Bad Back...

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Hillbillychic28
Hillbillychic28 Posts: 7
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey everyone...i am just starting TODAY. This is all new to me i have never joined an online weightloss sight before so ANY help would be nice. My question right now is how to safely but effectively excersise with a bad back. Yes i am like alot of people want the weight gone NOW...lol. But i don't want to hurt my back and throw this all out the window either. I have degenerative disk and compressed spine. I just bought a treadmill off my neighbor to try to use but need to learn how to use it first...lol. I got this because i live in the booneys and have a son and husband who are bipolar who keep tied to the house alot....but i need to do something. Any suggestions?

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  • slieber
    slieber Posts: 765 Member
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    I had a broken back way back in my 20s. It's still bad, but I do exercise, including ballet classes (which I did before I broke it!). I'm just very, very careful.

    If you have a treadmill, don't run on it. Just walk to start off with. Take it at your pace.

    When you do abs, do "crunches" not full sit-ups and if you start to feel it in your back, stop doing the crunches. A firm set of abs will help your back. My doctor earlier this year looked at an X-ray he'd taken of my back and said, "You must have very good abs!" When I asked what made him say that, he said that with my kind of back injury, the hips tend to shift forward and solidify there. Since mine didn't, it must have been my ab strength that kept them in place. That's when I told him I used to be a ballet dancer.

    When you DO abs, or even the walking, try to feel like you're pulling your belly button into your spine. Not so hard you can't breathe, but hard enough that you can feel it. Your abs can support your spine that way.

    There are other exercises you can do. I suggest you google for back and ab exercises and see what's out there. Beware the workout videos at this point - you don't want to do anything violent if you're only just starting.
  • DMORTIFF
    DMORTIFF Posts: 22 Member
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    hopefully you have addressed the bad back with a doctor. I have two herniated discs, i lived with that for about 6 yrs before i got help in the way of a chiropractor i did see a doctor before that but only got pain killers, temperary fix at best and could not think about working out on the pain killers. I had to get relief for the back pain so now i see a chiropractor twice a week and it seems to be working it has been 3 years and pretty much no back pain knock on wood.
  • LostinCali
    LostinCali Posts: 155
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    I have all sorts of back problems, some similar to yours (the DDD), so I know how just getting out of bed on some days is tough!

    Walk, don't run. If you have access to a pool, swimming is awesome. Squats and lunges if you can, if not, try wall squats ("sit" in a squat position with your back on the wall), pushups (girl ones), then there's hand weights... bicep curls, tricep extensions (put a knee and opposite hand on a chair or bench to support the back), chest, etc. Working your abs is the best thing you can do to help your back, so do crunches. Also, one my physical therapist gave me, to work the butt (also important cause it supports the back) is to lie on back with knees bent (like a crunch position), hands at sides, lift butt off floor to make a straight line from shoulders to knees, hold, go back down, repeat. As you get better at this, lift one leg to the straight line so you only have on foot on floor (works it even harder). One last thing, that has REALLY helped me... yoga. I can't do some of the moves, but the ones I can do have really helped my overall strength and flexibility. Listen to your body, but give it a try, I bet you'll find it helps!

    Hope I gave you some ideas :)
  • Hillbillychic28
    Hillbillychic28 Posts: 7
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    Wow you all have some great ideas...thank you! And yes i have been under doctors care for my back for 2 years now. I just finished having 3 rounds of injections underneath my disk. It helped for a little while but not long...I will definately be trying some of all of your ideas...tyvm:smile:

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