Neural Tension and Lower Back Pain

Your lower back pain is not a result of tight hamstrings.  It’s deeper than the tissues.

No matter how much you stretch, bend, and contort, the back pain isn’t going away without getting to the root of the issue.

Your lower back pain is also not a stability issue. Your hips move well, your glutes activate, and you understand the mechanics of squatting.

So why are you experiencing lower back pain?  What else is there besides mobility and stability?

Your nervous system.

Your nervous system is comprised of a system of wires. The brain and the spinal cord send messages to your body through neurons. Your body responds and sends them back to your brain. There is nonstop communication, processing, and reacting through the nervous system.

Stress – physical, mental, or emotional – creates inflammation in the body. This inflammation is stored in the tissues. As the inflammation grows, it can compress the nerves that run around and through your joints.

As you move through that joint’s range of motion, the compression of the nerves around that joint will signal danger to the brain.  We call this neural tension.

Slow Down, Sit Still to Start Fixing Lower Back Pain

In order to eliminate this neural tension, you have to eliminate the inflammation. This process starts by slowing down, sitting still, and allowing your body to activate the parasympathetic nervous system. Rest and digest is a relaxed, calm state that informs the body that there is no danger. When the parasympathetic system is activated, the body goes into repair mode, sends blood back into the organs and relieves inflammation.

Our colleagues at The Low Back Fix have written an article breaking down neural tension and ways to eliminate it through techniques as simple as coherent.

If you are suffering from lower back pain and have tried every mobility trick and tool out there, this article is a must read.  Calm the nervous system first, then work on the tissues and joints.

To read the full article, click here.

Once done, give us a call at 619-210-0945 to go through our proprietary set of assessments that will help you determine your root cause of lower back pain.