According to recent data, as many as 16 million Americans are dealing with chronic back pain. For many of them, the pain is bad enough to disrupt their jobs, social lives, and sleep routine. In this case, doctors often recommend exercise to ease the pain and strengthen the muscles.
That doesn’t mean that you’re free to do any physical activity you feel like. To get the most out of your routine without causing more damage to your back, you need to know how to find out which exercises are best for you.
Where To Start
It goes without saying that people with chronic back pain should seek the advice of a doctor before taking on any new physical activity.
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This consultation is important because the type of exercise you’re allowed to do with chronic back pain will differ depending on how you developed the pain in the first place.
People who are in pain because of repetitive motions or long periods of immobility will receive different instructions from those who have been injured.
As a guide, however, it helps to identify which positions ease your pain. For example, people who experience less pain while standing or lying down may be able to do a hip flexor stretch or a bridge.
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If you feel less pain when seated, knee-to-chest exercises work well. Finally, those who are in pain in any position may benefit from full-body exercises such as walking and wall sits.
Which Exercises You Should Consider?
While this list is not exhaustive, these are a few of the exercises that the experts recommend for people with chronic back pain.
- Pelvic tilts
- Bridges
- Wall sits
- Pelvic rock
- Lateral raises, lateral pulldowns, and assisted pull-ups
- Chest flyes, bench press, and incline press
- Leg press, extensions, and curls
- Abdominal exercises using an exercise ball
- Squats of all variations
- Plank exercises
- Lunges, either forward or backward
- Push-ups or modified push-ups from knees
- Hamstring stretches and extensions using a wall or towel grip for support
- Knee-to-chest stretch, alternating legs while keeping the other flat to the floor
- Back press-ups from the floor in a push-up position, pressing only your upper body off the floor and keeping hands planted
- Cardio exercises
- Walking
- Swimming
- Leg presses
- Shoulder presses
- Bench presses
- Leg curls
Of course, the type of exercise you choose will also be affected by how active you were before developing chronic back pain. For people who weren’t that active, it’s good to start slowly. If you were an avid walker, you might find it easier to start with short walks.
How To Exercise Safely
Regardless of which exercises you choose, there are a few factors you should always take into consideration.
Before you start working out, make sure to warm up so your muscles are prepared for what you’re about to do. If you don’t warm up, you run the risk of injuring yourself further.
The same goes for cooling down.
When you’re exercising, you should never push your body further than it wants to go. That might sound like you’re playing it too safe but working through pain or to the point of pain could cause harm.
While some weight training exercise is fine for certain people, be careful not to overdo it. You should stick to light weights and never press weights above your head.
If you’re not familiar with the type of exercise you’d like to try, seek out a professional instructor. Not only will they be able to show you how to carry out the exercises correctly but they will also know what modifications to make for someone who is dealing with chronic back pain.
It can be difficult to exercise well when you have chronic back pain but it’s not impossible. Make sure to get your doctor’s go-ahead to exercise before you start anything and let them know if working out is causing you pain. You’ll never get the right results if you don’t proceed carefully.
