Tag Archives: what causes sciatica

Poor Posture Is A Common Cause Of Lower Back Pain

Are you suspicious that your poor posture or slouching might be causing your lower back pain?

You may be right!

Your spine is supposed to be shaped like this skeleton on the left.

Do you see the nice curves?

That’s how your spine is supposed to look.

But if you sit on your tailbone–if you are a ‘sacrum sitter’–instead of sitting flat on your ‘sit bones’, then you are almost guaranteed to have low back pain.   Probably upper back, neck or head pain, too.

Now look at the skeleton below. 

She has lost the curve in the lower back. This person is quite likely a sacrum sitter–she slouches and slumps instead of sitting on the sit bones.

When you were a little child you could get away with variations of posture.  That’s because children use all of their muscles all of the time.  Their muscles are balanced. 🙂

But when we grow up most people only use some of their muscles, some of the time.  You got out of muscular balance. 🙁

But that’s okay because bodies heal all the time.  Bodies are capable of changing.

Do you have to take action?  You surely do; there is no way around it.

But you can do it!  There is a lot of good information here at Simple Back Pain Relief to help you learn how to correct your posture and stop Continue reading Poor Posture Is A Common Cause Of Lower Back Pain

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Which Muscles In Your Lower Back Can Cause Sciatic Pain

Are you having pain in your lower back that radiates down into your hip or leg?  It might be sciatica or pseudosciatica.

True sciatica involves pressure on the sciatic nerve as it leaves the spine.

Pseudosciatica  or ‘false sciatica’ is caused by pressure on the sciatic nerve by muscles next to your spine called QL.  Pressure can also be caused by the gluteal muscles (buttocks) as it starts the journey to your leg.

The QL or quadratus lumborum muscles are often the cause of nervy pain called sciatica that runs down your leg.  They are also the cause of  lower back aches.

Sometimes they are called the four-sided devils.  (They do have 4 sides.)

These muscles on each side of your waist are called QL’s for short.  The quadratus lumborum muscles are used for twisting and tilting.

Golfing can aggravate them as can any twisting or tilting to the side.  Twisting while Continue reading Which Muscles In Your Lower Back Can Cause Sciatic Pain

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