“I have lower back stiffness. What could it be?”
About 3 months back I was exercising and I think I overstretched my lower back. It has never been painful, but it's been really stiff and it goes from my lower back to my tail bone and hips. I went to the the doctor and I was given muscle relaxants. What can I do to be completely treat it?
15 Answers
Chiropractic adjustments can realign the spine and pelvis to free up the motion for the vertebrae and not allow nerve pressure.
Hello,
Muscle relaxors help to an extent. Chiropractic treatment would help give you relief and restore proper function to the muscles and alignment to your structure so you achieve continued relief. Simply 'unlocking' the muscle and structural dysfunction and restoring balance is all it takes. An evaluation is needed to know what is exactly happening.
Thank you
Muscle relaxors help to an extent. Chiropractic treatment would help give you relief and restore proper function to the muscles and alignment to your structure so you achieve continued relief. Simply 'unlocking' the muscle and structural dysfunction and restoring balance is all it takes. An evaluation is needed to know what is exactly happening.
Thank you
Hi there, one thing I recommend after exercising is always getting everything re-aligned properly. In some cases exercises can cause muscle, ligament and bone structures to over exert themselves to where they become mis-placed which gives off a stiffness type feeling. In some cases an adjustment after proper examination can work better for a more natural approach.
If the muscle relaxants help then I would suggest continuing to use them through until the prescription ends. If the symptoms persist, there are plenty of non-pharmaceutical and non-invasive approaches to help accommodate for your symptoms. A functional and static screening of the lumbo-sacro-pelvic structures will help to identify if there are any structural or functional (muscular or biomechanical) issues associated with your symptoms.
It sounds like an irritated nerve root that may be affecting the pelvic bio-mechanics. Muscle relaxers are of no help, as they do not treat the cause of the problem.
First, give the muscle relaxants a chance to work and reframe from exercise. Second, if lower back pain continues, see a good chiropractor to determine if your spinal alignment is off or see a physical therapist to determine if your psoas muscle or piriformis muscle are involved.
I would recommend having an examination by a chiropractor and some postural x-rays to check on your spinal alignment. Muscles can pull on the spine. You may now have a spina; imbalance that needs to be corrected.
It sounds like you have continued regular activities and exercise even with the lower back stiffness. From what you have described it sounds muscular in nature. You could try 3 things. 1: March in place 1-2 minutes to warm up you Sacral Iliac (SI joints). 2: Stretch your Hamstrings with a hold for 10 seconds three times on each side. 3: Stretch your Glutes (sitting down ankle over knee, push down on knee and pull up on foot) 10 seconds, tree times on each side. Ice lower back 10 minutes wait 1 hour and repeat. Other than that massage therapy can be helpful and Chiropractic adjustment can help to reduce the stiffness in the Sacral/Lumbar area.
First step would be to get imaging, an x-ray most likely initially to see the structure then a follow up MRI to see the soft tissue. That would give a diagnosis to the problem and would tell you who you would need to see to get it fixed instead of just masking the pain with meds.
If the stiffness is going from the lower back to the hips, you probably have a problem with your sacroiliac joint. Problems with that joint can affect your paraspinal muscles, glutes, and hip rotators. Get examined by a good chiropractor and treat the problem. Muscle relaxants will not fix the problem.
Good luck and take care.
Dr. Eric Miller
Good luck and take care.
Dr. Eric Miller
I’m glad you know muscle relaxants will not fix the issue. I would visit a chiropractor and a physical therapist for evaluation and treatment. Both professions will help you with the underlying cause.
I get asked this question frequently. It comes down to structure influencing function. When you were exercising, you most likely put your spine and muscles in a compromising position. The root of your problem could be that your spinal alignment is unbalanced. Muscle relaxants will help part of your problem, but fixing the underlying structure imbalance could fix the problem completely and prevent it from happening again. I would recommend seeing your local chiropractor to have the alignment of your spine evaluated for any underlying imbalances.
Thank you,
Haley Plum
Thank you,
Haley Plum
There are 12 major reasons for "back pain." We would have to perform an examination to determine the cause. Generally speaking, if the pain spasm responds to moist heat, it's muscle, but if the symptoms return, it needs to be investigated.
See a chiropractor.
I recommend visiting a Chiropractor, specifically a Sports Chiropractor for this complaint. They will be able to assess, diagnose, and properly treat the cause of your stiffness and get you back to 100% function.
