WHAT CAUSES LOWER BACK PAIN IN FEMALES? AND HOW TO FIX IT.

So here’s the thing, lower back pain in general tends to have a more common cause regardless of gender. Especially as a result of all the sitting in chairs that goes on today. However, due to the uniqueness of female physiology and the natural undulations of their hormonal cycle, there can be some other factors that can be at the root of a female’s lower back pain.

Anyway, let’s get into the basic principles. Here’s a short YouTube video I made describing the impact chairs have on lower back pain.

Highlights:

• Sitting a lot causes the lumbar spine to go into forward flexion. This flattens the lower (lumbar) spine’s curve and puts excess pressure on the front part (anterior aspect) of the discs in between the vertebrae.

• This anterior pressure causes the discs to bulge out the back (posterior bulge) and potentially compress nerves coming out of the spinal cord, causing lower back pain.

Corrective Interventions:

• As shown in the video, because a lot of the issues occur due to forward flexion, to correct this we’d do well to extend the lower back, of which the McKenzie Push-up (demonstrated at the end of the video) is a favourite mobilisation.

• Nutrition and diet and hydration are also very important. Any inflammatory foods being eaten, (typically gluten, sugar, dairy, and sometimes nuts for some people), cause inflammation in the digestive organs which then reflex down their nerve channels and shut down the stabiliser (tonic type 1) muscle fibres of the core which means the spine doesn’t have any stabilising support, which then exposes it to gravity and impact forces from walking, running, or sports.

• Clearing the diet of inflammatory foods is key.

• Lack of hydration and sea salt consumption also mean the body is dehydrated, which for joint structures has the effect of a car tyre having its air let out and deflated. Dehydration causes joint structures to come together as the discs and joints themselves ‘deflate’, and then the joints become subjected to compression and shear forces far easier. Enough of this ‘deflation’, and we can get what western medicine calls osteoarthritis. Proper hydration can prevent this.

• Drinking 2-3L of high quality clean water with plenty of sea salt (not tap water) per day is essential.

Female Physiology

• The aspect with a woman’s hormonal cycle that can have an impact is most often due to the natural swelling of the uterus when the woman is pre-menstrual or menstruating. This natural swelling can have the same effect on the core as when inflammatory foods are eaten, shutting them down, leaving the lower back (lumbar spine) without any stabilisation or support against gravity and the forces of daily life. Think a mountain bike without any suspension springs to absorb the shock and forces from the bumps you go over.

• If a woman does intense training at the wrong time during her hormonal cycle, for example when she’s pre-menstrual or menstruating, which means her hormone levels are low, and she doesn’t have core stabilisation due to natural uterus inflammation, but she’s still in the gym doing things like deadlifts and box jumps or running, then the chances of lower back pain are far higher than if she saved those sessions for when she has energy and better core activation around ovulation when her hormones are highest.

• All the other points mentioned prior still relate to lower back pain in females, just we’ve added an awareness of the hormonal cycle as well.

• Also, here’s another one that makes sense as a contributor to lower back pain: Pregnancy. Being pregnant means the woman’s core is going to have a significant hibernation period as the baby grows, and then after delivery, the woman will need an individualised nutrition, lifestyle, and corrective movement/rehabilitation program to re-educate her core to function optimally again. Female athletes can bounce back quicker, but for women who don’t have that background, postpartum rehabilitation can take a lot longer. This is where having a holistic health coach is an excellent resource.

When is it Not a Disc Issue?

• If there’s pain when bending forward, chances are that it’s a disc issue. But if there’s pain when extending backwards, then the chances are that it may be due to some aggravation in the facet joints or stress on an area called the ‘pars interarticularis’ (conditions being called ‘spondylolysis’ – a fracture in the pars interarticularis – or ‘spondylolisthesis’ – a fracture in the pars and a slippage of the vertebrae – to be a bit technical).

• Or it’s something called ‘stenosis’, which means narrowing. This is when there’s segmental instability (most often due to the diet and hydration factors listed above), and then piezoelectric charge is caused by the excess movement which stimulates the chondroblasts (formation of cartilage), fibroblasts (formation of connective tissue), and osteophytes (formation of bone) which lay down new tissue causing a narrowing of the spine and producing pain during extension.

• In those cases, if extending backwards is painful, then laying on your back and hugging your knees to your chest can provide relief. And this is highly effective when combined with cutting out inflammatory foods and hydrating properly.

Conclusion

In summary, the key things a woman can do to address lower back pain and get fast relief and results is ascertain whether the pain comes on by bending forward (discs) or from extending backwards (facets, pars, or stenosis), and then choose the appropriate corrective movement intervention, either extending away from the foetal position if it’s discs, or flexing towards the foetal position if it’s pars, facets, or stenosis.

Nutrition is also key, so clearing out inflammatory foods is a must. Gluten, sugar, dairy, and sometimes nuts are often common. Making sure the woman is eating a lot of good quality organic fats too. Steroid hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, are all made from cholesterol, which one gets from saturated fat (solid at room temperature), so the woman needs enough of that to produce optimal hormone levels and keep her cycle healthy. Hydration and sea salt are crucial too.

Finally, training in harmony with her hormonal cycle can be a simple adjustment that makes all the difference. When hormones are up around ovulation, let the intensity increase. When pre-menstrual or menstruating, let the intensity come down. This is where the CHEK Institute principle of ‘work in vs work out’ comes in. When tired, work in, so use movement in a way that doesn’t make you feel tired. A therapeutic dose as we say. And when energy is up, then feel free to work out.

This is article is a starting, and not a replacement for having a good coach. So if you’re a woman struggling with lower back pain, from a new mum to a high performing athlete, then feel free to get in touch with me to claim your free consultation call.