Lower back pain can be common, but it doesn’t have to last. Here’s how massage therapy can help you get better, and stay better.
2020 saw the birth of the work-from-home era, and with that came a new freedom: The freedom to crouch in your rolly-chair like a gargoyle in pajamas, safe from the judging eyes of your boss. But this new privilege takes its toll on our lower backs. Poor posture is wrecking our bodies.
Your lower back plays a pivotal role in your quality of life. When the lumbar calls out of work—the entire company halts production. If you’ve ever suffered a lower back injury, you know just how immobilizing it can be. Making sure that your lower back is supported through preventative practices (and effectively treated when it’s injured) sets you up for a mobile, pain-free life full of activity for years to come.
Why Is The Lower Back Is So Important
Your lower back is a powerhouse structure and key player in the machine that is your body. Bone, joints, ligaments, and muscle all come together in that short section of spine to do some of your heaviest lifting (literally): From supporting the entire weight of your upper body to producing the hip rotation and flexion required for walking, bending, and twisting. That’s no small set of responsibilities! When our spines fall out of alignment we can experience pain and loss of mobility.
What To Do When You Injure Your Lower Back
So, you’ve hurt your lower back, and it’s not pretty. Maybe you slept in a strange position. Maybe you’re moving and you lifted a heavy box with your back and not your legs. Maybe you’re slouched over for long hours at your work desk (or in your gaming chair at home—no judgements).
No matter the cause, you can breathe a sigh of relief. Most acute lower back injuries tend to resolve fully. With a combination of at-home treatment modalities as well as hands-on treatment, your body and your life can get back to normal fairly quickly.
How Massage Therapy Helps Lower Back Pain
The historical results of hands-on healing are unquestionable, and a professional massage therapist has the ability to help your body heal from some of the gnarliest aches and pains.
Physical manipulation of the muscles improves blood and lymph circulation. Improved circulation allows cells in the muscle to absorb oxygen and nutrients more effectively, and promotes the removal of toxins—resulting in a decrease in pain. This increased blood flow also allows your body to repair damaged muscles faster.
When a massage therapist “works a knot out”, they are physically relaxing muscle and tendon tissue. This can aid in the reduction of spasms and contractions, reduce swelling and inflammation, and improve tissue elasticity.
Massage therapy also provides an element of psychological healing. During and after massage, levels of endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin are all increased—those are all the delightful hormones that help promote relaxation, good mood, restful sleep, and decreased pain.
Extra Healing You Can Do At Home
While you wait to get into the massage chair, we have some steps you can take at home to start getting your back back.
- Ice the area to reduce swelling and inflammation.
- Heat the area to relax stiffness and tightness.
- Reduce your activity for a couple of days.
- Stretch gently—consider a child’s pose from yoga.
- Use a back brace to help with your posture temporarily.
Finding The Right Massage For Your Lower Back
We at MetaTouch believe in a holistic approach to massage—in searching for and addressing the root causes of your aches rather than symptom-only treatment. We take into account your total physical and emotional state to create your unique program. After creating a specialized treatment plan, we then make sure to equip you with corrective back pain exercises to keep your pain from coming back.
Your first appointment with us includes a consultation before your session, in which we work with you to identify the problem areas—we’re more than happy to hop on a free discovery call with you to talk about whether massage therapy is right for you. Right now we’re also offering $50.00 off your first session! If you’re in the Culver City area of California, send us a message or give us a call—our goal is to create lasting change so you can get back to the full range and motion of your life.
