Beyond Weak Carrolltown Back Muscles: How Exercise Reverses Unseen Spine Muscle Damage
If you are suffering with chronic back pain from spinal disc issues, many people do not realize their pain involves more than just disc problems. Your back muscles, particularly the erector spinae running along your spine, can weaken over time as fat gradually replaces healthy muscle tissue. This process diminishes your spine's natural support system and adds to ongoing Carrolltown back pain.
THE HIDDEN PROBLEM: FATTY MUSCLE INFILTRATION
When you have intervertebral disc disease, your paraspinal muscles undergo changes that go beyond basic weakness—they really change at a cellular level. Research demonstrates that "fatty infiltration of the erector spinae at the upper lumbar spine could be a landmark for low back pain" (1). This creates a vicious cycle: disc problems lead to muscle alterations, which decrease spinal support, potentially degrading disc health over time.
Disc degeneration and muscle fat infiltration don't just coexist—they actively influence one another. As pointed out by Jiang et al. (2), there exists a critical interaction between lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration and fat infiltration of paraspinal muscles, where these conditions affect each other in ways that can continue back pain and dysfunction.
EXERCISE: YOUR PATH TO MUSCLE RECOVERY
The positive takeaway? With the right exercise program, you can reverse these changes. A recent randomized controlled trial reported that combined motor control training and isolated extensor strengthening supplied superior outcomes compared to general exercise approaches for bettering "lumbar paraspinal muscle health" in chronic low back pain patients (3).
This approach emphasizes retraining how your deep stabilizing muscles coordinate while rebuilding the weakened erector spinae. Unlike general exercise programs, these targeted interventions reverse fatty infiltration and restore healthy muscle tissue.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOUR RECOVERY
Working with your Carrolltown chiropractor at Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation to create an exercise program that includes both motor control training and specific strengthening exercises can help reverse the muscle changes associated with your disc problems. As Rosenstein et al. (2025) demonstrated, this comprehensive approach takes on both the mechanical and neuromuscular aspects of your condition, offering hope for long-term improvement rather than just temporary pain relief.
Remember, recovery isn't instant, but studies confirm that targeted exercise rebuilds stronger back muscles and provides lasting pain relief.
CONTACT Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. John Murray on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes the effectiveness of the gentle protocols of The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management combined with exercise.
