Back Pain Prevention Exercises

[muleymaniac81]

Does anyone have any exercises to prevent back pain? I have missed the last 2 days of work due to a debilitating pain in my lower back. I've missed 5 days this year because of it. I'm 28, and that seems a little young to have back problems. I am about 20 pounds heavier than I want to be. 6'1 and 220 now, I feel best at 195-200. Would losing weight be enough, or are there any strecthes and/or exercises I can do to stop the pain before it gets started.

Thanks in advance,

Mitch

[Field]

more flexible hamstrings

stronger glute muscles

stronger abdominals

lower body weight or fat/muscle ratio

[hdgun]

I too suffer from low back problems. it goes way back to when I was in my late teens.( 48 now )had back surgery back in 2001 and my second in 2004. since then have been pretty lucky with no problem until a month ago. I was picking up a small crate of book to put in my truck ( about 60 lbs ) and BANG!!! blue my back out once more. A months worth of Chiropractic care has taken car of it and I am almost back to normal.

So to answer the question, I believe in a chiropractic visit 1 or 2 times a month for preventive measure and keeping in good physical condition. Hitting the gym or home work outs at least 3 times a week. Key is a good strong mid section and solid core muscles.

[FranDoc]

Prefacing this with the caveat that I'm a physician (MD) who treats a lot of musculoskeletal injuries: if the back pain doesn't go away in a few days with the usual conservative therapies -- rest, ice/heat, gentle stretching -- it probably warrants a visit to your doc and likely a trip to a good physical therapist.

There's stretching, then there's strengthening to prevent recurrent injury. Two separate things. I generally recommend some formal PT (physical therapy) sessions to learn the right way to strengthen. A good strengthening program will also include work on the hip stabilizer muscles (external rotators). This is something that most people wouldn't think about on their own.

For stretching, look up Robin McKenzie's Treat Your Own Back. Your local library may have it, or check Amazon, etc. Again, that's stretching for pain control and some improved mobility. You'll still need strengthening on top of that. Have someone work with you in person to tailor the strengthening exercises to you, and work with you through a progression of exercise. This is one (of many) situation(s) where "pain" during exercise does not necessarily equal "gain"

If you're still feeling "debilitated" on Monday morning, call and get in to be evaluated. The solution may be quick and simple. However, if it's bad enough to miss work, you don't want to miss/delay treatment of something more serious.

[shooterbenedetto]

i have had back pain all my life and lived with it. Im flat foot.

DR made me orthotics. it helped. then comes MBT shoes..Best thing

I have ever done. Go try one you will be amazed. it will also correct

muscles involved in proper posture.

[J-Ho]

i have had back pain all my life and lived with it. Im flat foot.

DR made me orthotics. it helped. then comes MBT shoes..Best thing

I have ever done. Go try one you will be amazed. it will also correct

muscles involved in proper posture.

+!000 on the custom orthodics

My Chiropractor hooked me up with a custom orthodic company and it has made a huge difference in my life.

I spend a lot of time sitting during the day and certain muscles get week and need to be strengthened and stretched. A good chiropractor can make all the difference.

Take FranDoc's advice but I'd add the chiropractic treatment too.

[CSEMARTIN]

Here is a link to Mayo Clnic's website and exercises:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/back-pain/LB00001_D

I would not do the exercises shown in slide 7 on a chair that rotates and slides.

I've fought an L4/5 disc since 1995. An LSO brace and tempur-pedic mattress have helped tremendously and worth every penny. Also, learning proper body mechanics and posture have made a world of difference too.

[MarkA]

After you recover from the acute pain, find a good crossfit gym in your area to not only workout, but learn proper technique. If no gym in area, check out crossfit.com for good scalable workouts with good technique videos. Go slow and start so light you don't even know you are working out. Progress like you plan on working out for the rest of your life.

[Professor gun]

FranDoc is right on target. I have been a physical therapist for nearly 20 years, specialize in back and neck injuries and also am a professor in a physical therapy program. For a lot of the chronic pain problems it comes down to stabilization exercise to strengthen trunk muscles and improve trunk muscle endurance. For acute low back or neck pain the McKenzie approach will work on most.

I have had some patients who, once they got past the acute pain and worked on basic stabilization exercise, got involved in Pilates or in martial arts with excellent results. My take is that these activities really force the trunk muscles to stay strong and to have good endurance.

[diablodawg]

I had a bad back after injuring it on my first deployment. The best thing I have found is simply lots of good exercise. Having strong muscles eased the pain and has helped me stay injury free and strong. I also second the opinion on crossfit. I have been doing crossfit football (basically strength and explosive power biased crossfit) and have never been in better shape, including Marine Corps OCS and after a deployment spent in the gym doing typical bodybuilding routines.

