good workouts for people with back pain?

peckish_pomegranate

Any suggestions for a good beginner work out routine for someone with chronic lower back pain? I've tried a few and they just make the pain terrible the next day. (Pain is from an old injury.)

elorawood

Hello,

I have several problems with my back as well (lead to having to have an op last April as well). What helped me a lot was, well doing it step by step. I had some very simple exercises from therapy for a few weeks - also had to take a quick course (1 hrs) on how to sit, stand, sleep, get in and out of bed, lift things, etc to prevent back pain in the first place. If you cannot go to see a Therapist for this, I am sure you can find information about it online.
Then walking - that is one of the best things you can do without hurting yourself & to lose weight (less weight on your back is better, but still stay in a healthy weight range of course).
Swimming is also great for your back and a good way to exercise the rest of your body.

The most important area to train to prevent or help with your back pain is to strengthen your core - so when you feel ready after the very simple exercises from therapy I did some Winsor Pilates (here is a link to the basic 20 min workout, you can find other links there as well if you want to target certain areas - also, I don´t know how you do with your back, but I also have a twist in my spine that makes some discs stick out funny, so I do not do the ¨rolling like a ball¨ or ¨seal¨ exercises, just do what you can handle!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW2eRv4kCag

I do the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred now, but it took me a long time to get there (you can google it, it´s on YT as well).

Main thing, be consistent! Strengthen your core! - Us with chronic back pain, we have to make a lifestyle change and realize that it´s either that (not a very high weight & regular exercise) or a life of painkillers and doctor appointments. When I am sick or something and don´t do my stuff for a couple of weeks, I can feel the pain creeping in again...- but doing this helps and makes you capable of doing almost anything.

Oh, also, my Dr. said that with lower back pain you should at all cost avoid going running! Better to use elliptical machines at the gym or take fast walks or go swimming! The impact of the running really messes everything up for us

Good luck!!! You can do it! It can be frustrating and slow at the beginning, but it´s worth it!