Air Conditioning and Summer Lower Back Pain

Why does my lower back feel cold and painful even in summer? Tips to prevent "hidden air conditioning back pain" at the office and at home

Hello!
This is Moss from Keishin Chiropractic, operating in Sendai!

"Even though it's sweltering outside, when I go indoors, the air conditioning makes my lower back feel chilly."
"During desk work, my lower back starts to feel heavy and dull by the evening, making it hard to stand up."
Air conditioning is essential for surviving the harsh summer heat. However, as the intense heat peaks between July and August, we see a sharp increase in consultations from people saying, "My back pain has gotten worse, even though it's summer."
We all know that "being cold is bad for the body," but why does cold air from air conditioning directly lead to lower back pain? In this article, I will explain the scientific mechanism behind "hidden air conditioning back pain" and how to deal with it in an easy-to-understand way.

1. Air conditioning wind hitting your lower back directly
"The 3 Mechanisms"
Why does comfortable indoor air conditioning cause such serious damage to your lower back? The following changes are occurring within your body.

① Cold air settling and "poor lower body circulation"
As a characteristic of air, warm air rises, while cold air tends to settle at the bottom (near your feet).
When you spend time sitting in an office or room, even if your upper body feels comfortable, your lower back and below are constantly exposed to a layer of cold air. The blood vessels in your chilled feet and pelvic area constrict, causing blood flow to drop significantly.

② Muscle hardening and the stagnation of "pain substances (bradykinin)"
When muscles are chilled, they tense up and harden to prevent body heat from escaping.
When blood flow worsens and muscles harden, oxygen and nutrients can no longer reach them, causing the muscles to become "oxygen-deprived." As a result, the body produces pain-inducing substances (chemicals that trigger pain) such as bradykinin. Because of poor circulation, these pain substances, which should normally be carried away by the blood, remain in the lower back muscles, leading to a persistent, dull, heavy pain.

③ Freezing of the deep muscle, the "iliopsoas"
Deep in your abdomen, connecting your lumbar spine to your hip joints, is an important muscle for maintaining posture called the "iliopsoas."
If you sit for long periods in an air-conditioned room, this iliopsoas muscle gets cold and stiff. When you try to stand up with a stiff iliopsoas, the muscle, which can no longer stretch, pulls on your pelvis and lumbar spine, causing intense pain when you stand.

2. A perspective from Keishin Chiropractic
"Sitting posture x cold" locks pelvic movement
"Why is it that some people get back pain in the same air-conditioned room while others are fine?"
From the perspective of Keishin Chiropractic, the difference lies in "pelvic elasticity" and "sitting posture distortion."
People who usually sit hunched over or with their pelvis tilted backward tend to have poor blood flow around their lower back to begin with. When the damage from the "cold" of air conditioning is added to this, the muscles and joints that have reached their limit become locked, and the pain surfaces.
In other words, the cold air from the air conditioner acts as a trigger that rapidly worsens "pre-existing lower back and pelvic distortion."

3. You can start today! "Hidden air conditioning back pain"
Defense strategies
In summer, we can't just turn off the air conditioning. Here are some practical points to protect your lower back indoors.

Cold protection & posture care at the office and home
Use a wrap or blanket for your lower back and abdomen
Cold air creeps in from your feet. When using a blanket, the trick is to cover not just your thighs, but also "behind your pelvis (lower back)" thoroughly.
Stand up once every hour
To reset your stiffening iliopsoas, stand up once an hour, walk around the room a little, or stretch.

"Iliopsoas loosening" you can do while sitting
1. Sit on the edge of your chair and straighten your back.
2. Hold one knee with both hands and pull it firmly toward your chest (hold for 5 seconds).
3. Repeat 3 times for each side.
Just by doing this, the hip joints and deep abdominal muscles that tend to shrink from the cold will stretch, significantly reducing the burden on your lower back.

Reset cold and distortion to make your summer comfortable
Lower back pain caused by air conditioning is a modern ailment born from the gap between "indoor temperature" and "body coldness/posture."
By taking measures not to over-cool your body and incorporating frequent stretching, you can comfortably get through your summer desk work and indoor time.
If you are someone who says, "My back always feels heavy in the summer" or "My morning or evening back pain doesn't go away even with heat or stretching," your pelvic or spinal joints may have become stiff due to the cold. At Keishin Chiropractic, we provide fundamental support for building blood flow that can withstand the cold and a supple pelvis without distortion.

Thank you for reading until the end today!
I perform treatments at a rental salon in Sendai City every Thursday.
I also accept requests for mobile chiropractic services for companies and offices.
For reservations and inquiries, please send a
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