Blog post produced and written by Clinic Manager and Lead Sports Massage Therapist Jason Dodd.
One of our main aims at Bodylogics Health and Fitness Clinic is to provide evidenced based practice supported by research and facts. This has been shown to greatly improve patients overall outcomes and sits well within an ethical umbrella which is designed to empower patients to understand what is happening with their bodies and how they can self-manage things to ensure their pain does not return.
With many of us having to endure long days sitting at home whilst respecting the rules of the UK government, it can often be a time where unexpected and troublesome pain can rear its ugly head. Lower back pain tends to be one of the most common causes of pain in those who sit for long periods of pain. In fact, lower back pain is one of the highest reasons given for lost days at work.
Often in clinic we are met with these symptoms and patients seeking answers. One thing we like to do is ask how you think the issue occurred? Was there a particular event that happened or has it just gradually come on? There are many more questions to be asked but those are used there for demonstrative purposes.
One response often heard by us in clinic is that its due to 'their curve in the back' or 'I have been told I have anterior tilted hips'. Whilst literally what you may be observing is true (that there is a tilt at the hips, for example), how many of us actually if this is the cause? I will start here by asking 'ok, so where have you heard this from?'…… How many of you reading here can honestly say 'it was from a study that looked into the effects of tilted hips or curved spines on pain which I read'? I am going to assume not many of us? More than likely you may have over-heard someone else say it (a friend or relative) or have read it online or in a newspaper somewhere. This takes us to another level here of 'well why do we believe these people?' Usually because it comes from a person who we deem to be in a position of responsibility or has titles associated to them which society has taught us to respect and follow. Now I am not here to tell you who or who not to believe but every time you hear something or are told something, especially when it comes to pain, you need to ask 'ok, so where is the evidence'.
This study here by Laird, et al; 2014, looked at exactly this, what is the relationship between lower back pain and the curve in the lower back (anatomically known as lordosis). And guess what they found? They found that the Lordosis angle of those with lower back pain ranged between 23-56 degrees and those without lower back pain ranged between 19-53 degrees. I put the question back to you all now, do we really think that a difference of 3 degrees is going to make such a difference to our likelihood of getting pain? We can split hairs here and say 'well of course, if I have a 3 degree extra tilt then I am likely to have it'…..but again you'd likely be wrong as you are literally only referring to the extreme end of the measurements. I would ask the question back 'ok, well why is it that two people with an angle of 40 degrees, say, that one has lower back pain but the other doesn't'? Before you attempt to answer this hypothetical question here, consider the fact that there is no right or wrong answer as such because pain is so much more than just the biomechanical make up or physiological state of a human.
So, to summarise, the next time we feel that lower back pain, lets not be so quick to blame the 'curve in the spine' or the 'tilt of your hips', instead lets try and look a little more holistically at the whole situation and work out a more evidence based approach to dealing with your pain and getting you back to your normal self.
Reference
Laird, Robert & Gilbert, Jayce & Kent, Peter & Keating, Jenny. (2014). Comparing lumbo-pelvic kinematics in people with and without back pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC musculoskeletal disorders. 15. 229. 10.1186/1471-2474-15-229.
