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Are Endometriosis Sufferers More Prone to Back Problems?

I have an interesting theory about back pain and muscle pain with endometriosis. I am not a massage therapist or anything like that, but there seems to be a certain logic to this that I thought I would share.

So, as endometriosis sufferers, we have a tendency to hold our stomachs back a little. I do anyways. I think it is like a protective thing. It is an area that we feel is sensitive, so we hold it back a little and don’t stick it out too far, in case it gets hit by something. I personally know that my posture reflects this. I think it is this posture which then creates other imbalances and pains in our back. I know my posture has never been great and I tend to hold my head quite a bit forward. This causes me pain in my shoulders and down my back.

I have also noticed that I used to hold or cramp my stomach muscles quite a bit. I believe this weakens the lower back muscles and this means when we then have to do any heavy lifting, they just don’t cope with it.

So, what can we do to improve our posture and our weakened lower back?

I have personally found, focusing on my posture and recognizing that the spine needs to essentially be aligned and hold us up helps. We shouldn’t need to use muscles to hold ourselves up or sit up right. When we use muscles, we tire and they get tense and sore.

I also noticed that by building the lower back muscles, through specific back muscle exercises, it has helped me to reduce holding myself up with my stomach muscles. The interesting thing with this is that since I am not using my stomach muscles to hold myself up anymore, I have less pain in the lower abdominal area, from tensing those muscles all day. This has helped me with endometriosis pain too.

The best method I have found for building my muscle strength in my lower back and my stomach has been with yoga. It is impressive to see and feel the difference in my stomach. It is flatter but also more shapely than it ever was before.

It would be interesting to see what sort of back pain we share. Do you have lower back pain? Do you pull your back out easily? Do you notice a correlation with your posture and pain? Do you get sore shoulder pain?

Hugs, Melissa x
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This Post Has 4 Comments

  1. Kelly

    My back has been aching for years! I’ve spent years trying to strengthen my back with no relief from the pain.I used to think it was due to posture or just having a weak back, but I have a new theory. Holding your stomach in is a good thing. It strengthens the muscles and helps you to stand up strait. After having miscarriages, with the last one resulting in a D and C (procedure to remove the fetus and tissue), I have had much worse back pain. I now believe this is due to my uterus and not my posture. When I treat my back the same way I treat my abdomen, it feels better. Heat packs work really well and I have this balm with marijuana in it that also helps me relax and temporarily relieves the pain. (It does not make you high, but it will make you smell like weed!) I am by no means a stoner, but I have recently read a lot about the medicinal properties of ingesting marijuana for pain control and it would be worth looking into (have not actually tried this because I signed a contract with my employer that I am drug free, plus it’s expensive, etc. etc).

  2. Jo Joiner

    Hi, i’ve suffered with my back pain for years it was one of my first symptoms and has always caused me distress. I never thought that holding my stomach in which i have done since a teenager would have such an effect, i always thought i was helping my posture. Thank you for the info i’m certainly going to start looking at things differently from now on.

  3. Andrea

    I notice that the more my cyst hurts, the more my lower back hurts. The pain often radiates to the back (especially when it bursts!). It may be different for everyone, but sometimes my back pain is an indicator of my cysts/endo just as much as my stomach pain.

  4. Amber

    I suffer from back pain for the opposite reason than you; because of bloating I tend to let my stomach “hang out” instead of sucking it in, which strains my back. I also hunch forward at the computer all day, so my neck and shoulders get sore. I’m always reminding myself to sit up straight! Lastly, I’ve had sciatica since my teenage years, so I get the lower back and leg pain. Wow, now that I type it all out it all sounds terrible, haha! I’m going to try not to focus on that anymore. Think healing!!

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I'm Melissa

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