Bending back pain is a condition which strikes many people during the normal course of their day. An objective observer can help but think that an innocent motion, such as bending, should not cause back injury or acute pain. Bending over at the waist is a normal activity for the human spine and is in no way inherently dangerous. Therefore, it is important to discover the contributing factors to bending-related back ache, in order to enact a program of effective treatment.
This commentary investigates back symptoms that occur during or after bending forwards, backwards or sideways.
Muscular Bending Back Pain
It is certainly possible to injure a muscle, ligament or tendon while stooping over. This is particularly true if the person is lifting a heavy weight while performing the seemingly innocent motion. Most cases of muscle pain which occur from bending are minor strains and sprains. These are not serious health conditions and can usually be effectively treated with OTC pain products, heat, ice and some rest. Overuse and repetitive motion pain are also typical muscular diagnoses and these can range from minor to extreme and may even hold the potential for significant muscular injury in rare instances.
Tense back muscles are especially prone to strains and sprains. Conscious stress is one of the main contributors to muscle tension. However, the most common contributor to tight back muscles is repressed subconscious issues which can create the ideal environment for psychosomatic back pain to occur. It is crucial to understand the inner workings of your subconscious, as well as the complex interactions between the mind and body.
Bending Back Pain Conditioning
Many patients with physical or psychological back pain become conditioned to the idea that bending is bad for their backs. This may occur due to coincidental pain when performing a bending activity or might be the result of a nocebo suggestion.
Some patients heard that bending was bad, so they experience pain whenever they even think about bending. Other patients have been specifically cautioned by well-meaning care practitioners not to bend. Regardless of where the thoughts came from, conditioned patients may associate pain with a variety of behaviors.
Conditioning is a very tricky potential source of long-term symptoms for some patients. Mindbody physicians have noted that even when the pain was originally sourced in purely anatomical issues, continued conditioning can create the ideal circumstances for a psychosomatic perpetuation of pain to take over. This process is rarely considered by traditional medical providers, although recently, more and more doctors are paying closer attention to the potential for psychoemotional pain to exist in chronic sufferers.
Fearing Back Pain When Bending
During my decades of suffering with chronic lower back misery, I found myself hating to bend more and more as the condition progressed. Bending became one of my many back pain prohibitions, as it does for many other patients with severe symptoms. After I cured my pain, I realized that all these prohibitions actually help to prolong the pain. I learned that if you fear bending, then bending is what logic says you must do. At this stage of life, I am even more empathetic to those who suffer activity-related symptoms, such as bending back ache. Hopefully, there will be a cure for all of you soon!
Overcoming the fear of physical activity is an important part of a recovery program for any type of back pain. Conquer your inner fear and you will certainly have more hope to defeat your back pain once and for all.
