The most common causes of lower back pain are maintaining an incorrect posture and physical overload. Moving incorrectly or lifting something incorrectly can put too much strain on our lower backs. Both these causes leave little to no traces on an X-ray or MRI scan and aren’t visible without further investigation of the direct cause. The pain in our lower back is an indication that our body doesn’t like what we are doing and that it wants us to change our behavior. One of the benefits of physiotherapy is that it can teach us to change our behavior.
Most often lower back pain is caused by:
- Bad posture
- Little variation in posture during the day
- Monotonous or similar activities (e.g. sitting at a desk, in a car, on a sofa)
- Sitting at a desk for prolonged periods
- Little physical activity (e.g. no exercise)
- Unsafe lifting techniques (e.g. groceries, or a 6-pack of water)
The muscles, vertebrae, intervertebral discs, joint capsules, the connective tissue, and the nervous system are all equally important when moving the back. If one or more do not function properly, lower back pain will occur. At a first glance, most complaints are very similar, but the underlying cause can be very different for each individual. It is therefore important to first carefully analyze how the symptoms have arisen, before an effective treatment can be started.
Here at Pain Away Clinic, located in the center of Asoke in Bangkok, our physiotherapists will always start a physical examination combined with introductory questions leading to the exact cause of the lower back pain. The physical examination involves analyzing the curvature and mobility of your spine, the functioning of your muscles, your balance, and your overall health. Based on this analysis the physiotherapist will develop an individual treatment plan to relieve you from your lower back pain. Naturally, this treatment plan is custom-made and therefore different for each individual.
Because most lower pack pain is the result of our daily habits, they do have the tendency to return if we do not change our habits. This is why our physiotherapists will discuss with you what measures are needed to limit the risk of the lower back pain from returning.
