Can you swim with a strained lumbar muscle?

Written by Li Jie

Orthopedics

Updated on October 24, 2024

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Lumbar muscle strain, as the name implies, is the fatigue damage to the lumbar spine muscles. It is characterized by tension, spasms, and adhesion of the lumbar muscles, sometimes accompanied by disorders of the lumbar facet joints, straightening of the lumbar curvature, and limited lumbar mobility. Swimming is permissible in such cases because the body is in a weightless state while swimming. This condition allows swimming to strengthen the muscles of the lower back and enhance the muscular strength of the lumbar spine, which can help in exercising and alleviating symptoms. Hence, it is said that one with lumbar muscle strain can swim.

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Written by Na Hong Wei

Orthopedics

1min 6sec

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Symptoms of lumbar muscle strain and fasciitis

First, it is a type of chronic pain without obvious causes, mainly characterized by soreness and swelling. The pain usually alleviates after rest but reappears if staying in one position for too long. Therefore, patients with myofascial inflammation caused by lumbar strain often feel restless. Second, there is usually a trigger point, typically located near or within a muscle, or at the junction between muscle and nerve. Pressing on the trigger point often results in radiating pain around it. Furthermore, the pain usually does not worsen but instead lessens over time, which is a key characteristic of myofascial inflammation. Third, the sacrospinalis muscle may become hardened or even spasm on one or both sides. Fourth, there is compensatory abnormal curvature of the spine, mainly presenting as protrusion or lateral curvature of the spine. Thus, the symptoms of myofascial inflammation from lumbar muscle strain usually include pain, specific pain points, surrounding muscle hardening, spasm, and compensatory spinal deformity.

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Written by Li Jie

Orthopedics

56sec

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Is lumbar muscle strain easy to treat?

Lumbar muscle strain, as the name suggests, is a fatigue-related injury to the muscles of the lower back. It is primarily caused by excessive fatigue, a continuous state of tension in the lumbar muscles, leading to tension, spasms, and adhesions in the lumbar spine muscles. Sometimes, it may also involve minor joint disorders in the lumbar spine. Generally, the cause of lumbar muscle strain is quite clear. The first thing we recommend is that patients must rest in bed for a period, and this is to be combined with various conservative treatment measures such as acupuncture, massage, physiotherapy, electrical heating, or the external application of medicinal patches or moxibustion. With these treatments combined with rest, we generally achieve quite good therapeutic results. Therefore, lumbar muscle strain is relatively easy to treat and has good treatment outcomes.

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Written by Cheng Bin

Orthopedics

46sec

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How to effectively treat lumbar muscle strain?

The best treatment for lumbar muscle strain usually involves local heat application or massage. It is crucial to employ the correct massage techniques, such as kneading, pinching, and rolling, which can effectively promote local blood circulation, alleviate muscle tension, and improve the clinical symptoms of the patient's lumbar muscle strain. For severe pain, it may also be necessary to combine this with some medications, such as oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or use topical plasters that activate blood circulation and dissolve stasis. Additionally, it is essential to sleep on a hard bed, wear a waist belt for protection, and avoid fatigue, cold exposure, prolonged sitting or standing, excessive bending, and lifting or carrying heavy objects.

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Written by Na Hong Wei

Orthopedics

1min 19sec

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How to assist in the examination of lumbar muscle strain?

How should lumbar muscle strain be assessed through auxiliary examinations? What auxiliary examinations are needed for lumbar muscle strain? Clinically, lumbar muscle strain is quite common; out of every ten people, at least two or three have it. The characteristic of these patients is that their symptoms are severe but their physical signs are mild. Therefore, when encountering such patients, a screening process is generally required, which involves a method of exclusion. After examination, an X-ray is usually taken first to check for obvious lumbar spondylolisthesis, the severity of bone hyperplasia, and any traumas, whether fresh or old, that might have caused vertebral fractures. Then, some people might need a CT scan, which aims to exclude lumbar disc herniation. Many patients do not have herniated discs, or only have slight bulging, but their symptoms are severe, making them restless. Generally, there is no need for an MRI, but some patients strongly request an MRI examination. After the MRI, sometimes high-density shadows can be seen in the muscles of the lower back, which might be caused by injuries within these muscles. Therefore, the auxiliary examinations for lumbar muscle strain are usually negative, with few positive findings, which is a characteristic of this condition.

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Written by Zhang Ying Peng

Orthopedics

33sec

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How to exercise with lumbar muscle strain?

The best exercise method for lumbar muscle strain is to perform functional exercises on the bed, such as the "Little Swallow" exercise. Lie prone on the bed, lifting limbs and head off the bed, supporting your body with only the abdomen, hold for two seconds each time, and perform this exercise more than 20 times a day. The second method is the "Five-Point Support," where you lie on your back on the bed, use your head and limbs to prop up your body, and then leave your waist suspended in the air, holding each position for two seconds, also repeating this 20 times daily.