{"id":11358,"date":"2026-02-12T13:21:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T13:21:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/physio-waidfuss.ch\/?p=11358"},"modified":"2026-03-12T06:54:48","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T06:54:48","slug":"lumbago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/physio-waidfuss.ch\/en\/lumbago\/","title":{"rendered":"Lumbago, back spasm or \u201ejust\u201c back pain? Why your back \u201eshuts down\u201c and how we solve it"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lumbago, back spasm or \u201ejust\u201c back pain? Why your back \u201eshuts down\u201c and how we solve it<\/h3>\n
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Lumbago, back spasm or \u201ejust\u201c back pain?<\/h2>\n

Back pain is by far the most common reason why patients find their way to our physiotherapy practice. But when it pulls, stings or restricts movement in the back, there is often a great deal of uncertainty. Is it a serious injury? Has something broken?<\/p>\n

In medical terminology, you will often read terms such as Lumbago<\/b>, Lumbalgia<\/b> or non-specific back pain<\/b>. For you as a patient, it is crucial to understand what is actually happening in your body. Because often the problem is not due to a \u201ebroken component\u201c in your spine, but to the way in which your nervous system regulates tension.<\/p>\n

We shed some light on the terminology and explain the difference between an acute \u201ealarm condition\u201c and chronic problems.<\/p>\n

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The \u201elumbago\u201c (acute lumbago): your brain's protective reflex<\/h3>\n
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The \u201eLumbago<\/a>\u201c (Acute Lumbago<\/a>): The protective reflex of your brain<\/h3>\n

Almost everyone has experienced it: a banal everyday movement - picking up a sock, lifting a box or a clumsy turn during sport - and suddenly a sharp pain shoots through the lower back. The sufferer literally freezes. It is almost impossible to straighten up, you are standing at an angle and every movement becomes agony. In the past, it was often said that a vertebra had \u201edislocated\u201c or that something was \u201eblocked\u201c. Today we know: Anatomically, this is almost never the case. Vertebrae do not simply dislocate.\"Lumbago\"<\/p>\n

What is really happening here?<\/b> Lumbago is usually a Protective reflex of the nervous system<\/b>. Your brain constantly monitors all movements. If it senses insecurity in a certain situation (e.g. when bending down, perhaps in combination with tiredness or stress), it pulls the emergency brake. It sends a command to the deep back muscles: \u201eTighten up immediately to stabilize the spine!\u201c It is therefore a massive one, neuro-muscular protective voltage<\/b>. The muscles spasm reflexively to prevent movement. This enormous pressure on the tissue causes the pain. Your \u201ealarm system\u201c has simply overreacted.<\/p>\n

The strategy for acute lumbago:<\/b> Since no structure needs to be repaired, our aim is to calm the brain's alarm system (\u201edown-regulation\u201c).<\/p>\n