Exercise and Low Back Pain
Low back pain is very common. So common, in fact, that most (80%) Australian adults will experience at least one episode of low back pain during their lifetime. Although often very painful, most low back pain is not caused by a serious problem and will resolve with some simple care. Physical activity is an important part of that care. Occasionally, however, low back pain can be caused by serious disease or damage to the tissues of the back. You should seek advice from a health care practitioner as soon as possible if your back pain:
occurs after a traumatic event, such as a car accident or a fall
wakes you during the night
does not reduce or change, no matter how you move or change position
accompanies numbness, tingling, or ‘pins and needles’ in your bottom, legs or feet
accompanies changes to your bowel or bladder control.
WHAT ARE THE AFFECTS OF EXERCISE ON MY LOWER BACK PAIN?
Exercise is great medicine for lower back pain. You can choose from many options of exercise, with no specific type being the best. Just stay as active as you can, allowing for the restrictions in movement that may come with pain. Staying active means different things to different people: think for a moment what staying active means for you. If you enjoy gardening, then staying active may mean pottering in your garden, even if heavy jobs such as digging or pruning are too much for you. If you run marathons, staying active may mean continuing training but reducing the distances you run each week.
If you do not exercise regularly, an episode of low back pain may be your prompt to start. Walking, swimming and cycling allow people with low back pain to become active and stay active. Some forms of dancing, yoga and tai chi are popular too. People with low back pain usually do not compete, work for medals or train hard in these activities. They simply use these leisure activities for therapy, and just to experience the joy and pleasure of movement.
WHAT CAN I DO TO MANAGE MY LOWER BACK PAIN?
Accredited exercise physiologists can help you plan a suitable graduated/strengthening training program in your preferred form of exercise. Your spine and the surrounding muscles are designed for movement. It is important you seek assistance with planning exercise if you have had multiple episodes of low back pain, because the back muscles can respond differently after repeated bouts of back pain.
Graduated training – To keep physically improving, your exercise program must become increasingly more difficult; this is called graduated training. For example if you stayed active by walking, to gain further health benefits you now need to walk further or faster, walk up hills, or carry extra weights.
Strengthening – Muscle strength, particularly in the small muscles that stabilise the lower back, does not return automatically when low back pain eases. To regain this strength, you may need to do some specific strengthening exercises, with graduated difficulty to progressively increase strength.
References: Exercise is Medicine http://exerciseismedicine.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/LBP_full.pdf