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Muscles – A Logical Cause of Back Pain
By Julie Donnelly, LMT
The following is an edited excerpt from The Pain–Free Triathlete
Back pain is reported to be the #1 cause of lost work time, and visits to both medical doctors and chiropractors. The odds are very high that either you, or someone you know, has suffered from non–accident related back pain. There are so many things that can happen to cause back pain that entire books have been dedicated to its treatment – and still the search goes on.
All back pain has some connection to the spine; however it is important to understand that the bones of the spine only move because muscles are pulling on them! Unless you have been involved in an accident that forcefully moves a bone out of alignment, the only way for a bone to move is at the direction of a muscle. However, a "knot" in the muscle, which is actually a spasm twisting the fibers, will cause tension and shorten the muscle. This causes a strain at the insertion point of the muscle, and pain at the joints along the length of the spine.
The spine is composed of seven vertebrae in the neck (cervical), twelve in the mid–back (thoracic) and five in the low back (lumbar) region. To function properly and be pain–free, it is imperative that the muscles that insert into each of these vertebrae are free of spasms and stretched to their correct length.
The use of muscles as "pulleys" is clearly demonstrated as we discuss the back. Have you ever played the game "tug of war"? When I was young we would tie a stick in the middle of the rope, draw a line in the dirt, and put the stick right on the line. Then we drew a big circle, and several of us got on either side of the rope. In order to win your team had to pull the stick over the edge of the circle on your side. We all pulled with all the strength we had, and sometimes we even pulled the other team over the line!
This is a perfect analogy of how the muscles pull on the vertebrae. When each side is pulling equally, the vertebrae stay in line. However, if one side pulls harder than the other, for example when one side is in spasm, the vertebra moves in that direction. It is now said to be "out of alignment". However, think about what will happen to the muscle if the bone is simply pushed back into alignment, without releasing the spasm that was pulling on it in the first place! The muscle will tear, or it will simply pull the bone back out of alignment again.
There are many muscles that insert onto these vertebrae, causing them to move; however, in this article we´ll just discuss the major muscle group of the back, the erector spinae.
The erector spinae, which means "erect spine," enables us to stand erect. It has thousands of fibers originating on each of the ribs, and inserting into the vertebrae of the spine. Movement occurs when the fibers contract and pull on the attached vertebra.
There are several conditions that are adversely affected by spasms in the erector spinae group. First of all, since these muscles originate on your rib cage, if there is a spasm in one of the fibers, that rib will not be able to move freely when you breathe. You will either feel a stabbing pain in the rib area; pull the vertebra out of alignment; have pain in your spine; or you simply won´t be able to take a nice deep breath. Also, when tight fibers of the erector spinae pull on the vertebra, it puts pressure on the disk between the bones, causing a bulging or compressed disk. If the muscles are pulling down on both sides of a vertebra, then the disc is being compressed and will eventually herniate, or rupture. Treating the spasms that are pulling on the vertebrae will release the tension on the bone and the pressure on the disks.
Another back problem is caused by tiny muscle fibers, called "multifidi", which originate on the spine, connecting each vertebra to the one above and below it. These muscles are like little straps holding the vertebrae tightly together. When one of the multifidi has a spasm pulling on its insertion, it draws the two vertebrae together – "stepping" on the disc that is in the middle. We describe this to our clients as a hand pressing down on a jelly donut – the jelly will push out of the opposite side.
When the muscle spasms are relaxed the vertebrae are no longer being pulled, and they return to proper alignment by themselves. Pressure is removed from the disks and spinal cord, and pain is quickly relieved.
© 2003
Julie Donnelly is a licensed massage therapist specializing in the treatment of chronic pain and sports injuries. She has co–authored several self–treatment books, including "The Pain–Free Triathlete" and "Carpal Tunnel Syndrome–What You Don´t Know CAN Hurt You." She teaches Julstro self–treatment workshops nationwide and is a frequent presenter at Conventions and Seminars. Julie may be contacted through her website: www.julstro.com.
