The Simple Truth About Why Back Pain Is So Common!

By Sandral Mcfaul

If I was pinned down and had to give you a one word answer as to "why back pain is so common" I would have to say IMBALANCE. Now, you may have heard of this term before from one of your therapists who treat your recurrent back problem. They may have looked at your back, the height of your shoulder and hips and then considered the alignment of your pelvis and then after lots of muscle testing they informed you that you have a set of muscles that are tight and then another group that are weak and as a result you're imbalanced. This is not what I am talking about.
Let's break it down into simple terms because often as human beings we tend to make things a little more complicated than what they really are. As Edward De Bono states in his book "Simplicity":
"Simplicity is not natural. You have to choose to make it happen."
So let me explain. Think about your body in the standing position. Now being in this upright position, any movement of the trunk forward from here is called flexion or bending or stooping. And conversely, from the upright position, any movement of the trunk backward from this position such as look up into the sky is called extension or simply "bending backwards." These 2 movements of flexion and extension are basic and fundamental movements of the back that we are all designed to do.

Now, think about your average day. You get up in the morning. You may take a shower to get going. Your bend or flex in order to wash yourself properly....you then bend or flex in order to dry yourself. You then go into the bedroom to get dressed. You bend forward to put your underwear on; you bend to put your shoes and socks on. Your bend forward when cleaning your teeth. You bend forward to pick your work bag off the floor. That is a lot of bending (dynamic flexion) and you haven't even left the house.
And then there is another type of flexion which is static flexion which means you hold your back in flexion without moving. That typically occurs when you are sitting. You may have sat on the side of your bed when you first woke up. You may have sat when you went to the toilet. You sat when you ate breakfast.

When the majority of people sit, they sit with "not so good posture."
They loose the natural curve or hollow in their back. Being in this position means that the back sits at the end of its available range of flexion.
Sitting is static flexion while bending or stooping is dynamic flexion.
So, as you can see, the typical back does lots of bending either static (sitting with "not so good posture") or dynamic such as bending forward to put your shoes and socks on before your day really gets under way.

Then what about all the bending or flexion that you may do when you do normal household activities such as vacuuming, bending over the sink and doing the dishes, putting your clothes in the washing machine, cleaning your car. What about all the bending if you care for young children. You bend to pick them up, to bathe them to change them. The list of tasks that involve bending goes on and on and on and on and on......
Now, what about the opposite movement of extension? If we call the standing position neutral, when we walk, we move our back into some extension. But apart from that, not many daily activates we do actually involved moving the back into extension, except if you are a "painter" and you are painting the ceiling of a roof. (I.e. You have to lean back in order to see what you are doing.)

So, as you can see, our life today involves a HUGE amount of flexion and not much extension. So what happens is that we become imbalanced - we do too many movements in one direction and not enough in the opposite's direction. Now, don't get me wrong. Flexion isn't bad, but the challenge we have in today's society is that we do too much of it. Life is all about balance in many aspects. E.g. A balanced diet or a balanced lifestyle. The same is true for our backs. We need to exercise or move more in the extension direction and less into the flexion direction as we are already doing lots of this movement during our normal life. It sounds simple, but like so many things in life, putting it into action can be very difficult to do. One simple way to decrease the amount of static flexion you put your spine in is to keep the natural curve of hollow in the small of your back. Roll up a towel and put it in the small of your back or purchased a lumbar roll that are designed to do the same thing.So, there you have it. The simple truth is really very simple. Think about moving in the opposite direction in order to keep the balance, think tall when you are sitting and aim for a balance!

Sandra McFaul - McKenzie Physiotherapist - ADVANCED level
Committed to Controlling Back Pain Using McKenzie Physiotherapy
She is one of around 15 therapists in Australia and one of around 400 world-wide with this level of expertise. Her passion is helping people who suffer with chronic & recurrent spinal pain at her clinic ATA...Physiotherapy that Empowers! based at 95 Corunna Rd, Stanmore - the Inner West of Sydney, NSW, Australia.
PH 02 9564 6200 or 0418 446244
For further information, go to http://www.ataphysiotherapy.com.au
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