Get help with
Lower Back Pain Relief
When your back hurts from sitting, lifting, or just being alive.
Lower back pain is the second most common thing I see. The first thing most people don't realize: your back hurts because your hips lied to you. Tight hip flexors pull your pelvis forward and your low back arches to compensate. That's the pinch you feel when you stand up after sitting for hours. Here's what's actually going on and what to do about it.
Why it happens
- ·Tight hip flexors (psoas, iliacus) from sitting — they pull on your lumbar spine like a guy-wire.
- ·Weak glutes that have forgotten how to fire, so your low back muscles try to do the work instead.
- ·Locked-up QL (quadratus lumborum) from one-sided activities — mowing, carrying a kid on one hip, driving.
- ·Old injury patterns the body learned to compensate around, and never unlearned.
- ·Stress, again — the diaphragm and psoas are connected; when you're anxious, your low back holds it.
What helps
Slow, focused work on the QL, glute med/min, and psoas attachments. The places no foam roller actually reaches.
Specific knots in the glutes that refer pain into the low back and down the leg — common with sciatica-pattern complaints.
Releases stuck fascia in the thoracolumbar fascia (the big sheet of connective tissue across your low back). Great paired with deep tissue.
Try first at home
- ·Hip flexor stretch: kneeling lunge, 60 seconds per side, 2x/day. Not optional.
- ·Glute bridges, 15 reps, 2x/day. Wakes up the muscles that should be doing the work.
- ·If you sit for work: get up every 30 minutes. Walk for 2 minutes. Yes, every 30. Yes, every time.
- ·Heat before bed, ice if there's acute swelling or it's a fresh injury.
When to book a session
- ·Pain that limits your sleep or sex life.
- ·Pain that's getting worse over weeks, not better.
- ·Pain that radiates down one or both legs.
- ·Stiff mornings that take 30+ minutes to loosen up.
- ·Recurring back tweaks every time you bend, lift, or twist.
Straight talk: when this isn't my work
Sharp shooting pain into the leg, numbness, weakness, or any loss of bladder/bowel control is a medical issue — not a massage issue. Go to your doctor or urgent care. Soft tissue work supports recovery from disc and nerve issues, but it's not the first stop.
Common questions
Is massage safe if I have a herniated disc?
Often yes, but it depends on the stage and severity. I work with your doctor's clearance and adjust accordingly — soft tissue around the area, not deep work directly on a fresh herniation. Tell me what your imaging showed.
Why does my back hurt more after mowing or yard work?
Repetitive twist + push patterns lock up the QL and obliques on one side. The compensation creates a pull on the lumbar spine. Specific work on the QL and obliques same week as the activity prevents it from becoming chronic.
How often should I get worked on for chronic lower back pain?
If it's been bothering you for months, plan on weekly for 3–4 weeks to break the pattern, then taper to once or twice a month for maintenance. Less than once a month usually isn't enough to outpace daily wear.