:
- bones
- muscles
- tendons
- ligaments
… And all supported by cartilage and a beautiful framework of blood vessels and nerves. The lower potion of your body known as the lumbar(or lower back) takes on all the bodies weight when:
- exercising
- walking
- running
- lifting
…Other activities too, its no surprise an injury is one move away. Two very large of those are muscle strains and sprains. But hold on a second, what about the lower regions below the lumbar spine that also affect the lower back?
You could have:
- non specific pain
- specific pain
- both
… And be experiencing muscle fatigue and pain. It wouldn’t be learning if you were not improving, therefore In this article, you will not only understand what a muscle pain is, but you’ll be able to tackle your own pain head on. It’s formula time.
Muscle Pain = Joint Pain = Lower Back Pain
Keep this in mind as we make our way down and learn more about a pulled back muscle treatment.
Let’s jump right in!
Where Do These Muscles Hide?
Your every day person probably wouldn’t locate every muscle that makes up your lower back along with:
- your hips
- legs
But that is okay, that’s why I’m here – to help you out.
One thing anatomy has taught me is to peel back one layer, and look far beneath it – this was another way for my human anatomy teacher of saying remember all the structures surrounding that particular muscle.
Let’s start at the lumbar spine. There are large complex muscles working together to keep your spine upright, and is tasked with supporting your upper torso(thoracic and cervical spine) as well as everything underneath, such as legs hips, and feet.
Here are the three muscles that help yours and my lower back:
- Flexor Muscles. The flexor muscle are found at the front of your spine, and this allows you to: the
- Twist, bend, lift, bend forward, and arch your lower back.
- Extensor Muscles. The extensor muscles are located and attached to the back of your spine, they are the largest of your back muscles which hold up your spine and gluteals. They allow you to:
- stand upright, and lift objects
- Oblique Muscles. You can find your oblique muscles at the sides of your spine. It allows you to:
- maintain proper posture, and rotate your spine.
3 big terms that influence the health of your back, and when they all work as a whole, you really are an optimized bio mechanical machine.
Let’s take one step further and see what’s making your muscles act up in the next segment.
Why Are Your Muscles In Pain? Demanding TOO Much
Lower Back Pain affects 80% of the worldwide population, and there’s always one cause that immediately comes to mind – Muscles.
Really ask yourself questions such as:
- “Why do I wake up in lower back pain?”
- “Why does it hurt to move my body?”
- “Why is my back sore?”
All these three questions stem from one branch, and the reason 99.99% of the time traces back to sore muscles. Here’s a couple familiar scenarios to take into account:
Scenario 1: You had a hard workout the night before, and when you woke up in the morning, your back was so stiff, you struggled to move. This is a very common reality for many people.
Scenario 2: While at work, you lifted or changed directions suddenly, and felt a sudden OUCH! These muscle pains are felt right this very second.
Scenario 3: a sever injury like A car accident caused your muscles to tense and break. This is the most extreme situations, as well as the very easiest way to pull back your muscle.
Any of these scenarios can cause your lower back muscle to give out on you. But the road to catastrophic events could have started long before you pulled a muscle.
Many of us have a lower back pain, or pull a muscle anywhere in our body because they are weak. You’re not weak, your muscles are, try looking at it that way. For example:
You could have a strong left hamstring, but your right hamstring is completely in nowhere land. So in this case, your stronger muscles will have to work harder to make up for your weak ones, and when you add all the force to one side of your body, that side is much likely to break and pull apart. Take a close look at how to fix your muscle imbalance in this article right here.
The Facet Joints:
When your facet joints, or another large structure in your spine becomes largely inflamed, it will cause you to have a muscle spasm. This is common from a large injury or in constant:
- twisting
- bending
- pulling
When you have an episode of lower back pain that last longer than 2 weeks, it’ll lead you to develop a muscle weakness. This comes from a lesson in muscle imbalances you can view right here.
