In this article I will discuss another factor that is causing painful low back pain and what to do about it. The low back pain treatment can have relief in a few days or weeks depending on the severity of your case and your consistency of performing some simple, yet effective, exercises.
Tight hip flexors are another group of powerful muscles that flex your hips, and those hip flexors are:-
Psoas major
- Iliacus
- Tensor fasciae latea
- Rectus femoris
- Sartorius
- Pectinues
- Adductor longus
- Adductor brevis
Those muscles can become tight and they also can become strong at the same time; and when that happens they pull the pelvis and lumbar from the front area downward. Imagine this,
- Your pelvis or waist-line resembles a bucket and imagine it is full of water.
- And no water is spilling out because the bucket is not tipping/tilting forward or backward.
(Are you still with me, because this is important to understand?).
- Painful low back pain occurs when the bucket tips/tilts over to the front and water starts to “spill over your feet” so to speak.
- And that what is happening to your pelvis when it is pulled forward and downward at the same time because of your dominant and tight hip flexors.
And the main reason those muscles are so tight and strong over the other muscles is simply because from the everyday sitting position and for longer periods at one setting.
If you think about it, your hips are in a flexion position where the thigh bone (femur) is moving towards your upper body. And when you are sitting or leaning forward where you bring your upper body closer to your thighs you make the tight hip flexors even tighter.
Another reason which I believe arises from the first section is when the hip flexors become stronger and dominant they take over the tasks of other muscles which they are not supposed to.
Consequently, the butt and hamstring muscles or thigh extensor muscles become increasingly weaker which can lead to more arch in the lower back area or marked lordosis.
Hamstring muscles also pull the pelvis downward; but from the backside to make a balance against the hip flexors if they are weak then the others will take over.
It is like any other muscle in the body. If you use one group of muscles over the other muscles then you will eventually create an imbalance where you will have stronger muscles on one side and weaker muscles on the other side.
Signs of Tight Hip Flexors and Strong too
To have an effective back pain treatment is good to know what muscles are tight/short and most likely strong and which muscles are not. In case of the hip flexors look for signs like the following:
- Excessive arch in lower back area.
- When you lay down on your back (on a firm floor) and your legs are extended, the back of your knees are markedly above the floor. The back of the knees should be almost brushing the ground in the normal hip flexors length
- Again at the above position you will see and maybe you will feel an outward rotation of your feet. Because some the hip flexors tasks are also to rotate the femur and lower leg bones externally when they are too strong and tight your knee caps and feet most likely will turn to the side like “duck feet.”
- Usually when your lordosis along with the lower back pain your thoracic or mid back muscles can be weak.
Low back Treatment (in case of tight hip flexors)
Stretch them everyday. You can perform active stretches and passive stretches for the hip flexor muscles.
- You should get up and move around at work or wherever you are sitting. I recommend no longer than an hour of sitting, or even less is better. As you probably know, ii is easy for the body to adapt to a sedentary lifestyle, and fast, too.
- Performing gentle stretches for the low back area is also important.
- Strengthen the thigh extensor butt muscle (gluteus maximus) and hamstring muscles (back of the thigh muscles).
Visiting a Physical Therapist and What to Ask For
If you decide to visit a physical therapist for back pain treatment which I think it can be time well invested, and to have a postural assessment here are some suggestions you can ask for…
- Tests for a normal length of Hip flexor muscles; one-joint and two-joint hip flexors (most likely tight and/or too strong)
- Tests for strength of Hip flexor muscles; one-joint and two-joint hip flexors (most likely tight and/or too strong)
- Test for a normal length of Hamstring muscles (probably weak and/or too long).
- Even though you can search the web for different type of stretches, it won't hurt to ask about different passive and active stretches for hip flexors and hamstrings as these exercises will be big part of the back pain treatment. And in the near future I will be providing some illustrated stretches.
The reason I suggest these kinds of muscle tests is because you don't have to stretch muscles if they are not short/tight.
And you don't have to strengthen muscles if they are strong but what you should perform for the low back treatment is what your muscles need specifically; and that is getting rid of the excessive arch in the low back as efficiently as possible.
Sometimes muscles can be short and strong simultaneously, and sometimes it can be one thing, and not the other. Isn't life just wonderfully simple? No!
Final Thought
For back pain treatment, the human body can be very complex if we don't respect its design and needs in terms of motion. And if the body with abnormal posture is neglected for a long time it can be difficult for the average person to reverse the dysfunctional body. But make no doubt about it, the body has the ability to heal itself if given the right guidance and enough time.
Your body muscles work together like a team, and every muscle knows what its job is as a productive member in the muscle function prestige club. And if you start favoring one member over the other, then things will begin to crumble and tangle like all those wires behind your entertainment center that you wouldn't even dare to go there and untangle them.
Once you understand the concept of respecting and feeding the body with providing motion then back pain treatment should be within reach and without using invasive and risky procedures that can be unnecessary.
Many of the joints discomfort and pain that people suffer from can be treated without invasive methods like surgeries, but if you neglect the postural misalignment for years then the bones and the ligaments will wear out eventually. Don't wait another day to start to follow the low back treatment guidelines.