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, many people don't realize their pain involves more than just disc problems. Recent research reveals that the muscles supporting your spine—particularly the erector spinae muscles that run along your back—can develop what's called "fatty infiltration," where healthy muscle tissue is gradually replaced by fat. 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 undergo changes that go beyond basic weakness—they actually change at a cellular level. Research explains that "fatty infiltration of the erector spinae at the upper lumbar spine could be a breakthrough for low back pain" (1). This creates a vicious cycle: disc problems lead to muscle alterations, which reduce spinal support, potentially worsening disc health over time.
Disc degeneration and muscle fat infiltration influence each other in a two-way relationship. 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 positive takeaway? Targeted exercise reverses this deterioration.. A recent randomized controlled trial discovered that combined motor control training and isolated extensor strengthening supplied superior outcomes compared to general exercise approaches for bettering "lumbar paraspinal muscle health" in chronic low back pain patients (3).
This approach emphasizes retraining how your deep support muscles interact while you restore the erector spinae that have deteriorated. Unlike general exercise programs, these targeted interventions get to the root of the problem by replacing fatty tissue with healthy, functional muscle.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOUR RECOVERY
Working with your Fort Wayne chiropractor at Aaron Chiropractic Clinic 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) showed, this comprehensive approach takes on both the mechanical and neuromuscular aspects of your condition, offering hope for long-term improvement rather than just temporary pain relief.
Remember, recovery isn't instant, but studies confirm that targeted exercise rebuilds stronger back muscles and provides lasting pain relief.
CONTACT Aaron Chiropractic Clinic
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. John Murray on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he details the effective gentle protocols of The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management combined with exercise.