But as an overview, Your weaker muscles get pushed aside and your stronger muscles carry the rest of your lower back support, as I had mentioned earlier. Which that point takes me to my next part.
All Types Of Muscle Pains
Every muscle gives hits you with its own juice, and when it does, it delivers the pain. But it doesn’t have to if you know all the types and how to stand over them and say enough is enough.
One of the pains’ comes from Chronic Stress.
1. Chronic stress can lead to muscle weakness and like always lower back pain( Can you remember my formula above?)
Like you brain has a fight or flight mode, your muscles will tighten and cause deprivation of muscle energy, and they will not support your spine.
2. Hamstring muscles. Another large key structure are your hamstring muscles, and they are located on the back of your thighs.
3. Hip flexor muscles. If you have weak abdominal muscles, that’ll cause your hip flexors to tighten, causing a curve in your spine. That’s why Maintaining proper muscle strength and flexibility are both important to keep the natural spine position.
4. Muscle Stain. A strain can either occur to your tendons or muscles. Very quickly, your tendons are thick fibrous tissues that will connect your muscles to your bones. An example of that might look look when pulling, bending or twisting and you get that slight second of an OUCH.
5. Muscle Sprain. A sprain differentiates from a strain in the way that its a stretching or tear of your ligaments. And a ligament is a very thick fibrous tissue connecting two or more bones at a joint, preventing any excess movement of that joint.
How To Fix A Muscle Pain, Become A Warrior Now
Now we get to the “nitty gritty”…the part where your actions will speak louder than your words. It would be nice to just throw a band-aid over your muscle and call it set and done. Wouldn’t it be a blessing to just pop that band-aid off and Wallah! Gone. Serve me up right? Well that’s not happening now, or anytime later.
What you do in the next 24 hours after your initial pain begins is either going to speed up or slow down your recovery. First you’ll begin to feel the following:
- Tenderness and inflammation occurs. Your muscle strain might feel inflamed, and tender. Soon that follows is a muscle spasm and cramps, causing intense pain, and limit your mobility because your area will be swollen for at least a couple of days.
- Muscle stiffness, difficulty walking or standing. Minutes after your strain a muscle, your movement and mobility will get limited, making it hard to walk, bend, shift positions, and stand for longer periods of time.
- Resting a and pain relief. Like any lower back pain, a little rest is necessary. Your should briefly allow your swollen muscles to relax, which will push back pressure on tension, and alleviate muscle spasms. If you need to lye down, do so on a proper bed/mattress, or on a recliner. Anytime I do so, I make sure my back has proper support to prevent a muscle spasm, and imbalance.
Time flies:
The statement “time flies” applies to literally anything you’re doing without thinking much about it. The same goes when you suffer from a muscle pain. In about 1 -2 weeks you can expect a full recovery If you’re ‘re following your treatment.
Most cases of a pulled back muscle strain can be taken care of by self-care and non-invasive treatments. Here are the MEGA Tips for first line of defense:
- NSAIDs-anti inflammatory medicines. Those include naproxen, ibuprofen, aspirin
- Over the counter pain medications. These included acetaminophen like Tylenol
- Muscle relaxants. These medicines are usually prescribed on a short term use for a muscle spasm. Many muscle relaxants like baclofen can cause side effects, and actually make your pain worse. A more natural solution would be the right way to go for long term use. You can find all the natural muscle relaxants here.
- Ice packs. Applying ice for the next 24-72 hours after a strain will reduce swelling. See how to ice properly ice right here.
- Heat packs. After the icing time has elapsed, bring on the heat. This source will bring circulation to your local area of pain, and promote better blood flow.
- Massage therapy. Like heat, this will cause circulation, to increase but adds the element of relaxation. It lessens pain signals sent to the brain from the nervous system, while releasing endorphins.
- Walking. This activity can reduce stiffness and at the same time promote better posture and spine health. Learn more about walking at your pace here.