Edited December 18, 2010 by diablodawg

[blaster113]

I too have been dealing with chronic low back pain and back spasms from a herniated disc in my lower lumbar. Just walking or sitting would sometimes be difficult. Bad form and heavy weight doing power cleans or deadlifts years ago. Best thing I ever did was see a physical therapist who helped me get back on track with stretching and strengthening exercises. Regular visits to a chiropractor helped with the pain but the visits to the PT helped the most. After the pain went away switched my workout regimen from 2-4 mile runs 3-4 days a week followed by weightlifting to a more diverse type regimen with power movements, some running, core exercises, etc. I almost never have back pain/tightness/spasms since I started doing more core work. I'm 37, 5'11" and 220-225 pounds (weight is dependent how much beer is consumed that week ). As others have mentioned, strenghtening the muscles adjacent to the injured area will help alot, along with some weight loss and regular stretching.

[VegasOPM]

I have a few permanent injuries to my back, so back pain has been a regular thing since I can remember. About a year ago, I was having pretty spectacular spasms in my mid back, right between my shoulder blades. After trying every combination of meds, massage, heat/cold therapy and manipulation, my Doctor sent me to a Physical Therapist, who put me on a regimen of stretching and strengthening exercises. I woke up one morning and realized that for the first time since I could remember I had absolutely no back pain. Talk to your Doctor about getting physical therapy. Once it is under control, the PT can give you maintenance exercises.

[Aglifter]

A reverse-hyper or glute ham bench can work wonders for a lower back.

[Matt Griffin]

I suffered from back pain for years, it was a result of weakness due to having a desk job. Wait until you're healed from the current issue, then start doing low- or no-weight squats. Start with 3 sets of five, every other day, don't push it. Gradually start using a bit of weight, no need to go above 80 or so pounds, and increase to 3x10. Three weeks fixed every issue I had, six weeks and I felt better than ever. Squats are the "ultimate exercise" in that they hit nearly everything, but in particular they can fix a weak back very quickly.

[Atcgolfn]

The Egoscue Method, it has worked for me and a number of my co-workers and friends. It's not an overnight fix, but the principles and concepts are sound. Bones go where muscles tell them to, and having the wrong muscles being over worked will cause problems. So far, it has kept me out of back and neck surgery for the past 4 years due to herniated discs in both areas.

[GregJ]

As mentioned, you really need to see your doc/back specialist. I suffered from lower back pain, or more of a soreness, for a few years. I saw a few chiros, didnt feel like they helped, and sometimes hurt more.

I finally decided to see our doc and find out exactly what was going ont. After X-Rays and MRIs, he confirmed I had a bulging disk between L4 and L5, as well as Degenerative Disk Disease (narrowing of the cushion membrane between the vertabrae disks) in all my lumbar disks. This pretty much made me retire from riding horses, which I had done for over 20 years.

The Physical Therapy outfit my doc recommended me to hurt me more than helped me, so I quit going to them. I found another PT outfit that came highly regarded (www.thejacksonclinics.com), and they were great!! They focused on mostly European style stretches. I still do one or two particular stretches every morning, or whenever I overexert myself and the lower back tightens up.

Bottom line, you need to see your doc to find out exactly what is wrong, and go from there.

[-JQ-]

Listen to the Docs above and maybe...

things that work for me...

anusara yoga - builds strength, balance, increases flexibility, etc. Anusara is very slow and deliberate with lots of focus on alignment. With anusara you may hold a position for minutes (feels like hours)...sometimes not. Other forms may be good too but beware "fast" yoga, ashtanga, for one, is fast and it is not what you need at this point.

Also Tai Chi Chaun, I used this exclusively to rehab after my L4 discectomy in 96...

Good luck!

[gonogo]

I get lower back ache. I fix it with a crazy method - a 7 1/2 foot long stott pilates reformer. as soon as my back aches I head for the room with the machine. I lie on the machine. I put my feet up on the bar. I push slowly away with low spring pressure. After about a quarter hour, the pain is gone. For more improvements I use the machine when I have zero aching back in various sessions that I might design. (Cut down versions of the Stott company's texts or wall charts or DVD's) This strengthens the core muscles (it takes about 3 days) The increase in core strength enables you to enjoy moving around on a new level. The ache tends not to return. You are only doing the longer sessions then - to build strength, for even more fun. That's what I do. If you buy one from Canada, declare the import on your state tax so you won't get nagged later.

