The Main Causes of Lower Back Tightness

Possibly, although this is open to debate. 

 

Regardless, it’s hard to ignore how much time many of us spend sat down in front of a TV, computer, or with some form of electronic device in our hand. This is arguably why Ofcom referred to the outgoing decade as the ‘decade of digital dependency’, noting that two in five adults look at their smartphone within five minutes of waking up. 

 

This means we’re not moving as much as we should, and, when we do, our muscles aren’t ready to work and support us correctly. The result is bad posture, overloaded muscles and, eventually, back pain. 

If you sit continually for long periods of time without regular breaks, you’ll stand a greater chance of shortening your anterior muscles such as your hip flexors. The same goes for your pectoral muscles and anterior neck. 

 

These are muscles your body relies on constantly to move around freely and without pain. If your lifestyle is less than optimum, you’ll begin to develop an imbalance in the way your muscles work. 

 

When this happens, undertaking day-to-day tasks or moderate exercise will become increasingly challenging because you won’t have the structural strength required. Thankfully, this can be addressed. 

 

A qualified sports massage therapists or sport therapists can help by releasing the tension in your muscles, reducing adhesions or scar tissue, and realigning your muscle fibres. 

 

However, there’ll be homework to undertake, too, because the therapist will probably provide you with exercise guidance to help rebuild your muscles correctly and stabilise your back. 

If you’re not guilty of spending too long watching TV or getting lost in your smartphone but still experience lower back pain, there are of course other reasons for the discomfort. 

 

Structural issues that aren’t a result of lifestyle or posture, such as scoliosis, lordosis, or kyphosis, point to abnormal curvatures of the spine. The resulting back pain varies in severity but can be equally as debilitating as that which results from a poor lifestyle. 

 

Disc problems are also very common in the adult population. The discs found in the human back are unfortunately prone to injury, and this is a risk that increases with age. Similarly, sciatica is also incredibly debilitating, and that also stems from the lower back, through no fault of your own. 

 

Regular gym-goers may also be inadvertently causing themselves lower back pain due to poor technique when lifting weights or overtraining. If you think you might fall into that bracket, we recommend seeking the advice of a personal trainer or sports therapist to make sure you’re performing each exercise correctly. 

 

 

There are some simple, tried-and-tested ways to address lower back pain. Here are four of our favourite strategies. 

 

 

If you’re experiencing lower back pain, we recommend seeking the advice of a professional. This is not least because the solution may be far simpler than you fear. 

 

Find out how a sports massage could finally rid you of the pain you’ve been experiencing by talking to our team.