The Second Line of Defense:
Now that you know where to begin with a fresh off the block pulled muscle, let’s take a look for you to progress and get it to heal fast, and make your muscles stronger so you don’t run into these issues again.
1.Stretch
As you’re working on returning back to your old self, now will be the best time to strengthen your lower back muscles. What this will do is improve your tissue and bring more blood flow to your injured area. See all the best stretches for a pulled back muscle right here.
2. Pain medication
I always express how i dislike pain medications, but if you need a quick fix, when you’re in pain, just go for it. But as you learn to work through your pain, you can check out these amazing alternatives.
3. Get A Massage
A massage will promote a further increase in blood flow to your injured tissue. Try a light massage to begin. The objective is to loosen up any knots and sore areas.
4. Use Heat
Don’t underestimate the healing powers of a natural energy source like heat. If you already have constant lower back pain, heat will be very effective, as it will reduce pain and increase circulation.
Everything in life has an answer to a very specific problem, just like my back has a specific interest with my life. It just takes your full effort to take action, and when you put your two feet in, you can solve any problem. But you can’t if you’re going into it eyes closed, and just pointing your finger in the dark.
If you’re looking for a quick fix, then that could lead down a narrow path very quickly. Two things will happen:
- Your pulled muscle will prevent you from being involved in activities
- And your pulled muscle will lead to exposing your lower back to injury
Your lower back is delicate in it must be treated as a delicacy if you plan on recovering to your old self. Taking the right approach is the difference between sitting on your butt inside all day, and enjoying your time with your friends and family.
One day I figured it out…
I used to have many acute muscle strains and sprains before my time with chronic pain. In those constant two years of muscle aches, with sprains, and strains, I didn’t have a path.
Instead of helping my lower back, my back was shouting back at me. My first line of defense was NSAIDs. Bring on the ibuprofen, and show me the Advil. But I never payed attention what followed.
More constant ache . “But Why”? I asked myself this question I struggled for years to answer correctly. Want to know my problem?
I never went beyond the symptoms. I used drugs, but never thought about the second, third, and fourth steps:
- Ice and heat
- natural muscle relaxants
- better posture
- stretching
IF you’re thinking right now the same thing as I was: “How does that help?”, then you’re in for a Fresh full of awakening.
My back kept putting me under muscle pressures because I never corrected the root of the cause – keeping my muscles in balance. If I knew to properly take care of my muscles, I would have prevented just about 1 in every 4 muscle inflammations I ran into.
After I hit a low point in my life when I became chronically unfit, I fell far away from the “apple tree”. My muscles kept getting worse because I didn’t know how to make them stronger, and figure our how to prevent it.
Until my anatomy teacher taught me about muscle imbalances, and what my muscle pain was telling me. These 30 minutes of conversation during my lunch, was the most I learned about my body in my entire life. I’m not kidding you.
Don’t Hold Back, Hold Up
A lower back pulled muscle doesn’t need t hold you back. It should propel you forward, and excite you to finally fix it. You;ve seen the location of each muscle on your lower back, what’s causing your muscle to act the different types of muscles, and how to fix them.
The #1 thing I learned about lower back pain pulled muscles is to not fear it. If I want to do the activities I like, and need to perform my job, then nothing will stop me from achieving my happiness. At least now I don’t give in.
Ever since I not only learned but took the steps to take care of my lower back, my life lifted. The sky’s been the limit for me, and I have my treatment process to thank for that.
It took me time, but within a matter of 5 months, I felt no more muscle pain, and in the process of healing, my spine became stronger than it ever was before.
If you have any questions, comments, concerns, opinions, or you just want to share an experience with me, please leave me a comment below. You’ll hear from me right away!
The Remove Back Pain System
If you’re following along, you would have already learned about inflammation, and now a pulled back muscle, now it’s time to get a good sense of what it means to have a muscle imbalance in this article here.