What Are Muscle Imbalances and How Do They Cause Back Pain?

If you’ve ever read any of my other articles, you’ve probably noticed that I say that most back pain can be traced back to muscle imbalances as it’s root cause. What exactly am I talking about and how do they cause back pain?

Your muscles are made out of fibers that can contract and stretch. When you move your arm, for example certain muscles will contract to move your arm forward, while other muscles will stretch in the opposite direction to help maintain your balance (otherwise your arm would flail around violently--not a pretty sight!).

Ideally, your muscles should pull and stretch with the exact same force. This is how a balanced body system works. When they push and pull with a different force, that is when the trouble starts.

Your back makes many small micro-movements like this too, and if the muscle in your back are imbalanced then back pain is sure to follow.

Muscle imbalances can cause poor posture, shift your back out of alignment, and place excess pressure and stress on your joints. All of these are not good for you, and will eventually cause pain my making discs bulge, irritating nerves, and just causing muscle fatigue.

Okay, so what are some simple things you can do to correct muscular imbalances?

First, stretch your muscles. This is pretty obvious, and most people know that they should stretch, but they just don’t have the time to do it. A lot of people may not even know which muscles to stretch. It can be easy to put this off until an injury occurs, but stretching is important for loosening tight muscles and relieving the stress they place on your body.

Secondly, strengthen the weak muscles. This is the opposite side of the coin. If your strong muscles are too tense, then your weaker muscles need to be strengthened to balance out the stress on your body. The simple act of stretching your body in the opposite direction that you naturally hold it is usually enough to both loosen the tight muscles and strengthen the weak one.

Third, practice daily relaxation. It doesn’t matter if you prefer meditation, massage, or just relaxing in your own way. Taking the time to de-stress your mind is immensely helpful at not only getting rid of mental stress, but also relieving physical stress too. If stress builds up too much, we can sometimes store it in our bodies, which is only going to worsen muscle imbalances. So take the time to find your own favorite way to relax each day.

Muscle imbalances can be the cause of all kinds of back problems like pinched nerves, bulging discs, and just pain stress on the back. If you want to end your back problems for good, you need to get rid of the muscle imbalances that are causing them. Loosen the tense muscles, strengthen the weak muscles, and practice your own daily form of relaxation to reduce stress. If you do this, then your back pain will melt away.