Chronic Pain & Working Out

Walking is just about the only thing I do when I'm flared up - first thing in the morning I drink a lot of water (about 500 mL/16 oz) and then walk the dog for about an hour. It really helps loosen out my back. Be sure to wear good supportive shoes though or you will feel it.

the best is walking... i do exercises that i did in therapy. i get injections in my back that help for a little bit., i had failed back surgery :-( I HAD LAMECTOMY ON L4L5 . but i have had other problems as well that have made the back go wonkers again.. i see pain management on the 12th so i will be setting up another injection. you can add me as a friend if you would like. the mornings are the worst till it loosens. but there are stretches and exercises you can do that would help or if you belong to gym or have access to a pool there are those exercises as well... i had hydrotherapy as well which was wonderful.

I have a pinched nerve along my spine. I forget what the nerve is called, but it runs all the way down to my right foot. It manifests itself mostly as pain in my right side. At best, I have a dull throbbing in my side at all times. At it's worse, my side, lower back, and right leg get severe muscle spasms and my big toe hurts. I take two medications for it and I always make sure to take my meds at least 30 minutes before working out.

Exercise doesn't cure my pain, but it does alleviate it. The endorphin rush that I have the first hour after I've completed a workout is literally the only time of day when I don't feel any pain. Stretching also helps tremendously. If I'm in too much pain to workout, which hasn't happened lately, I have a basic yoga DVD that I do.

What keeps me going is that if I give in to my pain, I would just lie down all day in the fetal position and feel sorry for myself. I have to live my life.

What I do find funny is that I can kickbox and do aerobics and walk with a tolerable level of pain, but if I stand without moving for more than five or ten minutes, my side starts screaming at me. Go figure.

try dynamic stretching, like windmills, jumping jacks, and arm cross overs. get the muscles moving in a good stretchy way.


and as for working out, why don't you try low impact things like swimming and biking?

I agree that it's far easier, at least physically, to stretch than it is to exercise. I often have to force myself to exercise, especially if it's been a bad day. I know that the exercise helps, and that taking off weight will help even more, but it's often hard to force yourself to do something when you know that it's going to hurt. Usually, after I've gotten moving, it's not too bad.

I think that easing into things is definitely the key, at least for me. I can't just jump in and start doing something, but some stretching and a good warmup are things that help.

As for exercise, I do a *lot* of walking, either outside or on the treadmill. I also do Zumba several times a week, but avoid what my instructor calls the "jumpy-jumpy" bits, as those tend to aggravate my back something fierce. I also go biking when I can, do yoga once a week or so, and use the elliptical at my gym. I usually do strength training several times a week, adding or eliminating certain exercises depending on how I'm feeling. I've been living with pain for so long that I've now got a pretty good idea of how far I can push myself on a given day, so intensity of some things can vary quite a bit from day to day. What I am finding, though, is that the more I do, the easier it becomes ... and having developed the habit of exercising every day, it's a bit more difficult to *not* do it ;-)