Understanding the connection between lower back problems and your legs

Ida Rolf, the founder of Rolf Structural Integration (Rolfing), suggested that over 80% of cases of back pain originate in the legs. Having been a Rolf practitioner for over 15 years, I have come wholeheartedly agree with her.

As upright humans, we rely on just two legs rather than the four of our cousin quadrupeds. Our legs represent our base. The structure of the bones and joints allow the legs to flex, extend, rotate, spiral, hinge. The joints allow for an amazing range of movement. The legs move from the pelvis down into the ground. At the end of the legs, we find remarkably designed feet

In my experience, many incidents of unexplained back pain (pain that is not associated with specific injury or degeneration) stem from tension around one or more joints below the spine. It is worth noting that tension in the legs transforms readily to tension in the torso, the arms, neck and head. But for now we will pay attention to the back and, in particular, the lower back.

When we don't have stable base (legs and feet) the body will find a way to compensate. Compensation often comes in the recruitment (often unconsciously) of specific muscles which help a person 'feel' more stable. These muscles tend to include the quads at the front of the thigh, the gastrocnemus on the back of the calf, the hip rotators hidden deep below the gluteus maximus, the rectus abdominis and the oblique muscles. To counter some of the tension in these muscles, quadratus lumborum, rhomboids, trapezius and latissimus dorsi muscles add resistance in an attempt to correct the structure.

It is a misconception that the quad muscles help to create stability almost solely. When I ask clients if they feel their legs are strong, if they feel the answer is yes, I ask them where it is they feel strong. Almost 100% of people will say that they feel strong in the quads. I would suggest that the mere fact that one feels strong in a particular place means that there is imbalance.

Continuing on the train of the quads, these muscles balance with all the other thigh muscles, the belly muscles, glutei, calf muscles, etc. Their job is to balance, not to become 'strong' as a single entity. An overtrained or 'stronger than others' muscle means that there will be strain at the joints either side of this muscle. As it is with the legs. I am using the quads only as an example because I see it so often. The strain created by the imbalanced musculature at the front of the leg will create a pull on the knee and a counter pull at the pelvis. Both pulls end up as a lower spine struggling to maintain its structural uprightness.

Over the years many people have pointed to sitting as a negative position for the body. This simply is not true. Well, not exactly. The problem we have with sitting for lengthy periods of time is twofold. The lack of movement (the body was entirely born and designed to move) and the position in which we sit. Both of these produce a severe lack of consciousness of the body which adds to the potential for ailments to arise. In general, when we sit these days, we are pulled into positions by short muscles. For example, when a person slumps onto the back of their sit bones, the distance between one end of the hamstrings and the other shortens immensely. This shortness creates a dilemma for the leg as it is no longer connected correctly to the pelvis. So the muscle on the upper side of the thigh bone have to do unnecessary work to keep the body in this position. The result is that we have two muscles fighting each other rather than working together in a deeply balanced fashion.

All of this plays havoc on the joints. The muscles around the knee joint tighten, the feet no longer feel they have contact with the floor and the ankle tightens. The pull around the knee and ankle is added to by the ball of the femur (thigh bone) being pulled away from the pelvis. At this point, the hip flexors have to kick in to stop the pelvis fall backward.

I am merely painting rather a complicated picture all of which leads to an overload of tension at the spine. And the overload is there because the spine has no structure below it to help support it.

The spine is an incredibly mobile structure. With all this mobility, it relies on the limbs to be balanced, just as it relies on the head to be balanced. Any section of the leg from the toes to the hip that is not balanced sufficiently has the potential to place pressure on the spine. When a joint in the leg loses its mobility or becomes encumbered by imbalanced musculature, the effect is very often felt in the spine. The spine relies on the knees remaining free. The feet expand, lengthen, widen and space is felt in the many joints. The ankle requires movement so that the foot, knee and hip can act according to their design. And the leg needs to have energy running through it, from the centre of the body down into the ground.

When all of these elements are in order, the spine is free to perform its own movement and the muscles of the spine become strong and flexible. Understanding the connection between lower back problems and your legs opens up a world of opportunity to reduce pain and create more order in the body.