How Muscle IQ Can Help You Prevent Low Back Pain Recurrence

Topic: Preventing Low Back Pain Recurrence

1. Strengthen Weak Muscles

2. Find all muscle weakness you didn't know you had

3. Eliminate all signs of weakness

Here are the studies that support the need to focus on strengthening:

Strong Association Between Paraspinal Muscle Strength and Incidene of Low Back Pain

https://synapse.koreamed.org/articles/1149780…

"The most interesting finding in this study was a strong association between paraspinal muscle strength and LBP incidence. LBP incidence is associated with isometric and isokinetic trunk extensor weakness, whereas LBP severity is associated with age, sex, isokinetic trunk extensor and flexor weakness, isometric trunk extensor and flexor weakness."

Deep Back Muscles Contract More Slowly in People With Recurrent Low Back Pain

https://journals.lww.com/pain/fulltext/2009/04000/why_do_some_patients_keep_hurting_their_back_.6.aspx…

Intramuscular and surface electrodes recorded the electromyographic activity (EMG) of the short and long fibres of the lumbar multifidus and the shoulder muscle, deltoid, during a postural perturbation associated with a rapid arm movement. In association with a postural perturbation, short fibre EMG onset occurred later in participants with recurrent unilateral LBP than in healthy participants. Activity of deep back muscles is different in people with a recurrent unilateral LBP, despite the resolution of symptoms.

Multifidus Lift Test (MLT) Can Identify Lumbar Multifidus Dysfunction in Low Back Pain Patients

https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1529943013015040…

"Currently, there are no reliable and valid physical examination procedures available to assess lumbar multifidus function among patients with low back pain. Purpose To examine the inter-rater reliability and concurrent validity of the multifidus lift test (MLT) to identify lumbar multifidus dysfunction among patients with low back pain. Our results provide preliminary evidence supporting the reliability and validity of the MLT to assess lumbar multifidus function at the L4–L5 spinal level. Additional research examining the measurement properties and utility of this test should be undertaken before confident implementation with patients."