Exercise and Fitness - Helps Your Back
- Apr 30, 2023
- 4 min read
A common (and harmful) misconception is that exercise should be avoided when a patient is experiencing back pain. Understandably, many patients are reluctant to exercise out of the fear that any exercises or stretching will aggravate their existing back pain. This may make them rely too heavily on medical treatments and underemphasize the importance of exercise for healing and long term back pain relief.
For most back problems, exercise and movement are the natural stimuli for the healing process. Controlled, gradual and progressive exercise, rather than inactivity and bed rest, most often provides the best long-term solution for reducing back pain and preventing (or lessening) future episodes of pain.
Most experts recommend no more than one or two days rest at the onset of most episodes of back pain. Prolonged inactivity can actually increase back pain as the back becomes stiff, weak, and deconditioned. As the pain increases, many patients reduce their activity and exercise levels, resulting in even more back pain and aggravating the cycle of inactivity and back pain recurrence.
Exercise plays the dual role of both treating back pain and helping prevent future episodes of pain.
By nourishing and repairing spinal structures, exercise helps alleviate existing back problems.
Movement and exercise keep the anatomy of the back healthy, flexible and strong in order to reduce the chances of further injury and back pain.
It is always advisable for patients to first consult with a health professional before beginning any exercise or fitness program. Working with a physician or experienced spine specialist will ensure that patients' activities are safe for their back and for their overall health. With back pain, it's particularly important to get an accurate diagnosis for the cause of the patient's pain from a physician or chiropractor in order to rule out possible types of back pain that may be aggravated by exercise (such as spinal instability).
How Exercise Helps the Back
Engaging in exercise and fitness activities helps keep the back healthy by allowing discs to exchange fluids which is how the disc receives its nutrition. A healthy disc will swell with water and squeeze it out, similar to the action of a sponge. This sponge action distributes nutrients to the disc.
In addition, fluid exchange helps to reduce the swelling in the other soft tissues that naturally occurs surrounding injured discs. When there is a lack of exercise, swelling increases and discs become malnourished and degenerated.
Exercising the back reduces stiffness by keeping the connective fibers of ligaments and tendons flexible. Improved mobility through back exercise helps to prevent the connective fibers from tearing under stress, which in turn prevents injury and back pain.
Another important effect of exercise is that it stretches, strengthens, and repairs muscles that help to support the back. The back and abdominal muscles act as an internal corset supporting the vertebrae discs, facet joints, and ligaments. When back and abdominal muscles are weak they cannot support the back properly. Back strengthening exercises help to strengthen these supporting muscles in order to prevent straining soft tissues (e.g. muscles, ligaments, and tendons) and provide sufficient support for the structures in the spine.
Additionally, stretching is good for the back. For example, stretching hamstring muscles helps to relieve stress on the low back. Another benefit of back exercise is that the motion helps lubricate the facet joints, which are synovial joints that require appropriate motion.
Integrating Exercise with Medical Treatment
Exercise and fitness are necessary for healing existing back problems, recovering from back surgery, and especially for keeping the back healthy to help prevent (or at least lessen) future episodes of back pain.
Ideally, an exercise and fitness program should be integrated during most phases of treatment for pain relief and to improve the overall health of patients. If the pain is severe, however, patients may first need to be treated for the pain prior to starting a back exercise program.
Specific Exercise Strategies
The following guidelines and insights are designed to help patients plan and follow through with a safe and effective exercise program to condition the back. The key goals of engaging in exercise and fitness activities are to aid the healing process for an injured back and alleviate existing back pain while helping to prevent (or at least minimize) future problems.
Find the right type of professional to help with the exercise and fitness program. Patients should always consult with a physician prior to beginning any exercise or fitness program. A healthcare professional can assist with the development of an appropriate list of back exercises and activities in which to engage or avoid. Health professionals such as physical therapists, chiropractors, and physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians (physiatrists) often have specific training and expertise with exercise and fitness programs for pain relief. It's particularly important to see a health professional with expertise in spinal conditions and back pain, as different back conditions often require very different exercise programs.
Expect some initial discomfort when beginning a new exercise and fitness program. However, start slowly, because the results of back exercise, such as soreness, may not be felt for 24 to 48 hours after the exercise session. Beginning an exercise program after an episode of back pain will likely cause some increase in pain in the beginning. However, the back pain experienced during exercise should be "good pain." This pain is to be expected as a natural part of increasing activity and stretching tissues that have become stiff and deconditioned.
Set a careful pace when starting to exercise. When returning to activity after an episode of pain or following surgery, ease into back exercise and physical activity. Be careful not to overwork or strain muscles that may have become deconditioned after a period of inactivity. Taking into account that there may be some initial discomfort, a cautious approach to back exercise can help keep back pain under control and prevent a flare-up. See Rehabilitation and Exercise Following Spine Surgery
Include a combination of stretching, strengthening, and low-impact aerobic conditioning exercise. Utilizing these three components of exercise will help heal existing problems, avoid injury and prevent future problems. Muscles will become strengthened and more flexible, repairing strained muscles that cause back pain. Low-impact aerobic conditioning helps to stretch and strengthen the back as well as the abdominals and hamstrings, two muscles that help to support the back.
By Hariharan. V
DYOFITXⓇ Instructor
DYOFITXⓇ does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Any information published on this website or by this brand is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional.
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