More commonly, low back pain results from repetitive or sustained activities of the spine that leads to the buildup of stresses. These stresses cause micro trauma to the muscles, ligaments, discs, or joints of the low back. For example, the motion that leads to a disc injury, more commonly known as a “slipped disc,” is a combination of bending forward with a rotation, like bending to tie your shoe or doing rotational crunches.

While it is unlikely that bending with twisting motions a few times will cause injury to a healthy spine, in contrast, this movement done repeatedly on an unhealthy spine can cause injury or strain. This is generally the case when a person says “I just bent down to pick up a piece of paper and I hurt my back.”  

Common symptoms: pain in the low back, pain in the leg or bottom areas, stiffness in the low back, leg weakness, sensation changes (this can be a sign for urgent medical care), ache, decreased range of motion, difficulty walking, standing, or sitting.