Beyond Weak La Grande Back Muscles: How Exercise Reverses Unseen Spine Muscle Damage
If you are suffering with chronic back pain from spinal disc problems, you might be surprised to hear that your pain isn't just about the discs themselves. 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 La Grande 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 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 changes, which reduce spinal support, potentially degrading disc health over time.
The connection between degenerating discs and fat-infiltrated muscles works both ways, with each condition potentially triggering or worsening the other. 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 influence 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 gave superior outcomes compared to general exercise tactics for bettering "lumbar paraspinal muscle health" in chronic low back pain patients (3).
This approach emphasizes retraining how your core stabilizers work as a team while targeting the weakened back muscles. Unlike general exercise programs, these targeted interventions get to the root cause of muscle deterioration by improving muscle composition and reducing fatty infiltration.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOUR RECOVERY
Working with your La Grande chiropractor at Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC to develop an exercise program that includes both motor control training and specific strengthening exercises can heal the muscle changes your disc problems have caused. As Rosenstein et al. (2025) showed, this comprehensive approach addresses both the mechanical and neuromuscular aspects of your condition, offering hope for long-term improvement rather than just temporary pain relief.
Remember, while healing requires patience, research proves the right exercises can restore muscle health and eliminate pain for good.
CONTACT Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC
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.
