Lower Back Pain: Check Your Quadratus Lumborum Muscles

Finally, we are now in the final series of our DEEP MUSCLES blog and this time, (refer to our other blogs) we are going to talk about lower back pain as caused by The Quadratus Lumborum (QL) muscles. Interestingly enough, this muscle is occasionally referred as “the joker” of lower back pain because it is frequently overlooked as a cause of the pain. Often, it is the Iliopsoas muscles that are seen at fault rather than the QL; hence many patients actually employ the wrong treatment.

The Quadratus Lumborum is an abdominal muscle that can be found on the back surface of the thorax, stretching from the hip (posterior ilium), to the transverse processes of the upper four lumbar vertebrae to the 12th rib. Its role is to stabilize the lumbar spine to keep an upright posture; thus considered as one of the core muscles.

Symptoms of Lower Back Pain Caused by QL Imbalances

Since there are many reasons of a lower back pain, identifying one symptom from another is necessary to get the appropriate treatment.

If you are experiencing lower back pain and are suspecting your QL to be involved, observe the following symptoms:

• Excruciating lower back pain when in an unsupported, upright position, and a sharp pain even when you are resting
• The spine feels restricted
• One-sided pain
• Pain radiating towards the pelvic, gluteal and groin region
• Presence of pain when rolling to either side while lying
• The pain causes depression and low energy.

The QL gets into spasm and this is one common causes of lower back pain. You will experience this when:

• You sit all day long
• Your muscles become weak due to lack of exercise or unhealthy lifestyle
• Your buttocks and hamstring muscles are weak.

Other factors can also cause lower back pain like:

• Car accidents
• Inborn defects i.e. one leg is shorter that the other
• Gardening
• Putting on pants standing
• Walking or running on declining surfaces
•  Lifting of heavy objects in an awkward manner
• Reaching an object on the floor by stooping down while the body is twisted
• Chilling during sleep.

How to Address Lower Back Pain Caused by QL Imbalances

Exercise is the natural and sustainable treatment of QL problems. We’d like to show you a video of effective workouts, which was originally designed by Professor Stuart Mc Gill, an expert spine bio-mechanic from the University of Waterloo, Canada. Professor Mc Gill has done several studies on top-notch athletes of all disciplines. At Online Health Mag, we apply Professor Mc Gill principles; thus we recommend the same principles to our readers.

Practising the right workout routine will not only help address your lower back pain, but also strengthen your back and spine to protect it against injuries. In summary, when a lower back pain occurs the fastest way to deal with it is by:

• Identifying whether it is caused by the QL muscles, and
• Strengthening the QL if it’s the one causing lower back pain.

 

 

Applying the right exercise routine will help you tackle your back pain causes and further strengthen your spine and back to stop further damages.

Find out more about balancing your muscles and get relief from your lower back pain.