How long does it take to recover from a lumbar muscle strain?

Written by Kuang Tao

Orthopedics

Updated on March 22, 2025

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Lumbar muscle strain is a common clinical disease, usually caused by overexertion or heavy physical labor. Another situation that can lead to lumbar muscle strain is due to acute injuries, such as those who rarely exercise or do physical work suddenly lifting heavy objects or engaging in intense sports, which can cause acute strain of the lumbar spine. How long does it take to recover? If it is an acute strain, it generally takes about two weeks to recover. If it is chronic, it usually takes one to two months. With proper treatment and exercise, improvement can generally be seen within two months.

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Written by Cheng Bin

Orthopedics

46sec

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How to effectively treat lumbar muscle strain?

The best treatment for lumbar muscle strain usually involves local heat application or massage. It is crucial to employ the correct massage techniques, such as kneading, pinching, and rolling, which can effectively promote local blood circulation, alleviate muscle tension, and improve the clinical symptoms of the patient's lumbar muscle strain. For severe pain, it may also be necessary to combine this with some medications, such as oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or use topical plasters that activate blood circulation and dissolve stasis. Additionally, it is essential to sleep on a hard bed, wear a waist belt for protection, and avoid fatigue, cold exposure, prolonged sitting or standing, excessive bending, and lifting or carrying heavy objects.

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Written by Li Jie

Orthopedics

56sec

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Is lumbar muscle strain easy to treat?

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 Na Hong Wei

Orthopedics

1min 25sec

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Causes of Lumbar Muscle Strain

Lumbar muscle strain is actually a chronic inflammatory injury of the muscles in the lower back and their attachment points, fascia, or periosteum. It is one of the primary causes of lower back pain. As for its causes, there are generally two: the first being chronic strain; the second is improper treatment of acute lumbar trauma, which then becomes prolonged and turns into chronic lumbar muscle strain. Starting with the first cause, it mainly arises from long periods of bending over during work, putting the lumbar muscles in a constant state of tension, then leading to the compression of small blood vessels and ultimately causing insufficient oxygen supply to the muscles and poor elimination of metabolic substances, which then stimulates local inflammatory injuries. So, this is the main reason. Generally, in the early stages, the muscles are still in a compensatory adjustment phase, but as the condition progresses, they can no longer adjust, resulting in a series of compensatory adjustments, leading to lumbar muscle strain and ultimately causing back pain and restricted lumbar mobility. Thus, the primary causes of lumbar muscle strain are two-fold: the first is long-term chronic overload of the lumbar region, causing inflammation. The second is improper treatment following an acute lumbar sprain or trauma, which eventually leads to chronic lumbar muscle strain. There are essentially these two reasons.

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Written by Li Jin

Orthopedics

51sec

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What department should I go to for lumbar muscle strain?

Patients with lumbar muscle strain can visit the orthopedics department. Lumbar muscle strain is primarily caused by long-term heavy physical activities involving the lower back, poor posture, and chronic strain. Symptoms can include lower back pain and restricted movement, which typically lessen after rest and worsen after physical activity. For treating lumbar muscle strain, it is important to first ensure adequate rest and to develop proper habits for using the lower back, avoiding long-term heavy physical activities. Treatment can also involve the appropriate use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and analgesic medications, combined with heat application, physical therapy, massage, or nerve block techniques. These methods can effectively improve symptoms and promote recovery.

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Written by Wang Cheng Lin

Orthopedics

49sec

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Can acupuncture be used for lumbar muscle strain?

Yes, and the effect of acupuncture is very good for the treatment of lumbar muscle strain. At the same time, it should also be known that the treatment of lumbar muscle strain is not just about acupuncture treatment. The most important thing is that the cause of lumbar muscle strain is due to fatigue, and the main cause of the disease must be removed to cure the disease fundamentally. Therefore, patients with lumbar muscle strain, in addition to acupuncture, must pay attention to rest and avoid fatigue. If after the acupuncture, the pain is relieved, and then you continue to do heavy physical work, the lumbar muscle strain will recur and will become increasingly severe. Therefore, in general, after acupuncture, it is still recommended to avoid fatigue and pay attention to rest.