How to overcome low back pain - The importance of exercise part 1

Lower back pain causes can be numerous and how to treat low back pain can be confusing. What is becoming clear however, is the importance of exercise for low back pain. It’s important for me to say, I don’t mean traditional fitness exercise that you see in gyms. I mean exercise for low back pain, many of the principles are the same, even some of the exercises are the same but you’re not trying to fatigue yourself to within an inch of your life.

What is exercise for low back pain?

Once the pain has reduced, it bridges the gap from injury or pain to full health and/or fitness. When I coach people with a bad back they are generally nervous or anxious about exercise and want to avoid the problem area. They think exercise is going to make their back worse and this is only true if they start with traditional fitness exercise or the wrong exercises for low back pain.

What is the right exercise for lower back pain?

The first thing to get right is your exercise and recovery balance. This idea was explained to be me best when I attended a Fitness Program Writing Course with the UK Strength & Conditioning Association. They described it as an injury management program, exercise puts stress on the body and recovery allows it to build stronger against that stress ready for the next bout of exercise. This idea was for Athletes but it’s the same principle when I work with some one with a bad back.

More recovery than exercise

At the beginning there’s more recovery than exercise (but still exercise) say 70/30%, because you don’t want to get stronger but still have tight muscles or trigger points.

This can include;
• Stretching
• Massage
• Walking
• Breathing techniques
• Hot bath

Exercises for low back pain

The exercise you do at the same time is more therapeutic, because you don’t want a lot more stress on top of already stressed area. However, you do need some stress called optimal loading (watch the video above).

Exercises can include;
• Plank
• Side Plank
• Bridge
• Bird Dog

As your body responds to this exercise and recovery, I would begin to moving your exercise/recovery balance to 60/40% and so on. Your body guides the whole process and gives to the feedback needed to move forward.

What to do next

You can learn more about how to overcome low back pain on my next The Fundamentals of Spine Health Webinar, click here and reserve your spot.