You’ve probably had this happen to you before: You spent all day moving boxes or performing an intense physical task then your back began to hurt whenever you coughed. Did you ever wonder why that happened or how you could prevent it?

The bones in your spinal column are held in place by a complex collection of muscles and ligaments. Activities that strain these muscles can cause tiny tears in the tissue, resulting in less stability in the back muscles. When this happens, the condition is called lower back strain, and a symptom of this condition is pain in the back, shoulders, chest, buttocks, and other parts of the body.

Lower back strain can feel bad even when seemingly unrelated parts of the body are in use. This is because the muscles in the lower back are connected to nerves that stretch throughout the entire body. In addition to painful coughing, lower back strain can cause the following symptoms:

• Pain in the upper legs and groin area
• Pain while stretching, yawning, or sneezing
• Muscle spasms

Lower back strain tends to be temporary and often goes away on its own. However, some of the symptoms of lower back strain are similar to symptoms of more serious conditions. Even if you’re sure that your problems are caused by lower back strain, it’s a good idea to see get sensible professional advice and treatment options available for you.