Lifestyle Causes of Lower Back Pain

Every  Sunday morning I see Michael, a student who originally came for a Yoga Therapy treatment for his lower back pain. He had been sent by his massage therapist as an act of desperation and last resort. At least two years of pain on the left side of his lower back, endless sessions of physiotherapy, massages and pain killers…the discomfort did get temporarily better, but still his lower back pain would return, sometimes like a dull reminder, others as a painful, debilitating spasm.

He was a fit, non- smoker, non- drinker, 30 year old young man, so there was no logical reason why he should be suffering like this for so long. In his own words, he felt “like an old man” when he got out of bed every morning.

It may seem simple, but the reason why Michael was still in pain after all those treatments was because such treatments treated the symptoms, but not the cause of his lower back pain. I always tell my Yoga therapy and Yoga teaching students that sometimes we have to do some detective enquires in order to get to the core of our work with Lower Back Pain.

In Michael’s case, I found out that he sat down for long hours  at his desk and in endless meetings with his right leg tightly crossed over his left leg, with his body tilted to the left side. How did I found out? Through a detailed intake session in which I also gave him a chair and invited him to demonstrate how he sat at work.

I challenge anyone to sit for 6 hours per day with the legs crossed in this position, 5 days a week, and see what happens to their back. Added to it, Michael’s job as a banker meant that not only he was sitting with his legs crossed and his body tilted, but judging by the stress levels of his profession, he must have been squeezing his legs so tight that I’m surprised he didn’t do any further damage.

Of course we had to do a lot of work to help heal the damaged area (the Piriformis muscle and all the surrounding structure),  but the work would have been fruitless if Michael would have gone back to work the day after and sat down in his usual position for another stressful 6 hours.

As a Yoga Therapist for over 12 years I am coming to the conclusion that there is a reason for everything, and that today’s therapy should focus more on the causes, rather than the symptoms, of disease. Only then, we can prevent future problems and make a long-term difference to our own health and our client’s health. 

Mechanical Lower Back Pain -this is, with a muscular-skeletal origin and not from  organic reasons such as kidney infections, spinal tumours, menstrual pain etc..- is one of the main health issues that doctors see every day in their clinics. It affects millions of people and it is one of the largest expenses for the medical system in countries like the UK.  Most Lower Back Pain is caused by ill-formed lifestyle habits which, when corrected, can change a person’s life and save thousands of euros to health care.

The following  list can help anyone who suffers from LBP, and the Yoga teachers, health practitioners and therapists who help them. The reason behind LBP is the key to the treatment, which should vary accordingly…for this reason it is important to remember that not every Lower Back Pain is born the same!