Is lumbar muscle strain easy to treat?

Written by Li Jie
Orthopedics
Updated on September 16, 2024
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Lumbar muscle strain, as the name suggests, is a fatigue-related injury to the muscles of the lower back. It is primarily caused by excessive fatigue, a continuous state of tension in the lumbar muscles, leading to tension, spasms, and adhesions in the lumbar spine muscles. Sometimes, it may also involve minor joint disorders in the lumbar spine. Generally, the cause of lumbar muscle strain is quite clear. The first thing we recommend is that patients must rest in bed for a period, and this is to be combined with various conservative treatment measures such as acupuncture, massage, physiotherapy, electrical heating, or the external application of medicinal patches or moxibustion. With these treatments combined with rest, we generally achieve quite good therapeutic results. Therefore, lumbar muscle strain is relatively easy to treat and has good treatment outcomes.

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Written by Li Jin
Orthopedics
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Can lumbar muscle strain be cured completely?

Patients with lumbar muscle strain can generally improve their symptoms or even recover after rest or treatment. The main causes of lumbar muscle strain include long-term heavy physical activities involving the waist, poor posture, chronic strain, trauma, etc., which can cause symptoms such as back pain and limited mobility. These symptoms lessen after rest but can worsen after resuming strenuous activities. For the treatment of lumbar muscle strain, it is important first to rest and develop correct habits of using the waist to avoid long-term heavy physical activities involving this area. Treatment may include the symptomatic use of anti-inflammatory pain medications, combined with heat application, physical therapy, massage, or block therapy. These methods can play a positive role in symptom improvement and recovery. (Specific medications should be used under the guidance of a physician.)

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Written by Na Hong Wei
Orthopedics
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What is lumbar muscle strain?

What is lumbar muscle strain? Lumbar muscle strain refers to the cumulative injury of muscles and fascia in the lumbar region caused by long-term unbalanced postures or incorrect positions during labor. It is one of the common causes of lumbar pain. How to understand this definition? Lumbar muscle strain is first and foremost a cumulative injury. What causes it? First, incorrect postures—sitting straight is necessary. Slouching or hunching over, especially when idle, or sitting askew, is detrimental. Second, certain types of labor, like that of miners or farmers transplanting rice, consistently place the lower back in an imbalanced state, perpetually bending forward. This day-to-day accumulation leads to lumbar muscle strain.

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Written by Guan Yu Hua
Orthopedic Surgery
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Can you exercise with lumbar muscle strain?

Lumbar muscle strain primarily arises from repetitive stretching of the back muscles due to work-related activities or intense physical exercise. This leads to a range of symptoms, such as stiffness in the lower back upon waking in the morning, reluctance to move, and symptomatic relief after some activity. It is advised to gently exercise the lower back to effectively alleviate symptoms, avoid strenuous exercise or prolonged bending and heavy physical labor. It's best to strictly rest on a firm mattress, perform warm-up activities for the lower back, and undergo appropriate physical therapy and massage. Consuming blood-activating and pain-relieving medications can also help. Typically, symptoms will gradually ease over 7-10 days. Although light activity for lumbar muscle strain is acceptable, engaging in exercise is not recommended. Rest is necessary, and a general rest period of about half a month will gradually reduce symptoms. Recurrences are common, so it is important to regularly care for your lower back by avoiding activities such as bending to lift heavy objects, carrying heavy loads, etc., as these can easily lead to repetitive strain injuries of the back muscles.

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Written by Na Hong Wei
Orthopedics
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Can lumbar muscle strain be massaged?

Lumbar muscle strain can be treated with massage if the technique and pressure are appropriate, making it a very important treatment method. Lumbar muscle strain generally involves the muscles which, due to prolonged overload, leads to reduced self-regulatory capacity or chronic aseptic inflammation of the muscle or its attachment points due to poor self-regulation. If the massage technique is correct, it can enhance local blood circulation and accelerate cellular metabolism. This helps in the faster elimination and release of inflammatory substances and pain factors. Moreover, massage can also relax tense muscles, allowing the strained lumbar muscles to rest and the damaged areas to recuperate. Therefore, lumbar muscle strain can indeed benefit from massage, and with the correct techniques, it can have a very effective therapeutic impact.

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Written by Guan Yu Hua
Orthopedic Surgery
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How should lumbar muscle strain be treated?

Lumbar muscle strain is a particularly common disease, such as strenuous exercise or long periods of heavy physical labor. For instance, farmers bending over, farming, hoeing, cutting grass, fertilizing, and spraying pesticides are all activities closely related to the movement of the lumbar muscles. The human body's muscles engage in 80% of activities, and their involvement in lumbar muscle strain is very common. It mainly manifests as swinging hammers, digging tree pits, bending over to lift heavy objects, and carrying heavy weights. Subsequently, pain and discomfort in the lumbar region occur. The next morning, upon waking, the symptoms may become more apparent. The lumbar area may feel stiff, akin to a plank, making getting out of bed difficult. Through physical examination and radiographic imaging, such as CT scans of the lumbar spine, the condition can generally be identified and confirmed. In such cases, strict bed rest is required, generally for at least ten days, during which symptoms gradually alleviate. During this period, treatments such as traction, physiotherapy, massage, and heating can help alleviate the symptoms. If necessary, blood-activating and pain-relieving medications may be taken. The condition is treatable, but it is advisable to avoid prolonged sitting in the future. When engaging in heavy labor, it is better to restrict the lumbar region by wearing a lumbar belt or engaging in lighter physical activities that do not overly exert the lumbar area. Regular care for the lumbar region is essential. Once there is damage to the lumbar region, recurrent episodes can affect the quality of normal life and work.