Bringing Things into Balance: The Relationship Between Low Back Pain and the Pelvic Floor

By: Katie Parrotte, PT, DPT, OCS, CFMT

The Occurrence of Low Back Pain

Low back pain is the most common cause of disability and lost work time among working-age adults in industrialized countries (1). In fact, the worldwide prevalence of chronic low back pain has been estimated to be 11.9% of the population on a given day, and 23.2% of the population in a one-month period (2). That is a significant number of people! Determining effective treatments for low back pain can be challenging for various reasons: 1. there are no clearly defined risk factors that predict the development or outcome of low back pain; 2. most patients do not present with any significant findings physiologically or anatomically; 3. and pain can generate and spread at numerous locations within the nervous system, and can constantly change (1).

Treatment of Low Back Pain

There are many challenges associated with low back…