Why Stretching Can Sometimes Make Your Back Pain Worse: Understanding Nerve Tension
What is Nerve Tension?
Your nervous system, including your spinal cord and peripheral nerves, is a continuous and mobile structure. Think of it like a long cable that runs from your brain to your toes. It is designed to move and glide through muscles, joints, and other tissues as your body moves. But under certain conditions - such as after an injury, inflammation, or postural stress - nerves can lose some of that mobility.
This loss of mobility is referred to as neural tension or nerve tension. When this happens, the nerve doesn't slide smoothly through surrounding tissues. Instead, it may become sensitive, irritate, or restricted, particularly during movements that stretch or put tension on it.
Signs that Nerve Tension Might Be Contributing to Your Pain
Your nervous system, including your spinal cord and peripheral nerves, is a continuous and mobile structure. Think of it like a long cable that runs from your brain to your toes. It is designed to move and glide through muscles, joints, and other tissues as your body moves. But under certain conditions - such as after an injury, inflammation, or postural stress - nerves can lose some of that mobility.
This loss of mobility is referred to as neural tension or nerve tension. When this happens, the nerve doesn't slide smoothly through surrounding tissues. Instead, it may become sensitive, irritate, or restricted, particularly during movements that stretch or put tension on it.
Why Stretching Can Worsen Your Symptoms
When you stretch muscles, you're usually targeting tissues that respond well to lengthening and tension. But if a nerve is irritated or lacks mobility, traditional stretching - like hamstring or lower back stretches - can pull directly on that irritate nerve. This can heighten sensitivity and increase symptoms, especially if the nerve is already compressed or inflamed at the spine or in surrounding tissue.
Common examples include:
- Hamstring stretches aggravating sciatic nerve symptoms
- Child's pose increasing tension on spinal cod and nerve roots
- Forward folds increasing symptoms in the leg
In these cases, more aggressive stretching can feel like it's "hitting the spot," but if often leads to a rebound of more pain afterward.
So What Should You Do Instead?
Instead of passive stretching, a better approach for nerve tension is nerve flossing or nerve mobilization exercises. These are gentle, controlled movements that help restore the nerve's ability to glide through tissues without being overstretched or irritated. Think of them more as "mobility drills for your nerves" than traditional stretches.
Other helpful strategies include:
- Reducing postures of activities that compress or stretch the nerve
- Improve spine mobility to reduce mechanical strain on nerves
- Address inflammation throughout movement, not rest
Final Thoughts
Not all back pain is caused by tight muscles, and not all stretching is beneficial. If your pain worsens with stretches - especially if it travels down a leg or feels sharp or electric - nerve tension may be playing a role. Working with a rehab professional can help you identify the root cause and guide you toward more effective, nerve-friendly strategies for relief.
At Denver Spine & Performance, we specialize in identifying movement dysfunctions like nerve tension and teach people how to treat them with targeted mobility and strength strategies. If your stretches haven't been helping, or have made things worse, we'd be happy to help you find a better path forward.
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