Muscle Imbalance With Spine Injuries

When a muscle gets injured, all the other muscles surrounding it tries to counteract or compensate the damaged area. This usually happens in those parts of the body where there are several small muscles grouped together.

All the muscles in a muscle group are engaged together to perform a particular movement and if one fails the others obviously tries to compensate for its loss while performing the movement. This causes muscle imbalances.

Muscle Imbalance With Spine Injuries

Spine injury is not an exception to these muscle imbalances since there are many small muscles ensuring the stability of the spine. In the following sections you will get to learn the basic things about muscle imbalances related to spine injuries.

Tips To Overcome Muscle Imbalances & Injuries


Overcompensation is the right term that can be attached to causation of muscle imbalances. A muscle by expanding and contracting already compensates whenever you move your body part and if it has to work for the other muscles too then it is definitely overcompensating.

A muscle working hard to compensate for the injured muscles obviously gets a higher attention when it comes to repairing and this leads to imbalances. The muscle working twice as hard as its neighbouring muscle gets stronger and bigger as compared to the other.


The spine comprises of the sacrum, vertebral discs, coccyx and 33 vertebrae. Your spine, back and neck are supported by a complex muscle group which is comparatively larger than most of the other muscle groups in a human body.


With so many connected muscles it is more vulnerable to suffer from muscle imbalances if any one of muscle gets injured.

Spinal Cord Injuries

Muscle imbalances near the spinal cord region are quite common in the world of bodybuilding. If you look closer to the spinal cord of professional bodybuilders you might often notice such imbalances. This is mainly caused due to dislocation or fracture of a vertebra.

The cause may be minor at times but when it happens to a weight lifter it magnifies to a large extent and hence, becomes quite clearer to draw the attention of onlookers. However, dislocation of a vertebra is not restricted to causing muscle imbalances, but they can also be held responsible for the improper working of the nerves.

Poor Posture

Muscle imbalances related to the spine may also result in poor postures. If you are suffering from the neck injuries, your head will lack a proper support and this will be compensated by the spine.

Overcome Muscle Imbalances & Injuries

Now, this spine in its attempt to provide additional support to your head often leads to stress and hence worsen your posture.


There are no such home remedies for muscle imbalances with spine injuries. The only treatment option for this problem is rehabilitation. Though this healing takes a longer period of time, but you need to refrain from inflicting further stress upon your spines to avoid magnification of muscle imbalances or other complications.

After your spine is completely healed, you may notice minor imbalances caused due to daily activities and you should try to correct the problems. If this minor muscle imbalance is ignored, it may lead to permanent problems in future.

by subhajit.dubey