Exercise for back pain?

Being someone who has had an acute back injury in the past, I know firsthand that lower back pain can be debilitating. Often the last thing you would want to contemplate is exercising, however under the guidance of physiotherapists and exercise physiologists this can be the best and most effective long-term treatment option. Exercise treatment has been proven effective in treatment of the following types of lower back pain:

• Disc bulge/herniated discs
• Spinal degeneration
• Osteoarthritis
• Referred pain/sciatica

Role of exercise in reducing back pain

Improving core strength and helping improve stability of the spine can also aid in increasing pain free movement of the back. Improving hamstring and hip flexibility can also reduce the load placed on spinal discs.  This can help treat nerve related pain caused by things such as disc bulges and herniated discs.

Exercise treatment for lower back pain:

Lower back pain can present with different symptoms for each individual so each exercise program should always be individualised. Overall results found superior benefits in strength and resistance training as well as stability and flexibility training as opposed to other forms of treatment. The main areas that can benefit the management of lower back pain include improving core strength, improving hip stabilisation and increasing hamstring and lower back flexibility.

Return to work or sport

When you have injured your back it is important to return to gentle movement once the pain becomes tolerable. It is okay to protect the back initially by changing some movements, but the sooner you can return to normal movement the faster your recovery will be. Exercise and Physiotherapy treatment has been shown to increase return to work & sport over 3 times faster than rest and self-management.

We’re here to help!

Backs can be tricky so we are here to help guide you back to recovery. If you have had a recent injury to your back, see one of our physios to help you get back to feeling better sooner. If you have chronic back soreness, or wanted to return to sport or work sooner, our exercise physiologists can help assist you by tailor making an exercise program suited to your needs to help you return to 100%!

Contact us to get started with back pain rehabilitation!