Workouts for a bad back?

Johnnyswife
Johnnyswife Posts: 1,447 Member
edited September 20 in Fitness and Exercise
Anyone here suffer from back problems? My hubby is a member on here, but rarely comes on (ProudDaddy) here to post or log his food. I usualy do it for him. :laugh:

Anyway, he has a bad back. Something about a disk that bulges out and hits a nerve, and he'll be out of commision for almost a week. He's been keeping it from going out by, first going to a chiropractor, than using ice packs and Aleeve.
The chiropractor told him to work on his abs, and that would take a lot of the workload off his back. She told him crunches and situps would do the job, but it almost sets his back off. He's been asking me what to do, or not thinking about it at all and getting frustrated.

So my question is, are there any others out there with bad backs? What kind of workouts do you do, without hurting yourself further? Can you do crunches anyway that wouldn't hurt your back? We have very little extra money and no access to a gym at the moment, but we do have an elliptical machine.

Thanks if you can offer any advice.

Replies

  • fitchic_76
    fitchic_76 Posts: 8
    Instead of doing crunches lying on your back, stand against a wall and crunch down using your abs, and saving your back.
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
    Sorry...I didn't get to the part about no gym access until I posted :) Would you be able to get an exercise ball? A big size, that your hubby can use to support his back while crunching. I did that while I was in physical therapy for my back after a car accident.
  • Chenoachem
    Chenoachem Posts: 1,758 Member
    Sorry...I didn't get to the part about no gym access until I posted :) Would you be able to get an exercise ball? A big size, that your hubby can use to support his back while crunching. I did that while I was in physical therapy for my back after a car accident.

    An exercise ball was what I was going to suggest also. They are about $20 or so. You choose one based on your height. You can increase and decrease the difficulty of the ab workout and it doesn't put strain on your back. You can book with exercises or short videos.
  • Mom2Emery_Liam
    Mom2Emery_Liam Posts: 149
    He might try yoga or pilates if he's willing. Both are great b/c they're low impact and usually easy on the back.
  • Yurippe
    Yurippe Posts: 850 Member
    Sorry...I didn't get to the part about no gym access until I posted :) Would you be able to get an exercise ball? A big size, that your hubby can use to support his back while crunching. I did that while I was in physical therapy for my back after a car accident.

    An exercise ball was what I was going to suggest also. They are about $20 or so. You choose one based on your height. You can increase and decrease the difficulty of the ab workout and it doesn't put strain on your back. You can book with exercises or short videos.

    LOL, we are all thinking alike. When I was in physical therapy for lower back pain almost all the exercises they recomended for me involved an exercise ball. Here is a link with exercise examples:

    http://www.spine-health.com/information/exercise-ball

    If you google "ball exercise for lower back pain" I'm sure you will find even more.
  • Johnnyswife
    Johnnyswife Posts: 1,447 Member
    Hey...I used to have one of those till I moved here. Good idea!! Thanks!! The wall crunches sound good too. I'm gonna make my hubby read this tonight so if anyone else has ideas please let me know. Thanks again! :flowerforyou:
  • jl_salhuana
    jl_salhuana Posts: 5 Member
    I have a bad back: locks up, neck and shoulders stiffen up, even my triceps get affected by tensing up.

    I went to an orthopedic surgeon, accompanying someone else. He said, don't go to the chiropractors. Try yoga first.

    I hate yoga, but it works. The pain and stiffness are under control (almost gone), and I only go once/twice a week.
  • dothompson
    dothompson Posts: 1,184 Member
    I had a friend who suffered with back problems for years. He started doing Yoga and his back problems were gone. I'm not sure what resourses are available where you live, but often Community College or Adult Continuing Education centers will have semester classes very reasonably.
  • roseshac
    roseshac Posts: 1 Member
    I am still going to therapy for a back injury I suffered a couple of weeks ago. Your husband has to be careful not to aggravate his injury by trying to do too much before he is ready. My therapist recommended starting out with pelvic tilts and stretchs and then moving on to pelvic lifts, and REVERSE crunches. She specifically wanted me to avoid doing traditional abdominal crunches initially. Hope this helps...
  • Johnnyswife
    Johnnyswife Posts: 1,447 Member
    I am still going to therapy for a back injury I suffered a couple of weeks ago. Your husband has to be careful not to aggravate his injury by trying to do too much before he is ready. My therapist recommended starting out with pelvic tilts and stretchs and then moving on to pelvic lifts, and REVERSE crunches. She specifically wanted me to avoid doing traditional abdominal crunches initially. Hope this helps...
    His issue is that it never goes away. It will be calm and give him no trouble, and one day he'll pick something up, twist or extend the wrong way, and BAM! Down he goes. :( He's just nervous about hurting himself during a workout. Thanks for the sugesstions. :)

    Edited to add that I looked up what a reverse crunch is, and took the question off. :)
  • reneelee
    reneelee Posts: 877 Member
    Try the plank possition. Lay on stomache push up onto forarms and toes hold the stomache in and hold the possition for about 10 seconds, due 4 times.
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