[392heminut]

I had lifted weights on a regular basis for over 5 years when I injured my back doing leg presses. I went to a doctor and he gave me muscle relaxers which helped, but the pain gradually got worse and the doctor finally sent me for x-rays and an MRI. The results were "normal disc degeneration between L4 and L5 and the doctor told me I would have to live with it, and did not even want to talk to me about Chiropractic! I was a police officer and wore a 14# gun belt with a good share of the weight on one side. Constantly getting in and out of a 4 door sedan with all sorts of gear around my waist to hang up on the door jamb didn't help either(I'm 6'3"). It got to the point where I had to literally sit on the side of the bed every day when I got up for up to 10 minutes before I could stand up, and I took Aleve every day for the pain. My wife was an EMT at the time and worked at the local E.R. A doctor who was doing his internship there had a Chiropractic license and she told him about my problem. They pulled my x-rays that I had had done and the doctor told her he could see my problem right away and wanted me to stop by. This was on a Monday night and he adjusted my back and had me come back that Wednesday night and Friday night for 2 more adjustments. The difference was amazing! What I had been living with for over 2 years he diminished to about 25% of what it was before. He told me that since I had let it go for so long I probably would have to live with what pain I had left. After I retired and got rid of the gunbelt and patrol car I went to a local chiropractor and he had me coming in 3 times a week initially, then once a week, then once a month until he had me to where the back pain was almost non-existent.

I still lift weights, and as long as I take care of my back the only time I have to go back to the chiropractor is if I lift something wrong or something and tweak it, and then it's usually only one visit to fix things. I've heard the stories about how once you start going to a chiropractor you can't ever stop going and in my case that certainly isn't true, I haven't been to see mine in about a year now. What I have found is that some doctors will treat the symptoms of back pain and never address the cause. Chiropractors (and PT's) address the causes and can move you toward a more permanent solution other than pain medication and muscle relaxers. Unless you have some type of injury that rules out chiropractic I would say definitely give it a try. Not all chiropractors are the same though, definitely research the one your are considering using.

[Graham Smith]

more flexible hamstrings

stronger glute muscles

stronger abdominals

lower body weight or fat/muscle ratio

Baring injury or organic problem, that may often be the answer. I know that my back problems get worse when those things get worse and vice versa. Basically, back pain is often a function of general fitness. If you are reasonably fit and don't overdo things, you are often less prone to back pain.

[Micah]

At my gym, there are four or five machines that target back muscles. I have learned over the years that if I strengthen said muscles, it takes tension away from my chronic back pain. Build those muscles! Also, see your chiropractor regularly.

[Chris Keen]

Chiropractors are a racket. If you have to continually go see them, what good are they really doing for you?

If you are truly strengthening your back muscles, and sleeping on a good quality mattress, then you should be fine. What people don't like to admit, is that a mattress has a certain life-span. You can't keep sleeping on the same mattress for 10 years, and think that it's as good as a newer one. At some point you have to break down and spend some money, if your back is important to you.

[want2race]

+1 on the mattress. When my back issue hit last feb I resorted to sleeping on a rock hard futon because after sleeping in my bed I couldn't stand up for 5 or so minutes after waking. The futon helped get me passed the first 30 days of misery.

My doc also detests Chiro's. People I've talked to swear by the traction machines. Not the at home types, but the gazillion dollar ones at specific Chiro offices.

Something that helps me is to hang my lower extremeties and relax. It's outlined in McKenzie's book mentioned above. When I do this I can literally feel my lower back stretch. Word of caution, when finishing and resuming load bearing on your legs GO SLOW.

When I walk, I've resumed the "head up, chest out, belly in" posture I used to have. That also goes along way towards preventative care.

[Waterfowl-widowmaker]

A good mattress is king. Well worth the money. I use to be like Chris as far as chiropractors are concerned. That is till some idiot ran a stop sign and totaled my truck. Luckily I didn't have a scratch on me and figured I would be sore for a few days then be back to normal. Was I wrong. Long Story short, after about 50 x-rays and a couple of MRI's My spine was almost straight instead of having a s curve to it. My back muscles where cramping around it to hold it in place cause my body knew something wasn't right. I was going to a massage therapist for the cramps in my neck and back when she suggested a chiropractor. It took a while but my back is almost back to normal. If I ride in the wrong position for very long it will start cramping again. I have an appointment tomorrow. I should be good to go for another month or so until I ride around in my patrol car not sitting up straight or cocked over to one side again. With my insurance plan, I can get a hour massage and an adjustment from the chiropractor for $15. Money well spent.

[chendersby]

http://www.healingbackpain.com/

Order the book, Healing back Pain.

Read it and change your life