Walkers and/or Treadmill

I either walk or jog. I also have a tender lower back. I read an article about a week ago stating to walk backwards on a treadmill or outside for 15 minutes 3 times a week and that will give some relief for the lower back. I did it once last week for 10 minutes on the treadmill and will say my back felt so good the next day. I usually have pain everyday, but that day I did not. So starting today I am going to routinely do the 15 minutes 3 times a week and see how it goes. It works completly different muscles.

I walk the treadmill almost daily. I have had knee surgery so I can't do the elliptical or bikes much. I would love to be your friend and we can swap walking stories.

I love walking! I try to about 40 minutes everyday if not more!
Way to go on your weight loss so far!

Hello! I also have a bad lower back. My L5/S1 disc has degenerated to almost nothing so I'm trying to manage the almost constant pain. My doctor has suggested I lose a lot of weight to take the stress off my lower back, but not to run or anything else that would cause my vertebrae to impact against each other.

Fortunately, about a year ago we bought an incline trainer from Sears. It's basically just a treadmill that goes from a zero degree incline (flat) up to 40%, which is almost but not quite at a 45 degree angle. I spend about 45 minutes on the machine 5 days a week. I average 3mph at a 12% incline and am toying with getting it up to 16%. It helps with weight loss and it also seems to help strengthen my back.

My doctor also recommended yoga. I've never been much of a yoga kind of guy, but now I swear by it. It stretches my back all out and strengthens the muscles. If I take more than a day off the pain gets unbearable so I have to do it almost every day. I use this DVD every morning (link below). It lasts about 1/2 hour and after that I get on the treadmill. The yoga and walking on the treadmill are what's helping me avoid surgery. (I really, really, really don't want back surgery!)

http://www.amazon.com/Viniyoga-Therapy-Back-Sacrum-Kraftsow/dp/B000U0C9UE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331660935&sr=8-1

I am also a walker. I stopped walking as much as I used to because of the pain in my back and my legs. I am going to start back walking and I am going to try not to be discouraged because of the pain that I feel. Hopefully it will subside over time. I gotta get going again. I also have a treadmill that I am going to start using again. Thanks for the motivation.

Yep, I tread mill everyday. I love it. It makes a huge difference in my day. I am up to 3-4 miles a day now. I have put on 44.2 miles so far this month. And, as my basic form of exercise, It has helped with my weight loss significantly.

If you have access to a pool, water jogging is also great. No impact and still a great work out. Our Y has floatation belts so people can aqua jog without drowning :-)

One 65 year old man I know eliminated the need for hip replacement from his work in the water.

I am also a walker and do Yoga twice a day. I do Yoga stretches when I get up in the morning because it helps relieve the ache's. Just gentle stretching helps limber me up for the day. Then again in the evening doing longer stretches. It does help relieve my lower back pain. I find I also sleep better and don't wake up as much in the night with pain.

I like to walk a little every day too. I don't have a treadmill so I walk outside. I walk up the street, around the cemetery and back home. It's a nice little walk.

I haven't tried the backward walking, but I'll give that some thought.