Hope If Back Pain Exercises Aren’t Working For You
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010Even if You Haven’t Been Able to Do Back Exercises Yet, There May Still Be Hope
If you have not been able to do back exercises because of chronic back pain from a ruptured disc, don’t give up yet. Lots of people with ruptured discs, who were initially discouraged or negative about back pain exercise, eventually found it to be of great value.
Some weren’t aware of the potential benefits of exercise. Others were told never to exercise. Still others were given the wrong exercises, or were not taught how to exercise, or tried to exercise too soon after the onset of ruptured disc pain.
Here are some of their comments:
A management consultant: ‘I can function as long as I am faithful (absolutely) to the exercises prescribed by my practitioner. I do them for about 45 minutes each morning and evening.’
A lawyer: ‘Go very slow at first and then build up the number of repetitions. I started off at the so-called recommended number of exercises and repetitions, and it cost me another week in bed.’
A truck driver: ‘I recommend heat first, then exercises to strengthen abdominal muscles, which relieve pressure on the lower back.’
And a pharmacist who had trouble exercising at first: ‘Exercise does not relieve pain, but I push the exercises somewhat in order to keep supple. I also don’t do the exercises that everyone else does. My back pain exercises program is prescribed for me, and it works for me.’
If you aren’t doing back exercises, these back pain exercises may put you on track. These movements are gentle and easy to individualize. If, for any reason, you find the exercises hard to do, stop immediately. If this happens, or if you are not satisfied with your progress, or if you have been advised not to exercise, you could try consulting a physiotherapist, sports medicine specialist, kinesiologist, yoga teacher or physical fitness instructor.
Other Approaches to Chronic Disc Pain
Two chronically disabled ruptured disc patients in a recent US survey sought medically supervised gravity inversion, with fair to good results. It is admittedly difficult to find a medical doctor to oversee this approach to relieving back pain, because gravity inversion has not been widely accepted by the medical profession. Chiropractors and physical fitness instructors, however, are making increased use of the technique. You can also attempt to use gravity inversion on your own if you are relatively pain-free.
Spinal fusion, an extreme measure that permanently joins together spinal vertebrae and limits your movement, is a last-ditch measure that fails as often as it succeeds. However, I mention it because three US survey participants found that this surgery restored them to the mainstream of life after all other appropriate measures, including excellent rehabilitation programs, had failed. They report that getting opinions from at least two surgeons is essential, and they recommend an orthopedic surgeon rather than a neurosurgeon.
Bear in mind that some surgeons often do spinal fusions only at one level on the spine, as this removes movement in that segment. However, this in turn puts an additional burden on the neighboring segments of the spine and could lead to more rapid degeneration in these sections.
Mail this post
