When your lower back keeps hurting even though you never injured it

What follows combines several people's visits into one reconstructed account. It is not any one person's story, and anything that could identify someone has been removed.

How do people describe it when they come in?

They've never lifted anything heavy or fallen, yet their lower back aches as if it's being crushed, and rest doesn't make it better.

It's not just the lower back. They also mention headaches, a stiff neck and shoulders, and even an upset stomach. So many places hurt a little that they don't know where to start.

Why do so many places hurt at once?

If the spine curves slightly from side to side, the forces holding up the body lean to one side. As that imbalance builds up, symptoms appear not in one place but in many.

A side-to-side curve of the spine is called scoliosis.

On the outside you look fine and there was no injury, so you feel the pain without knowing the cause. Having no clear trigger is the hallmark of this case.

What do we look at?

Instead of imaging just one area, we look at the whole spine in a single image. Where it's holding up against the curve matters more than where it curves.

We also compare the muscles on the left and right. Often one side of the lower back and the opposite side of the upper back are pulled tight, while the other sides have trouble engaging.

We also ask about what you eat and your digestion. Many are on the thin side with little muscle, and if digestion is sluggish, what you eat doesn't go to building muscle.

How do we treat it?

First, we build a body that can put on muscle. If digestion is sluggish, exercise and correction alone have a hard time taking hold.

On top of that, we work on alignment with Chuna and even out the strength of muscles that differ between left and right.

For exercise, we add breathing exercises tailored to scoliosis. You expand the ribs on the compressed side as you breathe in, so at first you get out of breath quickly. As you keep at it, the center of your body stabilizes and breathing gets easier.

These are called Schroth exercises.

How did people do?

Many first mention that they get less out of breath and breathing feels easier. Next, headaches and neck and shoulder stiffness ease.

We measure and record the degree of the curve, but we don't tell you the numbers. Looking at the images together — "Last time it was like this, and this time it's like this" — makes much more sense to people.

What are the limits of this approach?

We don't say we'll straighten the curve. The goal is to even out the forces that are leaning to one side now, and to keep it from progressing.

Growing children are different. During growth spurts, the curve can increase quickly, so it needs to be monitored together with an orthopedic doctor.

If you have the same symptoms

1. If many places hurt at once with no injury, we take a look at your alignment.
2. Instead of imaging one area, we look at the whole spine in a single image.
3. If digestion is sluggish, what you eat doesn't go to building muscle.
4. We add breathing exercises tailored to scoliosis — at first you'll get out of breath.
5. We don't say we'll straighten it. The goal is to even out the forces.

We start by measuring how far you can walk and how strong your legs are. We show you whether you're improving with numbers, not just feelings.

If you can't walk as far as you used to, come in and get measured. Just knowing how far you can walk right now changes the next decision.

Because there are many possible causes, progress differs from person to person, even with the same care.