Is Your Back Pain Actually Coming from Your Back?

Back Pain – Specific to the Low Back

Back pain can be incredibly frustrating and, in some cases, even debilitating. As an osteopathic manual practitioner, the most common area of back pain I see is discomfort that wraps around the lower back. There are many potential causes for this, but today, I’ll focus on some of the mechanical ones.

Mechanical causes refer to structures in the body that move individually or together to achieve a common goal. Just like a car relies on many moving parts to run smoothly, the human body has various interconnected systems that keep us functioning. Some key components to consider include the nervous, circulatory, and lymphatic systems, as well as muscles, joints, and bones. When any one of these structures (or others not listed) is affected, it creates a ripple effect, leading to compensations elsewhere in the body. These compensations can contribute to back pain or discomfort in other areas.

The body is highly intelligent and constantly strives for balance to prevent pain. However, sometimes things don’t go as we’d like. Injuries or prolonged compensations can develop, leading to further imbalances and dysfunction.

Several factors play a role in how the body moves and functions, including bone shape, joint type, and force/load distribution. As an osteopath, I take all of this into account when assessing a patient. I evaluate structures from superficial to deep, from bones to soft tissue (or vice versa), and from a global perspective down to localized issues. This thorough approach allows me to identify and address the root cause of dysfunction effectively.

In osteopathy, we often say that "your back isn’t just your back" and "your shoulder isn’t just your shoulder." The pain you feel in one area may actually originate from a completely different part of the body. My role as an osteopathic practitioner is to assess the body as a whole, identify the root cause of pain, address it, and allow the body to self-heal and regulate. By restoring balance, we help ensure that all mechanical structures function optimally, ultimately reducing or alleviating pain.