Exercise for low back pain

amother

Tue, Oct 12 2021, 10:19 pm

Need some ideas. I'm plagued with off and on low back pain. My job keeps me on my feet and walking but I do a fair amount of sitting too. I don't have an active exercise routine. I walk around my neighborhood to get out but my motto is "exercise but don't sweat". I know. Not really helpful.

Anyway, I'm middle age. Out of shape. My back is very tempermental. It's just stiff and sore. I don't have any sciatica or anything. If I pick up something a little too heavy, it can hurt for days. If I twist the wrong way or grab something out of my reach just wrong, it can act up.

I haven't done physical therapy yet. I think they would say, do "these exercises to stabilize your core".

I need something to do to get healthier.

amother

Pumpkin

Tue, Oct 12 2021, 11:34 pm

I'm sorry that you're having back pain. It's awful. Unfortunately I can relate.

Some things that helped me:
- a good mattress. I can check to see what I have if you want
- good sneakers
- don't let the AC/fan/air/etc. blow on your back.

I also recommend you go for PT so that they can help heal it so that you won't be in any more pain. I can share some exercises but I'd recommend you check with your dr./PT first. They're what the PT recommended for me and they helped, but I don't know if we have the same problem.

It's kind of hard to explain the exercises. I'm going to see if I can find a link online. Stay tuned.

Okay. Here's the first one:
Go on your hands and knees. Try to move your tush to your ankles whe keeping your hands on the floor. It's OK if you don't get very far. Repeat 10 times. I find that I can usually go back further the more I do.

The second one is called the Cat And Cow Stretch. I'm linking to a youtube video that explains it: https://youtu.be/tT00XNqJ3uA.

He also told me to use cold compresses for the first few days after the injury and then to switch to hot compresses. Make sure you wrap the compress in something so that it's not touching your skin directly.

I hope this helps. Please feel better. 🤗

amother

Cherry

Wed, Oct 13 2021, 12:07 am

Stabilizing the core is very important as it will hold your back muscles in place.
Are you wearing supportive shoes?
Pt is good. Maybe also a personal trainer.
Remember swimming is the most complete exercise. I dont like swimming, but due to a back injury, it became the only exercise I could do. And I'm very fit and painless because of it.

Frumwithallergies

Wed, Oct 13 2021, 12:23 am

Please check out the AAOS spine conditioning PDF (it should appear in your search engine towards to top).

These are stretches and exercises from the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery and they are fabulous!

The will help you stretch AND work on your core!