The Cause is the Cure

Last week I discussed the common cause of neck, shoulder, and upper back pain as well as the root of many tension headaches.  I referred to this as Upper-Crossed Syndrome and reported that it is most often the result of poor posture generally from prolonged sitting.  It turns out that there is a similar phenomenon in the pelvic region known as Lower-Crossed Syndrome and it is a common cause of low back and hip pain and is also the result of poor posture and prolonged sitting.  Recognizing the cause of these syndromes is the key to correcting the problem and recovering from or even preventing much of the spinal pain that afflicts a large portion of our society.

Think about the posture of your low back when you sit at a computer, slouch on the couch, or drive in a car.  The hamstring muscles on the back of the legs and the abdominal muscles are shortened while the quadriceps muscles on the front of the legs and the low back muscles are stretched.  Over time we assume this posture and the imbalance that is created causes tension pulling from the back of the legs and deep abdominals coupled with weakness of the low back and gluteal muscles.  This causes a shearing effect that results in misalignment or subluxation of the low back vertebrae and an excessive wear-and-tear on all the soft tissues.  This imbalance and wear-and-tear is what promotes pain and inflammation initially in the lower spine, pelvis, and hips and eventually results in degeneration and arthritic change in the same areas over time.  The other problem is that shortened muscles will result in a lower irritability threshold or a hypersensitivity that will cause more chronic pain and also change the firing patterns of the muscles creating coordination problems.  While chiropractic adjustments and various other approaches can be very effective at relieving the misalignments and muscle imbalances,  as long as we’re continuing the same behaviors and assuming the same postures that created the problem, the symptoms will often return.  This is precisely why I’ve reported in the past that you must do both – you must correct the misalignments of the spine while at the same time strengthening the weak muscles of the low back and stretching the tight muscles of the deep abdominals and the back side of the legs.

The exercises and stretches to reverse Lower-Crossed Syndrome are actually quite simple.  You must stretch the hamstrings by flexing the hip – I instruct people to touch their toes in the shower.  The hot water provides a better stretch.  Stretching the abdominals can be done by performing a lunge while on one knee or performing a cobra stretch while lying on your belly.  Strengthening the lower back and glutes is a little tougher, but if you look up exercises for this syndrome you will find what you’re looking for.  The moral of the story is that most of the things that cause us to walk into a doctor’s office are caused by things we’re doing outside of the office.  Find the cause and you’ll often be on the right track for the cure!