A stiff back can make it difficult to complete even the simplest tasks. So of course you want to figure out what is causing it, as this can help you find the right course of treatment.
Back pain accompanied by unexplained weight loss requires immediate medical attention. Read Lower Back Pain Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment
To aid you on your pain-relief journey, here are 4 reasons you may have a stiff back:
Your hamstrings run through the back of each of your thighs. These large and powerful muscles can become tight for a number of reasons, including physical inactivity or a lack of stretching before and/or after working out.
You may be surprised to learn that tight hamstrings limit the motion in your pelvis, which in turn can increase the stress on your lower back and cause stiffness. Conversely, targeted hamstring stretching can gradually lengthen your hamstrings, and thereby relieve lower back stiffness.
Specific Hamstring Stretches for Back Pain Relief
The majority of us spend over 8 hours per day sitting down. And all this time sitting can take its toll on our lower backs if we are not diligent in regards to our sitting posture.
Posture to Straighten Your Back
Common sitting posture mistakes include:
See Identifying Incorrect Posture
Some of the possible negative effects of these posture mistakes including the following:
See Good Posture Helps Reduce Back Pain
In This Article:
Often as a result of wear and tear, the outer ring of one of your lumbar discs may bugle or crack. This in turn can lead to lower back pain and stiffness when the gel-like inner material leaks out (or herniates) and affects nearby nerve roots. Or you may experience symptoms in the disc space itself.
See Lumbar Herniated Disc: Causes and Risk Factors
Stiffness and other symptoms in your lower back from a lumbar herniated disc are often aggravated by movement. For example, you might feel more pain after you get up following a prolonged period of sitting (or perhaps following a laugh or sneeze). Additionally, hunching forward may also intensify your symptoms.
See Lumbar Herniated Disc Symptoms
If you have lower back stiffness that is worse first thing in the morning and later in the evening, it may be caused by facet joint osteoarthritis.
See Osteoarthritis of the Spine
Osteoarthritis can lead to back stiffness by causing the cartilage to breakdown between the facet joints in your lower back. As a result, your joints create more friction between one another, and as this limits your motion you often get stiffer and experience more back pain. This cause of back stiffness is most likely to occur in patients over 60 years old.
See Symptoms of Arthritis of the Spine
Don't become complacent when it comes to your stiff back, as ignoring the problem may only make it worse. Instead, work in tandem with your doctor to identify the cause and solution to your stiff-back problems.
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