Manage back pain with regular exercise and professional help as required
If you have an attack of lower-back pain that is severe, continuous and not improving, assessment and treatment by a health care professional who focuses on the back or other musculoskeletal problems may help. These practitioners may use both active and passive techniques to help you feel better. Examples of passive techniques that may be used to get you moving include:
- Heat or ice
- Ultrasound
- Manipulation (massage and movement)
An active approach, like walking or water aerobics is usually the most effective. Exercise is often the best way to relieve lower-back pain.
Check with your health care provider before starting an exercise program.
Work with an expert. It may help to work with a health professional (such as a physiotherapist) who can explain which activities are right for you.
Choose exercises you enjoy. Many activities can help relieve back pain. Try to include activities that strengthen the muscles around your trunk, your abdominal muscles as well as those in your lower back. Studies show the following activities help relieve back pain:
- Lifting light weights
- Yoga
- Walking and using a treadmill
- Water aerobics
Don’t cause more pain. Avoid exercises that flare up your back pain. But just because you may have back pain with some activities doesn’t mean you have done any harm. A trained therapist can teach you about the principle of ‘hurt versus harm’.
As you begin, you may want to avoid sit-ups with straight legs, leg lifts while lying on your back and shoulder presses or bicep curls while standing. Once you start to improve you can add more complex exercises to strengthen your back and all your core muscles.
Join an exercise program for people with chronic back pain. It might be easier to stick with exercise if you don’t “go it alone.”