Back problems, what can I do now?

Ha, I just hurt my back yesterday too. I haven't seen my doc yet, but have had problems before. I am going to guess what we should do is take it easy, move within the limits of pain only, and forget about lifting anything heavy until there's a diagnosis and pain's gone for a while. I know I'm annoyed by stairs and walking and don't dare do more. My plan is to take up some pilates to prevent this happening again, when I can. Probably some easy isometric exercises are ok now. For weight, protein up, cals at maintenance or very slightly below (need calories to heal).

Hope you feel better soon.

Back pain can be so terrible to deal with. I hope you get some answers soon. About 8 years ago, I had two herniated disks in my lower back. For a while, I was lucky to tolerate walking and bike riding. Cycling classes didn't make it worse, so that became my main form of exercise. The elliptical machine was also pretty good. Some people can do swimming but it bothered my back. I think the key is to find something that works for you. If anything hurts at all, please stop and take it easy. Have you tried applying ice to your back? Believe it or not, it really does help! Good luck to you!:flowerforyou:

Talk to your doctor of course, but swimming and pilates exercises at your own pace come to mind.

I hurt my back at work 3 years ago, now I can't work. I was at the point that sitting or standing for more than a few mins at a time would have me crying. Now I run 10km, I can workout no problem.... but working .... where it means sitting still or standing kills.

I have had back problems for years and they have kept me from being successful at weight loss. Someone else commented "calories calories calories" - and that is a BIG help, but I, for one, NEED the exercise to be successful. Most days it hurts to do ANYTHING -- walking, standing, sitting, laying down - there just is no comfortable position. I met with a personal trainer over the summer and she was wonderful and gave me a variety of stretches and exercises I can do without making it WORSE (and the stretches actually help). I also purchased a recumbant exercise bike... it has far less stress on my lower back than a regular bike and I was able to do a lot of calorie burning on it! (Now to get the basement put back together so I can access it again!).
Best of luck to you!

This isn't so much an exercise necessarily geared to burn calories, but I've been trying to incorporate a little yoga into my daily routine. I started this because my lower back has been giving me a lot of trouble lately (I work at a desk all day and have terrible posture - also something I'm working on). Anyway, I've actually found a lot of relief with this, even within the first week of doing it regularly. Maybe this could help mitigate pain while waiting to hear back from your doctor? You can find some beginner videos on YouTube, and sticking to the stretches has helped me, particularly cat and cow, child's pose, bridge, and just bending at the waist, trying to touch my toes, and relaxing all the muscles in my back. Good luck!

mmmm.... Xray?

Not sure that's going to show you what you need. I think you're going to need an MRI for discs....

More hilarity. I m not in NZ but where I am for some reason more to do with economics than health, no matter how improbable it is that it'll offer a meaningful exam for the injury, the docky docs start with an X-ray and only THEN 'escalate' to an MRI or bone scan.

I want to respect them so much more than I've been able to.

I'd recommend water aerobics/swimming. If you have a gym with a pool near-by look into their pool fitness classes.

The one near me actually has a water fitness class that specializes in things for older folks and those with injuries or other physical limitations that need to ease the stress on their joints as much as possible.