Chronic Low Back Pain

Whether it’s caused by a weekend of playing touch football or something as simple as
picking a piece of paper off the floor, most of us have experienced some form of lower back pain in our lives. If you’ve been to your primary care physician for your pain, you may have heard it referred to as sciatica, herniated discs, or even spasming lower back muscles. Generally, a few days of rest and maybe an Advil are enough to soothe those stressed and cramped muscles, but for some, it can lead to chronic, long-term back
pain.
Chronic pain is pain that occurs frequently or is constant for an extended period of
time. In terms of Traditional Chinese Medicine, it’s often diagnosed as cold damp
congestion or hot damp congestion. These are just another way of describing the stiff, achy feeling that comes when it’s cold and damp outside or hot burning sensations that occur with arthritis pain. The specific affected areas of the lower back are called the lumbar and sacral regions. The lumbar vertebrae are larger than the other vertebrae in the spine to support the weight of the rest of the body. Between each vertebrae are intravetrebral discs that consist of a jelly-like substance. These discs act as a soft cushion and shock absorber for the stresses the body encounters in daily life. There are many bone and disc degeneration disorders, such as spinal stenosis (degredation of the bone in the vertebrae) or herniated discs (rupturing of the disc causing leakage or bulging). Herniated discs can cause pain, as can the muscles themselves within the lower back. The muscles commonly affected in the lower back are the erector spinae group, quadratus lumborum, iliopsoas, the gluteals in the buttocks, and the abdominal muscles. The abdominal muscles are opposing muscle groups for balance. Weakness of these stomach muscles can cause an increased curvature of the spine that can lead to pain in the lower back. Some things you can do in addition to the care suggested by your primary care provider are:
Acupuncture
Chiropractic
Massage
Physical Therapy
Stretches
Yoga
Acupuncture works well alone or in conjunction with other therapies to decrease flareups of chronic low back pain. Not only can it treat the pain and other symptoms you may be experiencing (e.g. decreased mobility and flexibility), but it can also treat the underlying cause of the pain.