You've bent down to pick something up and suddenly your back has “gone out” again.
It's easy to assume something has slipped, moved out of position or become damaged again.
But recurring back pain is often more complicated than that.
Has Something Actually Gone Out of Place?
Usually, no.
Your spine is strong and well supported by joints, muscles, ligaments and other tissues.
When you experience a sudden back pain flare-up, it doesn't automatically mean a vertebra has moved out of place.
Why Can Back Pain Keep Returning?
There are many potential contributors to recurrent lower back pain, including:
Sudden increases in activity
Repetitive work
Reduced strength or conditioning
Spending long periods in one position
Previous injury
Poor sleep
Stress
Doing more than your body is currently accustomed to
Often, it's not one individual movement that causes the problem.
It may be the overall load your body has been dealing with.
Building Capacity Matters
If your back becomes painful every time you lift, garden, train or have a particularly busy week, simply avoiding those activities forever isn't necessarily the solution.
Rehabilitation often involves gradually building your body's ability to tolerate those demands again.
This might include mobility work, strengthening and gradually increasing activity.
Breaking the Flare-Up Cycle
Treatment can be helpful for reducing symptoms and improving movement, but long-term management often involves more than passive treatment alone.
At Align & Restore Chiropractic in Strathmore, we look at what may be contributing to repeated flare-ups and what you can do between appointments to improve your ability to manage them.
Your back isn't necessarily “going out.”
Sometimes it simply needs help becoming more comfortable and capable of handling the demands you're placing on it.