It is quite difficult addressing the causes of waist pain since waist is the part of the abdomen located between hips and bottom of the rib cage. Due to its location , many of the waist pain causes are linked to the lower back problems, poor posture and lack of exercise.

Of course, there are other causes of problems in this area, and we will be going over some of the most common ones in the following text. So, if you want to learn more, keep reading.

Most Common Causes Of Waist Pain

Lower Back Pain


Lower back pain is the leading cause of problems in the waist area. It is so common, in fact, researchers estimate that there are 31 million US adults experiencing it at any given time! I don`t know about you, but to me this figure is quite alarming, and the first step in fighting it is educating people about it.

Single most common cause of lower back pain is an injury, or a blow to the back. There are a lot of different types of injuries, so we will not be going into details, but you should remember that the duration and the intensity of the pain will depend on the severity of the injury. But, rather than estimating and diagnosing it yourself, you should pay a visit to your doctor and he will be able to tell you more.

Another common cause is disc herniation. Disc herniation is a condition where the intervertebral disc (tissue located between vertebrae) becomes damaged and slips out of its place and, as a result, starts pressing on the surrounding nerves causing pain. It can also cause numbness, tingling and temporal paralysis.

And even though this injury may seem scary and severe, it will usually heal on its own after just a couple months. But, of course, there are cases where it may take up to 5 or 6 months for it to fully heal.

Other common causes of lower back pain are:

  • Narrowing of the spinal canal – spinal stenosis
  • Deformities of the spine
  • Fractures
  • Bone spurs or
  • Arthritis

If you are looking to try some exercises for pain relief, we recommend you read our article about Lower and Upper Back Exercises Here

Pain Around Belly Button

Since belly button is located in the center of this region called the waist, it is only logical to mention it as well. Before we proceed, we want you to know that pain around belly button might be a sign of something serious going on, so visiting your doctor is never a bad idea.

This pain is commonly caused by:

  • Appendicitis – inflammation of the appendix
  • Hernia
  • Ulcers
  • Gallbladder problems or
  • Something as simple as stomach flu

Depending on the actual cause of belly button pain, treatment will vary.

Poor Posture

We have an article titled “Good Posture Can Change Your Life” and we advise you to go through it. We`ve explained there the importance of proper posture and the impact it will have on you and your body.

Unfortunately, we live in an age where sitting behind your desk for 8, 10 or even 12 hours per day is completely normal. And most of the time, we are sitting in a rather poor posture. We tend to slouch or hunch over the desk, which takes a tremendous toll on our back.

Our muscles start to overcompensate, cramp and start to hurt, which may lead to a feeling of chronic waist pain, or at least in the waist area.

If you are on the lookout for the proper sitting posture, the image below will help you out:

Proper-sitting-posture
This is how you should sit

Muscle Spasms

Muscle spasms are a direct result of poor sitting posture, but can also have many different causes. Basically, muscle spasm is an involuntary contraction of the muscle fibers. They are most common in the back but can affect different types of muscles around the body.

They can be very painful and last anywhere from a couple seconds to a couple minutes. More severe spasms may damage muscle fibers and cause pain for even longer periods of time. The pain is most commonly felt in the lower back, and often described as waist pain by patients.

So what can you do about them? Well, not much really. You should focus your attention to prevention – mind your posture, use correct lifting technique (lift with your legs keeping your back straight, don`t bend over), and keep your body well hydrated since muscle cramps may be linked to dehydration.

Problems With The Nerves

The most common nerve related waist pain cause is sciatica. Sciatica usually manifests itself as pain and tingling in the lower extremity, but the roots of this nerve originate in the lower spine. And if these nerve roots become damaged (compressed) along their path, they can cause pain in the back waist area.

Waist Pain In Pregnancy

A lot of pregnant woman experience abdominal or lower back pain during pregnancy. The pain is commonly felt at the back of the spine, at waist level. Sometimes this pain might radiate to buttocks and spine, so it can be confused with sciatica. In reality, sciatica during pregnancy is extremely rare, and occur in only about 1% of pregnant woman (Source: BabyCenter).

So, what can you do about it? Quite a lot actually! You should engage in activities which will strengthen your lower back while, at the same time, stretching your muscles and making them more flexible. These activities include:

  • Swimming
  • Walking or
  • Pelvic tilts

If you are not familiar with the pelvic twist exercise, you can look at the video demonstration below:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moa4h-rjuNE

Waist Reduction

This is pretty self explanatory, but we had to mention it. Weight reduction is an act of wearing a corset in order to reduce your waist line. It can cause all sorts of changes, compress your floating ribs and internal organs and cause waist pain.

Waist Pain Treatment

Again, the treatment will vary depending on the cause of your waist pain, but we will leave you with some general tips you can try straight away.

  1. Rest – basic, most general, yet in most cases, the most beneficial advice we can give you. Especially if you`ve been under any sort of strain, were lifting heavy object or suffered a blow in the waist area
  2. Medication – we don`t usually recommend medication, it is best to leave it up to your doctor, but if the cause of your waist pain are muscle spasms, for instance, general rule of thumb is taking muscle relaxants
  3. Massage – massage can be incredibly efficient, especially if the muscles of your lower back are tense and tight. It would be best to get a professional massage, but if you want to try it yourself you should lay down on your belly and use circular motions on the muscles along the spine and on either side of your back
  4. Pelvic Tilt – even if you are not pregnant, pelvic tilt can do wonders for your back. You should definitely give it a try.
  5. Acupuncture – even though there have been extensive studies conducted on acupuncture, researches are just beginning to understand this ancient Chinese healing technique. Its effects are proven with some painful conditions of the back and neck though, some patients report no effect. In any case, we advise you to try it

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