Rehabilitation Strategies for Athletes With Sharp Lower Back Pain

Nearly 80% of the global adult population experiences pain in their lower back at some point. The risk for chronic lower back pain increases substantially for athletes because they make repetitious movements that can contribute to injuries.

Devising and implementing strategies for athletes with sharp lower back pain is instrumental in their recovery. At REACH Rehab + Chiropractic in Plymouth, Michigan, we dedicate ourselves to taking a holistic approach to sports injury rehabilitation. Learn more about sharp lower back pain, including what causes it, which exercises can help, and how chiropractors and physical therapists can help relieve back pain and prevent future injuries.

Lower back pain is a symptom with several causes. For more than 95% of adults, the top three reasons for back pain are:

• Repetitive bending
• Tension build-up from sustained postures, e.g., sitting
• Muscle, joint, or ligament sprains/strains from too much activity

Many athletes experience low back pain, but athletes in specific sports experience it more often. For instance, roughly 90% of golf injuries involve the athlete’s neck or back due to the repetitious rotation golfers make to swing their clubs.

Because back pain has many causes, a thorough assessment to get an accurate diagnosis is crucial for recovery and healing — different injuries require varying levels of care.

Strategies for athletes with sharp lower back pain often include targeted exercises and stretches. These exercises can increase core strength, leading to better stability and less back pain.

Several exercises and stretches that work well to alleviate lower back pain include:

• Partial Crunches: Lie on your back, bend both knees, and cross your arms over your chest. Tighten your stomach as you lift your shoulders off the ground.
• Hamstring Stretches: Lie flat on your back and bend one knee. Hook a towel on the bottom of the outstretched leg’s foot, straighten the leg, and gently tug on the towel.
• Wall Sits: Put your back flat on a wall and slide down until your knees bend. Hold the position for ten seconds.

If you sustain a sports injury affecting your lower back, you should work with a sports injury professional to help you recover properly. An experienced sports injury clinician, such as a sports chiropractor or physical therapist, provides recovery guidance and treatments that target your pain’s direct cause rather than focusing on symptoms (pain).

By treating the root cause, you will not only recover but also learn how to prevent reinjury and perform better at your sport.

Massage therapy and chiropractic care effectively reduce pain, improve range of motion, restore full function, and enhance durability. At REACH Rehab + Chiropractic, our holistic approach to relieving back pain may include:

• Manual therapy, e.g., joint mobilization, muscle work
• Corrective exercise strategies
• Self-care maintenance exercises and stretches
• Holistic lifestyle advice and guidance

Since no two injuries are identical, your sports medicine expert will create a customized treatment plan specific to you to expedite healing, teach you how to prevent reinjury, and even identify the area(s) you can target to improve sports performance.

Chiropractic combined with rehabilitation is an effective and efficient way to treat low back injuries. However, prevention is the best way to stay in the game and in peak performance.

How you train your body matters.

For example, the burpee exercise can easily get your heart pumping, but the typical way of doing it can put a lot of stress on the spine. When doing burpees, simply adjusting your posture by taking a wide, sumo stance will reduce repetitive spinal bending by causing you to use the hip more, and without reducing the exercise’s cardiovascular impact.

Squats and planks are other popular exercises that can cause back pain. But they are not bad exercises by any means. But, again, how you do a plank matters!

Always focus on ideal form and posture when exercising, and use the correct lifting techniques to reduce direct stress on your back. Consider working with a qualified coach/trainer to help you with proper exercise technique and programming. If you’re still struggling, the clinicians at REACH can break down your movement to identify the weak link that’s contributing to your frustrations.

As Plymouth, Michigan’s premier sports rehabilitation, chiropractic care, and massage therapy center, REACH Rehab + Chiropractic creates individualized recovery treatments for patients with muscle, nerve, or joint pain. Using effective, holistic treatments, we develop strategies for athletes with sharp lower back pain that address the root cause of the pain — not just symptoms.

We design our customized programs to help athletes feel better and live healthy, pain-free lives. If your sports injury causes sharp pain in your back, contact REACH Rehab + Chiropractic today at (734) 335-0212 to schedule an appointment.