In last week's video, we discussed how poorly functioning abdominals and anterior stabilizers can lead to lower back pain. Today, let's examine another common cause of lower back pain, the hamstrings. We often consider the hamstrings to be very "tight" muscles, frequently sore, and tender to the touch. This may be true. You may even break out the foam roller to ease some of this tension. However, the question you should be asking, is "how are they functioning?" The answer, will give you the clues needed to properly address the problem.
"If one muscle is functioning poorly, the brain will find something else to do its job" is the running mantra around the OMC blogosphere. The hamstings-to-lower-back connection is a prime example. As you can see in the above image (courtesy of Anatomy Trains), the hamstrings follow the back of the thigh from the knee and attach onto the lower pelvis. Coursing upwards, you can trace their connection to the lower back muscles via the sacro-tuberous ligament. Remember, muscles don't simply act in isoloation, they work together in teams to perform movements and actions. If one member of the team isn't performing as expected, another teammate will step up to the plate to pick up the slack. By appreciating this relationship, it becomes clear that if the hamstrings are a poorly functioning muscle group, the brain may resort to tightening or overworking the lower back muscles. The overuse of these muscles during movement, results in pain. This can be a sharp acute pain from a sudden movement or activity, or the slow-onset, dull, aching pain that developed over time. Either way, poorly functioning hamstrings may very well be the culprit to your lower back pain.
So before your start stretching your hamstrings everyday, make sure your muscle function is evaluated appropriately. Stretching a poorly functioning hamstrings muscle will almost always make the problem worse.