Traditional Thai Massage, being a very complete full body massage and treatment modality, and moreover, specialized in muscle and tissue stretches can help significantly in alleviating or curing back pains structurally.

I found that most of the lower back pain problems (apart from structural issues or diseases), are caused by a combination of weak back and abdominal muscles firstly and secondly by shortened or contracted muscles of the legs (notably of the hamstrings) and abdominal area.

These problems are often caused by sedentary, desk, chair or couch bound lifestyles (lots of sitting, lack of movement and exercise, lack of muscle stretches) or emotional traumas. So, apart from working on the acute issues, the best advice and remedy is to urge clients to really make a change in their lifestyles. The latter is perhaps the hardest part of the ‘treatment’ and renders life of a massage therapist difficult if a client doesn’t make any changes.

In any case, as a Thai Massage practitioner / therapist I would normally use the following methods to alleviate low back pains:

• Relaxation (stretching or nerve-triggering) the following muscles: piriformus, gluteus, hamstring (back thigh), quadriceps (front thigh), abductors, inner thigh adductors, latissimus dorsi, abdominal (rectus abdominis), erector spinae, quadratus lumborum and Ilio-psoas muscle;
• Opening and mobilization of the hip joint;
• Mobilization of the sacro-iliac joint;
• Clearing and opening the pelvic area;
• Deep abdominal massage to clear knots, tangles, and adhesions;
• Acupressure, general palm pressure or stretches on/of (the whole or parts of) the following energy lines:
  – Sen Ittha / Pingkhala (third outside and first inside line of the upper leg, first line of the back),
  – Sen Kalathari (second lines inside and outside of the upper legs, second lines of the back),
  – Sen Sumana (sub-lines: third inside upper leg lines).
  – Sen Sahatsarangsi / Thawari (first inside and first outside leg lines and lines three of the back).
• Cracks / realignment of lumbar and thoracic vertebrae.