How Repetitive Stress Contributes to Back Pain

Repetitive stress or strain consists of habitual movements that cause stress or strain to an area of the body. This is one of the biggest reasons why people suffer from upper, middle and lower back pain. In addition, repetitive stress movements contribute to upper extremity and lower extremity problems such as the neck, shoulders, hips and knees. Most of our daily activities can be categorized as repetitive stress or strain. Examples of repetitive stress can range from activities that we do at work and home to exercises such as: typing, carrying infants, lifting items, washing dishes, swimming, throwing a ball and running. All of these mentioned activities have a common thread of repeating motions over and over again. When you repeat movements or motions over an extended time, the muscle groups involved in the activity will shorten and others lengthen based upon their use. When those muscles shorten, they change how your joints work and that can lead to pain and discomfort. Repeating a motion or movement is not always a negative thing. If you know that you are going to be repeating a motion during an exercise like swimming, make sure you stretch out the appropriate muscles that are the primary movers after you finish your workout. In situations where you are at work or at home repeating activities, learn what muscles are the ones being used the most and start stretching them out after you are done performing the activity. Also, if your job requires you to repeat a movement for hours, such as typing, lifting, etc., learn which muscles are opposite to the ones you use daily so that you can strengthen those to create a balanced state between your muscles. Shortening of muscles from repetitive movements may not create pain at initial onset, but with time you will begin to experience pain and not know where it is coming from. That is why it is important to know what muscles are involved in the activities you do most, how to stretch them and how to strengthen the opposite muscle groups. Become educated in the activities you do most and you will be able to perform them well for long periods of time without creating unnecessary pain.