You're bending over to do something and all of a sudden there's an excruciating pain that almost knocks the wind out of you. You can barely stand up, let alone walk. This is a very common experience when someone "throws their back out". Many times people feel a pop or crack coming from their back which in their mind, confirms that something very bad just happened to their spine.
The pop or crack that came from your back may give you the impression that something is physically wrong but rest assured it's just the joints moving and not the cause of your pain. I know that it can be hard to believe when you're still actively experiencing the pain but let me give you some examples. The feeling or noise you heard is the same thing you hear when you crack your knuckles. It is simply the joint moving into end range cavitation. Similarly, it's the same noise you hear when you crack your own back and it feels soooo good. So, why does it hurt now?
It's because your brain has just subconsciously associated that noise with the pain you experienced. The true source of the pain is coming from your brain being overly sensitized to the position you were in. This means that we can "un-throw" you back, if you will, by finding movements that desensitize the brain and lower the amount of threat it's perceiving. No surgery or imaging required! If you're curious about why you don't need need surgery or imaging, read my posts "You Don't Need Imaging Imaging For You're Lower Back Pain" and "What is Direct Access and Why You Should Take Advantage".
Sometimes people are quick to blame their workout as the reason they "threw their back out" even though the pain didn't start until hours later. If the activity you were performing was the cause of your pain, wouldn't it make more sense for it to have hurt while you were doing it? If it didn't hurt during the exercise then it's most likely not the cause. It makes more sense for the root cause to be something you were doing after your workout. For example: sitting in the same position on the couch or chair for hours at a time, which increases the brain's sensitivity to the position or movement. Over time, this accumulation of sensitivity is what sets off the brain's alarm system, creating pain.
It's important to understand the leading causes of pain before trying to tackle it. They are: previous pain or injury, asymmetry, lack of motor control, and stupidity. Stupidity encompasses things like doing more of something than we know we can handle or doing something with poor form. Here at Rise Above we will walk you through the process of understanding and treating your pain so that you are in the driver's seat. Don't let lower back pain control your life. Call today and start your road to recovery.
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