Beyond Weak Fort Wayne Back Muscles: How Exercise Reverses Unseen Spine Muscle Damage
If you're dealing with chronic back pain from spinal disc problems, the source of your pain may not be what you think—it's rarely just the discs. Your back muscles, particularly the erector spinae running along your spine, can weaken over time as fat gradually replaces healthy muscle tissue. This process weakens your spine's natural support system and adds to ongoing Fort Wayne back pain.
THE HIDDEN PROBLEM: FATTY MUSCLE INFILTRATION
When you have intervertebral disc disease, your paraspinal muscles experience more complex changes than simple weakening—they actually 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 changes, which reduce spinal support, potentially worsening disc health over time.
It's not just one causing the other: disc problems and muscle deterioration create a vicious cycle. As noted by Jiang et al. (2), there happens to be a critical interaction between lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration and fat infiltration of paraspinal muscles, where these conditions affect each other in ways that can perpetuate back pain and dysfunction.
EXERCISE: YOUR PATH TO MUSCLE RECOVERY
The good news? With the right exercise program, you can reverse these changes. A recent randomized controlled trial found that combined motor control training and isolated extensor strengthening supplied superior outcomes compared to general exercise tactics for improving "lumbar paraspinal muscle health" in chronic low back pain patients (3).
This approach emphasizes retraining how your deep stabilizing muscles function together while specifically strengthening the erector spinae muscles that have been compromised. Unlike general exercise programs, these targeted interventions tackle the underlying muscle deterioration by restoring healthy tissue and reducing fat infiltration.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOUR RECOVERY
Working with your Fort Wayne chiropractor at Cox Chiropractic Medicine Inc to create an exercise program that incorporates both motor control training and specific strengthening exercises can reverse the muscle damage caused by disc problems. As Rosenstein et al. (2025) explained, this comprehensive approach addresses both the mechanical and neuromuscular aspects of your condition, giving you actual recovery, not just a Band-Aid solution.
Remember, it takes time, but the right exercises genuinely rebuild your back muscles and keep pain away.
CONTACT Cox Chiropractic Medicine Inc
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. John Murray on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he details the effectiveness of the gentle protocols of The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management alongside exercise.
