It is crucial to pay attention to your body and take action to relieve tension, whether your lower back feels tight frequently or only rarely. A stiff lower back can deteriorate and cause more severe issues affecting your regular movements, such as pain and discomfort when bending down to pick something up off the floor.
In addition to tightness, your lower back may experience discomfort, spasms, and cramping. Your back may feel tight, strained, and cramped, and the discomfort frequently feels persistent, dull aching. Your legs, hips, and pelvis could all feel tight.
Common Causes of Lower Back Tightness & Stiffness - How Can Stiff and Tight Muscles Result in Back Pain?
The second most common cause for Americans to visit a doctor is for tight lower back - the first being flu and colds. The back comprises a complicated structure of tissues, muscles, bones, and joints. These body parts can become injured, resulting in lower back pain and tightness.
Pain and tightness in the lower back can occasionally result from trauma from a car accident, a fall, or a sports injury. In other instances, accidents could happen as someone does their daily business. Other typical reasons for a stiff lower back include the following:
● Sprains and strains: Whereas strains are tears in the muscles or tendons, sprains are caused by stretching or tearing ligaments.
● Spondylolisthesis develops when the lower back's vertebrae shift and squeeze adjacent nerves.
● Spinal stenosis: It causes pressure on the spinal cord and nerves as the spinal column narrows.
● Skeletal abnormalities: Scoliosis, lordosis, and other spinal anomalies are examples.
● Sciatica: This type of radiculopathy compresses the sciatic nerve that runs down the back.
● Radiculopathy: It refers to an injury, compression, or inflammation that impacts a spinal nerve root.
● Poor posture: Long lengths of time in bad posture might result in lower back tension and discomfort.
● Herniated or ruptured discs: The discs between the vertebrae are flattening, bulging, or rupturing.
● Arthritis: This inflammatory disorder impacts the back and other joints throughout the body.
Read More: 9 Simple Stretches for Lower Back Pain to Do at Home
How to Stop Lower Back Tightness When Running
A slightly tight back may not be a major concern for many people. Yet, if you are a runner, even a little back discomfort can ruin your workout schedule and keep you from exercising for weeks, months, or even years.
Since managing tight lower back pain can be so tricky, it is easier to prevent the problem in the first place. Fortunately, there are several steps runners may take to avoid low back pain - these comprise of the following:
1. Put on appropriate footwear and change it frequently. Running in inadequately supportive shoes might cause your low back muscles to become overworked. Get your running shoes fitted professionally at a running specialty shop, and switch up your shoes every 300 to 500 kilometers.
2. Stretch out before a run.
Before your training, take a stroll or a leisurely half-mile run. After the warm-up, stretch out gently. An injury can occasionally be avoided by gradually warming up the muscles.
3. Maintain hamstring flexibility. Stress is put on the low back muscles by tight hamstrings. After each run, stretch your hamstrings to keep them flexible.
Hamstrings can also be made more flexible by frequently practicing yoga and using a good foam roller.
Read More: Can Stress Cause Back Pain? 7 Tips to Relieve Stress
What Causes Lower Back Stiffness in the Morning
Have you ever woken up in the morning to a surprise lower backache?
If yes, you are not alone. Back pain is widespread. Many experience it first thing in the morning, especially when getting out of bed and standing.
This discomfort is typically brought on by stiffness after extended rest periods or reduced blood flow from sleeping. The majority of the time, symptoms go away after moving.
Although back discomfort in the mornings can occasionally occur, some people get it more frequently than others. Many conditions may be the root of this chronic pain, such as underlying chronic conditions, stress, and poor posture.
Saloni Doshi, a physical therapist at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, says that changing your habits and building stronger muscles can often improve your posture.
Read More: 10 Tips on How to Have Good Posture at Work
9 Ways to Relieve Tightness & Stiffness in Lower Back
Even though having a tight lower back is bothersome, the pain can be managed. Exercise and medication may both be used as treatments.
Additionally, there are several actions that people can take to assist in keeping their lower backs flexible.
Dr. Robert Shmerling, from the Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, argues that you will not require a specialist in most situations.
#1. Stretches for Lower Back Tightness
Daily stretching can help you relax your muscles and increase your flexibility, strengthening your body to be better prepared to withstand a full day at a desk. Some stretches to relieve tightness and stiffness in the lower back include the following:
● Knee-to-chest
● Yoga Cat/ Cow
● Cobra Stretch
● Lying knee twist
● Piriformis Seated Stretch
#2. Heat Therapy
Heat can reduce joint pain and relax muscles by increasing blood flow. Heat can help an injury or arthritis over six weeks old feel better.
Read More: 7 Best Heating Pads
#3. Cold Therapy
Ice can constrict blood vessels, helping to minimize inflammation and numb discomfort.
Read More: Best Ice Packs for Back - When to Use for Pain Relief
#4. Activity
Keep moving with mild exercises, such as yoga, since bed rest can exacerbate stiffness. Steer clear of back-bending exercises and hard lifting.
#5. Relaxation Techniques
Some people find that deep breathing exercises, tai chi, and meditation can help them relax their back muscles and lessen pain and stiffness.
#6. Massage Therapy
Muscle tissue is intended to relax during massage therapy to lessen uncomfortable spasms and contractions.
#7. Pain Killers
Over-the-counter painkillers, such as naproxen, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and aspirin, may alleviate pain and stiffness.
#8. Additional Therapies
A doctor might suggest additional treatments in more serious situations. They could include nerve block therapy, which blocks certain lower back nerves to help with pain relief.
Counterirritants, which are lotions and creams that stimulate the nerves, can be used with epidural steroid injections to provide instant but temporary relief from pain brought on by disorders like sciatica.
#9. Alternative Treatments
You might also consider complementary therapies like rolfing, chiropractic, or acupuncture. Consider physical therapy if lower back discomfort has continued for over two weeks. Examine many strategies to see which produces the greatest results.