Your lower back does more than bend and twist.
It holds you upright, protects your nerves, and keeps you moving, whether you’re lifting a box, walking through the grocery store, or simply standing still.
And yet, for many people, chronic back pain remains a mystery.
At Vertrae®, we believe understanding your pain is the first step to relieving it. That starts with knowing how your lumbar spine muscles actually work, and what happens when they don’t.
Because for many patients, the problem isn’t wear and tear…
It’s a core muscle silently shutting down without anyone noticing.
A Quick Look at Your Lumbar Muscles
The lower back is supported by two major muscle systems:
1. Global Muscles: The Movers
These are the muscles that help you bend, flex, and extend your spine—like your rectus abdominis, erector spinae, and obliques. They’re big, strong, and easy to feel working.
2. Local Stabilizers: The Protectors
These muscles don’t move the spine much, they stabilize it during movement.
The most important of these is the multifidus.
It’s deep.
It’s quiet.
And when it shuts down, everything else works harder to compensate.
Why the Multifidus Muscle Matters So Much
The multifidus is the unsung hero of your lower back.
- It runs from vertebra to vertebra, providing segmental stability
- It prevents your spine from “wobbling” or shifting
- It activates before you move, keeping everything aligned
- It works without you feeling it, until it stops
If the multifidus becomes inhibited (from injury, surgery, or even prolonged sitting), your spine loses its built-in stabilizer.
like removing the center pole from a tent. Things may hold for a while, but eventually everything starts to give way.
The Result? Multifidus Dysfunction
When this muscle no longer fires properly, we call it multifidus dysfunction.
This leads to:
- A deep ache in the lower back
- A spine that feels weak, unstable, or prone to “giving out”
- Poor posture, muscle compensation, and disc stress
- Repeated relapses even after “successful” therapy or injections
Over time, the muscle weakens and may change in quality, making it harder to reactivate unless it’s identified and treated early.
Why Isn’t This Talked About More?
Because most spine care still focuses on the usual suspects: disc bulges, arthritis, and nerve compression. Those issues matter. But if the muscle support system is offline, no amount of treating the “structure” will keep you stable long-term.
At Vertrae®, we don’t just treat what’s on the MRI. We test how your spine is functioning, from the inside out.
How We Identify Multifidus Dysfunction at Vertrae®
We use a stepwise approach:
⩥Functional Testing
- Instability screens
- Core engagement assessment
- Movement pattern analysis
⩥Imaging
- MRI to detect fatty infiltration or muscle wasting
Our team integrated spine team works together to form a diagnosis before jumping into treatment.
Treating the Core of the Problem
Step 1: PT That Trains the Right Muscles
At Vertrae®, physical therapy starts with motor control, not just movement.
“We’re not just strengthening, we’re re-educating,” says Kris, DPT. “Most patients haven’t felt these muscles fire in years.”
Our approach includes:
- Biofeedback to re-learn multifidus activation
- Deep core training
- Gentle, spine-safe progressions
- Manual therapy and postural retraining
- Stabilization taping
- Home exercises that restore real-life movement confidence
Step 2: ReActiv8® Restorative Neurostimulation
If the multifidus remains inactive despite therapy, we may recommend ReActiv8®, a breakthrough device that sends signals directly to the nerve that controls the muscle.
It’s like a daily workout for your stabilizers, designed to restore function, not just mask pain.
What Happens Next?
In our next blog, we’ll walk you through the details of how multifidus dysfunction is diagnosed, from the physical testing we do in the clinic to what we look for in MRI scan to uncover what’s happening beneath the surface.
Why Patients Across Southwest Ohio Choose Vertrae®
You don’t need a general clinic for a spine-specific problem. You need a team that looks deeper, sees beyond the obvious, and has the tools to treat what others often miss.
- Spine-only surgery center
- Dual-fellowship spine surgeon (Dr. Kamal Woods)
- Integrated care model with real collaboration
- Serving Dayton, the Miami Valley region and beyond
Ready to Stabilize What’s Been Missing?
If your back feels unstable…
If therapy helped but didn’t hold…
If you’re still searching for real answers…
📞 Call 1-844-255-2225 or Request an Appointment Online
