Muscle strain or pulled muscles have been the cause of
most back muscle pain episodes among the Americans. This strain occurs
due to heavy physical work all of a sudden or lifting very heavy
objects, defying your muscle resistance. The strain causes back muscle
to spasm and create significant stiffness. In severe case, the pain
becomes inadmissible and makes life a hell, making you totally immovable.
Ice massage and compression is very helpful in alleviating the
pain during the first few hours, particularly if swelling appears. After
the initial period passes, heat therapy should be applied to speed up
the healing process.
Jacuzzis are also considered therapeutic for
muscles, in our case the back muscles. Not only they ease up knotted
muscles, they speed up healing process by increasing blood circulation.
Another
subtle cause for back muscle pain is bad posture. Bad posture inhibits
blood supply to several areas, especially to the lower back, therefore
weakening the muscle group within that area. When the weakened muscle is
used, these stiff muscles will stiffen and tear, resulting to a muscle
strain.
Muscle tone and flexibility is also a factor in back
muscle pain. Rigid muscles tend to snap and tear when held in the
extreme. Individuals who don’t see much bending exercise or even
stretching will encounter muscle strains more frequently while reaching
or bending for something. Recent studies show that the suppleness of the
hamstring muscles do contribute to the amount of stress in the lower
back. The theory is that tight hamstrings limit the motion of the
pelvis, so the motion gets transferred to the bottom lumbar muscles.
Elastic hamstrings considerably lessen the strain on the lower back
muscles while bending over.
In a nutshell, back muscle pain is
just an after effect of a poor muscle tone. The best way to counter back
muscle pain is exercise. Supple, elastic muscles prevent tearing and
strain which in turn prevents back muscle pain. So do good posture and
form, which encourages proper blood circulation.
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