Lower back pain when bending over is the worst. If you are in the pain cave looking for a lead on how to feel better - this article is for you. Barring a freak spinal cord injury, these muscles and exercises will get rid of your lower back pain when bending over in no time.
Lower Back Pain When Bending Over - The Muscles
A great deal of lower back pain when bending over can be boiled down to tension and imbalances of the muscles [1]. To be more precise, lower back trigger points should be at the top of the suspect list when investigating lower back pain when bending over because resolving them is non-invasive, inexpensive, and can often be done right at home [2].
Muscle 1: Quadratus Lumborum
The Quadratus Lumborum (QL) muscle lies deep in the lower back on both sides of the spine. The QL muscle tends to develop painful knots and trigger points from repeated bending over (fatigue triggering) or from a single high-impact event (immediate triggering).
Muscle 2/3: Gluteus Medius/Minimus
Gluteus Medius and Gluteus Minimus are upper buttock muscles that lie on top of each other. Both muscles refer pain directly to the lower back when trigger points and tension arise, and both should are crucial in side-to-side stability as well as lifting off the ground.
If you have lower back pain when bending over and are not sure where to focus - these 3 muscles are your answer. Optimizing these muscles with the 3-step process of 1) massage, 2) stretch, and 3) strengthen is the exact set I used to get out of debilitating lower back pain and bend over pain-free today.
Lower Back Pain When Bending Over - Releasing The Muscles
In order to rid the QL and Gluteus Medius/Minimus muscles of their current, constant tension caused by trigger points, a thorough deep tissue massage is needed. An effective deep tissue massage is extremely therapeutic - it can potentially release years of constant tension weighing you down and causing you pain.
How To: Trigger points and constant muscle tension can be released by the hands of a physical or massage therapist, or at home with a purposefully made tool like QL Claw. QL Claw was specifically designed to release the 6 main muscles that contribute to lower back pain when tight - including the 3 listed above. Check out tutorials on QL release and Gluteus Medius release with QL Claw to get started.
Exercises For Relieving Lower Back Pain When Bending Over
After a thorough deep tissue massage of the muscles above, you may be right on the cusp of burying your lower back pain when bending forward for good. The next level of reaching forward bending levels is through the following exercises:
Stretch - Elephant Walk Exercise: Build confidence when bending over with this exercise. The Elephant Walk movement forces you into an extreme forward bend position - and it forces you to get comfortable there. Perform this exercise multiple times a day for the most dramatic effects, and your lower back will thank you.
Strengthen - QL Exercises: QL strengthening exercises, including the side plank and suitcase carry, train strength and endurance in the exact areas you need in order to confidently lift objects off the ground again. These exercises not only work the QL muscle but also the obliques, upper glutes, and spinal erectors contributing to a strong, healthy lower back.
Lower back pain when bending over is just one piece of the complete back pain relief package. Read these articles next to fix the muscles and fix the pain for good!
Sources/Influences:
[1] Donnelly, Joseph M. Travell, Simons & Simons Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: the Trigger Point Manual. 3rd ed., Wolters Kluwer Health, 2019.
[2] Davies, Clair, and Amber Davies. The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook: Your Self-Treatment Guide for Pain Relief. 3rd ed., New Harbinger Publications, Inc., 2013.