Most of us start off with a beautifully mobile and smooth running back and rarely are we stiff backed unless there is a reason for it. The back is well evolved to do the job it has to do and does this mostly very well. Spinal bones are separated from the vertebrae by discs which are thicker in areas of greater mobility and greater load, allowing more movement. Facet joints at the back of the spine limit and control spinal motion, stopping inappropriate spinal displacement in response to the loads placed on the spine. Muscles are strong, in balance and working in harmony to achieve the movement and stability required.
Inhibition of the stabilising musculature occurs with an episode of acute spinal pain and this can persist beyond the resolution of the pain to generate a long-lasting instability which puts the segment at increased risk of re-injury over time. Longer term effects include the occurrence of degenerative alterations in the spinal structures such as joints and discs, causing segmental levels to develop stiffness and eventually chronic back pain. The discs have fluid forced out of them by gravitational compression forces and must counteract them by generating a fluid absorption force.
Discs will narrow and lose part of their hydration under the forces of compression which occur in normal life, the disc becoming stiffer and narrower. X-rays can show up this narrowing when it reaches a certain level, but many discs will be troublesome long before this stage. The intervertebral disc and the two vertebrae each side of it are referred to as a vertebral segment and an abnormal stiff segment will move in such a way as to impose inappropriate levels of load upon structures not adapted to take them. The stiffness of individual spinal segments can be felt by a physiotherapist palpating the spine.
Protective muscle spasms are common after an injury and this splints the affected area and allows the process of inflammation and healing to get started. With the gradual resolution of the injury and its pain reduction the amount of back spasms normally lessens and slowly normal movements begin to be apparent again. But muscles can remain in muscle spasm in some cases, leading to a stiffened and shortened group of spinal structures which, by this adaptive shortening, leads to the production of shortened and abnormal spinal joints, ligaments and muscles.
Sitting for extended periods can increase the likelihood of suffering from increased compression of the lumbar discs with consequent fluid loss. Repeated flexion maintains the regular cycle of fluid uptake and avoidance of this movement interferes with this important process for disc health. The maintenance of abnormal posture and lack of strength in the abdominal muscles are also important factors.
Having a series of acute episodes of lumbago can predispose to developing a segmental stiffness problem, often with the stiff or abnormally moving segments of the spine having been present for a long period before they start to give pain symptoms. Actions which make this syndrome worse will tend to hold the spine in flexion for long periods or at end ranges, such as sitting for extended times and bending forwards repeatedly, actions which push joints further than their limits of comfort. The spinal facet joints develop an extension dysfunction and the spinal segment can become adaptively shortened, compromising its movement ability. My own lumbar spine has some of these back problems and limits my ability to do repeated lifting or bent over work.
Sarah Key, a physiotherapist who is well known in the UK, has produced the Sarah Key’s Back Sufferers Bible, a book in which she sets out her views of what is going on in this most common of musculoskeletal syndromes. She does acknowledge that it is hard to bring solid evidence for many of her interpretations but seems to have many good and practical therapy ideas to approach the back pain problem with. She covers the main syndromes which typically occur, giving treatment routines for self management of each one, all of which I have found very useful for my own lower back pain. Now I have something I can do about it rather than accept it as a fact of life.
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