🌸 Facing Lower Back Pain: The Fact That the Hip Joint Holds the Key

Today, I would like to talk a little more deeply about "lower back pain," which many people suffer from.
This is an article I wrote previously 💖 I hope you will read it as well ↓

The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that lower back pain is the "most common musculoskeletal problem in the world," making it a familiar issue that significantly impacts social life.

And, although it may be surprising, it is said that about 90% of lower back pain is "non-specific," meaning the cause cannot be identified.

There are so many cases where there is pain even though X-rays and MRIs show no problems with bones or muscles.

I view this not as "having no cause," but as pain created by how we use our bodies in daily life.

Even after stretching, going to a clinic, or getting a massage, the pain returns.

In the background of this, movement habits that cause strain to concentrate on one part of the body have a deep influence.

From here, I will delve a little deeper into the essence of lower back pain 🌿

🌼 Lower back pain occurs because there is an "imbalance of strain"

Most lower back pain is caused by an imbalance in how the body is used, rather than damage to bones or muscles.

For example...

✅ Habits in posture when putting weight on one side
✅ Arching or rounding the lower back when sitting
✅ Standing with an arched back
✅ Having your head hanging down while walking and looking at your phone
✅ Abdominal muscles not working properly, putting strain on the lower back

These daily movement habits"little by little"accumulate strain only on the lower back. Because it accumulates little by little, many people start to feel lower back pain gradually after reaching a certain age (30s and beyond).

Originally, the body is designed to move with the whole body helping each other. However, if one part moves too much or, conversely, does not move enough, another part will inevitably start working in its place.

That "part forced to work in its place" is the lower back for many people.

In particular, many of the clients who come to me seeking improvement for lower back pain

✨ have the common trait of "not being able to use their hip joints."

The hip joint is originally the joint that should be used the most in the body. If you cannot use this, movement becomes limited to the lower back, and strain accumulates in no time.

And for those who cannot use their hip joints, the gluteal muscles do not work sufficiently, the support from the abdominal muscles becomes weak, and the lower back is left to fight a lone battle.

Normally, the glutes and abdominals should team up to protect the lower back, but if that coordination does not occur, lower back pain will inevitably happen.

🌼 The reason why lower back pain occurs when the hip joints, glutes, and abdominals cannot be used

When you become able to use your hip joints, these changes occur in your body:

✅ Muscles and joints throughout the body work in coordination, so you can move smoothly without relying on your lower back
✅ The gluteal and abdominal muscles, which are the strongest in the body, work to stabilize the trunk
✅ Strain is distributed across the muscles and joints of the entire body, so the burden on the lower back is dramatically reduced

In short, the creation of coordination in the trunk area, centered on the hip joints, is the foundation for improving lower back pain.

However, for those with lower back pain, the glutes and abdominals remain dormant, the hip joints cannot be used, and the lower back is working hard every time they move.

This is not a problem of muscle strength, but is caused by habits in how you use your body.

Rarely, there are cases where lower back pain is caused by muscle weakness, such as weak abdominal muscles, but muscle strength is irrelevant. Even if your abdominal muscles were weak and you trained to make them stronger, you cannot expect to improve lower back pain.

🌼 We trainers are not "perfect" either

I would like to clear up a misunderstanding here.

"Trainers know how to use their bodies inside and out, so they don't get lower back pain."
People tend to think this, but...

Actually, that is not the case.

Of course, I have knowledge and experience, and I am confident in how I handle my body.
Even so, when I get injured, I get injured 😓

I myself have had a slipped disc in the past.

Even if you are conscious of "moving correctly," humans cannot move perfectly due to fatigue, concentration, or unconscious habits. This is the same even for professionals.

As long as we are human, there are always moments when we move incorrectly.

That is precisely why

✨ You cannot reduce the risk of lower back pain to 0%.
✨ But, you can "reduce that risk as much as possible."

This is a very important point.

🌼 Lower back pain is not something to "completely eliminate" but something to "control"

Pain is not necessarily a bad thing.

"Strain is accumulating here"
"You are pushing yourself too hard"

It is a sign that your body is telling you.

Just as immunity is built by catching colds periodically, pain also becomes an opportunity to re-examine your body.

What is important is that when you experience pain

✅ "How can I alleviate this?"
✅ "What has been causing the strain?"
✅ "How can I make it less likely for pain to occur next time?"

It is about whether you can think in these terms.

When you have lower back pain, doing nothing and just enduring it is the worst thing you can do.
Furthermore, I believe it is a great waste to only harbor negative emotions toward the pain.

Since you are already in pain, you might as well take this opportunity to learn about your body.
If you ignore the body's signals, the strain will only continue to pile up.

If you can face your body's condition and adjust how you move,

✅ The frequency of pain will decrease
✅ The severity of pain will lighten
✅ Healing will be faster
✅ It will be less likely to worsen

These changes will happen naturally.

Stretching and muscle training are, of course, important. Care from osteopaths or treatment clinics is also very effective. However, these are only supplementary.

This is because as long as the root cause—the imbalance in how you use your body—does not change, the pain will return no matter how much care you receive.

The order of lower back pain care is important.

① Understand how to use your body correctly
② Correct your movement habits
③ Then, perform stretching, muscle training, and treatment

If you follow this order, the effects of your care will last for a surprisingly long time.

🌼 Facing lower back pain means cherishing your own body

Lower back pain is a message from your body. And by listening to that message, you will be able to understand your body more deeply.

If you change how you treat your body, your body will definitely respond.

You can change lower back pain from something "scary" into something you can "face" and "control."
From the moment you begin to understand your own body, your lower back pain will definitely start to change.

🌼 How can you learn to use your hip joints correctly?

Thank you for reading this far. As I have already conveyed, the hip joint plays an incredibly important role in improving lower back pain.

So, "How can I actually learn to use my hip joints?"

Regarding the specific methods for this, it is a very important part that I want to explain carefully and thoroughly, so I would like to explain it in detail in another article.

When you learn to use your hip joints correctly, your buttocks and abdomen will naturally work in tandem, gently supporting the strain on your lower back. Your daily movements themselves will change, and the way you experience lower back pain will also change significantly.

In particular, a basic movement that anyone wanting to improve lower back pain must master is the "squat exercise centered on the hip joints."

If you are interested, I would like you to first take a look at this article to learn how to be mindful of proper squats and how to apply them to your daily movements.

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YUKI's Recommended Articles 💖

By reading these articles, I believe you will deepen your understanding of how to use your hip joints to reduce lower back strain, and how to coordinate the muscles of your entire body, centered on your buttocks and abdomen.

Furthermore, the articles on how to think about pain and how to deal with it also contain content that will be very helpful in facing lower back pain, so I believe reading these as well will deepen your understanding.
※ This is based on my own personal experience.

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