Back Pain That Comes Out of Nowhere? Here’s What’s Really Going On

“I bent over to pick up a pen and my back went out!” was a lament I heard many times from clients during my years as a personal trainer.

Here’s the thing: sudden back pain has most likely been simmering under the surface for months – maybe years – before it makes itself known. Like any “overnight success,” it’s almost never sudden.

You just never paid attention until now.

While weak back and core muscles seem like the obvious culprits behind your pain, it might instead stem from other, surprising causes.

It makes more sense when you consider that our bodies are composed of a kinetic chain – meaning all body segments are interconnected. Bones, joints, muscles, and nerves are linked together. One joint’s movements influences another, like pulling on a single thread in a piece of fabric.

Any disruption in one part creates a ripple effect through the rest.

Your spine isn’t acting on its own. It has accomplices.

When you acknowledge this, you’ll see how pain from picking up a pencil was actually backstage waiting for its spotlight.

It Starts at Your Feet

Back pain often starts from the ground up. Your spine compensates for foot instability all day long. Keeping in the kinetic chain concept in mind, it’s easy to see how, if your shoes lack support and cause your foot to pronate (roll inward) or supinate (roll outward), you’re more likely to feel it in your back.

The culprit: Wearing old shoes with compressed soles – or minimalistic shoes your body hasn’t adapted to can put your spine at risk with every step. Replace them every 300 to 500 miles or when they show signs of wear or unevenness.

Old Injuries

Injuries from spraining your ankle while playing sports or stepping off a curb in your 30s may be haunting you in your 60s. It may have unknowingly changed your gait to compensate. That compensation pattern could carry over into your 60s and cause back pain.

An appointment with a physical therapist may help correct imbalances with targeted exercises.

Weak Glutes

Long hours spent sitting can result in a syndrome known as (I am not kidding) dead butt syndrome – also known as gluteal amnesia. Too much time sitting can cause your glute muscles to stop firing on time, so hamstrings and your lower back pick up the slack. This common runner’s injury often causes pain during walking or standing.

Try this simple test to see if it may be behind your discomfort.

Overdoing Core Bracing

Bracing your core through exercises like planks helps protect your back. That’s a good thing. But like any healthy habit taken too far, it can backfire. Constantly pulling in your belly button and tightening your core muscles can be like over-tightening a screw – eventually it wears out.

Maintaining low-grade tension throughout the day can reduce the natural movement of your spine. It becomes fatigued, not stronger. Give it a rest, just as you would any other muscle group.

Poor Posture

Modern technology – sitting in front of computers and looking down at phones – has created a population of people with C-shaped spines. It’s worse if you wear progressive lenses that require you to constantly change your head position to see the screen.

Over time, this can cause back pain (and shoulder pain as well, which is a topic for another time). The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) suggests placing your monitor directly in front of you, at least 20 inches away, with the top of the screen at or slightly below eye level and perpendicular to a window.

This changes your sitting posture and can ease back pain.

Your pain may be relieved with a simple walking shoe upgrade, an adjustment of your computer height, or easing up on core bracing.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

What can you share about the state of your back? Do you think the pain culprit is elsewhere in your body? What solution have you discovered?