Exercises for a bad back???

I have steel rods in my spine AND a bulging disc in my lower spine (where it isn't fused). On days when I'm in horrible pain (I'm in pain everyday - but some days are far worse than others!) I try and take it easy. Sometimes a short, slow paced walk will help and sometimes it makes it worse. On REALLY bad days, I simply take it easy. Give your body a chance to heal if you're in that much pain. If pain meds aren't touching it, it might be time to just plain rest.

I've heard yoga is good for back pain, but I've never tried it. I've seen some yoga and it looks like it would make my back hurt worse. lol.

My husband has back issues and has found that doing yoga really helps. Not only in relieving some of the immediate pain but also in strengthening his muscles further. We have a friend who is a massage therapist that suggested it to him and it's definitely helping. There are many DVD's, probably some online videos too.

ETA: If there are moves that are painful for him he either modifies or doesn't do those at all. You have to make sure you're not pushing your body to do something that it shouldn't be doing.

I agree. There are times when movement helps a back and when it hurts it further. If pain meds aren't touching your pain then your body is telling you to rest. Try a moist heating pad on a medium setting. This can help relax tight muscles. You can also try alternating with an ice pack. Allow at least 15 minutes between so you're not freezing/burning the skin on the switch and use each for a minimum of 15 minutes at a time.

I have degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, arthritis and a bunch of other stuff from the base of my skull to my tailbone and some days I feel like wonder woman and other days (like most of this week) I feel like I've been run over multiple times by a truck. The first few days after an injury you need rest and heal. Take this time to focus on your food and not worry about exercise. If this lasts more than a week, then you could have something more serious going on and should have it checked out again.

Get well soon and give yourself a chance to rest without guilt about not working out.

the best thing to do would be to get on an inversion table but if none of your friends or neighbors have one there is a simple exercise you can do it however requires a partner to help you out.

Lay down on the floor and have your partner grab around the back of the knees and slowly rise your legs up until your calves/feet are parallel to the floor at this point have him work your legs in semi-circles without lifting too much. they can also go back and forth with this motion.

This helps relieve some of the pressure on your spine I know it's kindda hard to picture it but if you can get it it helps a lot.

best of luck

I use workout balls too. I bounce on it once a day for 4-5 mins. It really does help the pain I experience with the bulging disc. Doesn't do anything for the rod pain (which is mostly arthritis from having pins drilled into your spine), but it DOES help with the disc pain.

It's funny because I find the elliptical more painful than running on a treadmill. Not sure why, but it seems to put more pressure on the area of my spine that hurts the most.

I have a bulging disc in my lower back which makes it very hard to exercise. I do about 20 minutes of 2.5 walking on my treadmill everyday. Sit ups is out of the question for me. I have found that alternating ice back with hot packs helps when it flairs up.

As another individual with chronic back pain issues, I'm relieved to see others posting about this concern. I have had 2 surgeries on my lower spine, with a fusion the second time, and I currently have 3 herniated discs in my c-spine. All that I've tried to do so far is walk a little more, and have had really bad loer back pain the last couple of days. It's frustrating to find exercises that I'd actually enjoy, but know that for now, they aren't something I can handle. I've started the process of getting approved to join the fitness center through my work, and I'm just waiting for the clearance from my physician. I'm hoping that the staff will be able to help me set up a program that will work for me without aggravating my spine.(It's run by the hospital I work for, so the staff are able to set up programs for all types of health issues.) Anyway, I wanted to share that I'm in the same boat, and am searching for the best ways to increase the calories I burn without hurting myself. Here's wishing the best to us all .

i have more wrong then right in my back Ra, cervical fusions all of them thorax fusion and stenosis of the spine ,degenrative disk disease, ect ect, my doctor suggested a inversion table LOL thought he was nuts but ordered one now mind you i have a lumbar disk compression an pinched nerves in the sciatic nerve pressing on the spine well all that anyways got on the table with a 45 degree inversion lord have mercy it was amazing ,felt so good an relieved the pressure an pain didn't think it would but wow so much better i so look forward to it every day what a blessing wish i would have had it years ago......