First, let us consider some of the facts.
Most pain is felt in the joints or the point where a muscle attaches to the bone. With the back for example, although the upper back is by no means excluded, it is the lower joints that seem to be much more susceptible to pain because this is the centre of our core.
The joints are the one place where an imbalance can manifest because they can be put out of alignment with a tilt or twist. What happens to the nerve, ligament, a muscle or disc as a result of that joint moving is the pain you normally feel.
What I have discovered in practice is that there are usually only one or two main groups of muscles, setting up the imbalances that cause the joint to move or the pressure to build up in a muscle making the joint stiff or tight and painful to use.
If the muscles that set up the imbalances (usually the deeper structural muscles) are worked on correctly, the pressure that causes the twist, tilt or tightness is released, along with the pain.
Unfortunately, and contrary to what you have been told, this doesn't happen with stretching or exercise as dysfunctional muscles don't respond the way you would like them to.
Using a 'hands on' form of bodywork is the most effective way of identifying and correcting these problem muscles but finding someone who can do that job quickly and effectively, at a reasonable cost is probably the most difficult part. The cheaper alternative is using specific self treatment techniques to target the right muscles, with a rubber or tennis ball, enough times that the changes start to hold.
When a back develops problems it is not normally something that has just happened but rather the result of a build up of imbalances over time. It tends to involve the whole body in some way and therefore requires a holistic approach to get a lasting cure.
To demonstrate, reach to the right to pick something up and you'll notice it is not just your shoulder and arm that moves, you will feel every muscle in your body adjust in some way to support that movement....... continues
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Next Chapter: How Back Pain Originates. Return to Contents Page.