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About 80% of Americans have had back pain at some point in their lives. In the past, many of them have been told that unless it is a definite, treatable injury, there is only one way to treat back pain: rest. But today's research tells us that the opposite is true.
A spokesman of the American Physical Therapy Association, Eric Robertson who is associate professor of clinical physical therapy at the University of Utah and the University of Southern California, notes: “the advice of taking a good rest and not making your back too tense contradicts the best practices we know today.” One of the main problems with physical therapists and doctors is that we don't know the cause of pain. Robertson says any muscle pain may be caused by too tight or stiff muscle, and it also probably results from the weak strength or the wrong direction of motion. He says it's like a car, and if there's a weakness, the other parts will wear out more badly—— that's why you feel the pain.
Strengthening the core and back muscles can effectively help treat and prevent back pain. The good news is that you don't have to do a lot of strength training to ensure the effect. The more you exercise, the less likely you are to experience pain.
“Spending more time standing every day or walking if possible, and stretching your hips, hamstring and hip flexors regularly are also positive ways to prevent these problems,” says Lauren Shroyer of the American Council on Exercise. Robertson agrees with him. He says walking is one of the best forms of exercise to relieve back pain because it’s a piece of cake, not an energy-consuming sport, and more exercise can also help. Back pain is the result of an increasingly sedentary lifestyle, so it doesn't need to take much exercise to strengthen the core and back muscles to ease the pain.
But strength training may be more helpful. Research shows that even low-level strength training can mitigate back pain. Back problems are usually caused by weaknesses in other body parts, such as the gluteus and adductor muscles which are both located in the buttocks and legs. Trainings such as squats, leg press, or any kind of one-legged training can strengthen these muscles and help relieve back pain.
If your back is aching right now, you should consult a physiotherapist to develop a plan for your body and pain. And if you want to stop back problems through comprehensive trainings, Shroyer also has some suggestions.
Tyros can try the following trainings:
Hip bridge
Air squat
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Bird-dog
Improved side-bar support
If you have mastered the above training methods or you are already experienced, then try these:
Romanian hard pull
Dumbbell squat or goblet squat
Plank and side-bar supports
Superman training (prostrate as both ends raise)
Strength training should also be accompanied by stretching exercises. Shroyer recommends a basic project to avoid back problems. “Overall, if you don't feel acute pain and want to take precautions actively, the best routine program is stretch your hips and strengthen your legs and core strength.” For more details, you can check out Williams's lower dorsiflexion training, number 4 piriformis stretching, cat-bovine stretching and Fish-King supine stretching.
Shroyer says that based on your lumbar position, you can also find the most helpful training method by looking sideways into a full-length mirror and observing your lumbar curvature. If the lumbar spine is straight, the hamstring stretching is most effective, and if the curvature is large, the hip flexor stretch will be most effective.
If you have mild pain or just want to prevent back problems from arising in your future life, the current suggestions are more than enough. But many people with chronic back pain find even these basic stretching or exercise are difficult to perform.
“All pain is a combination of physical and mental responses,” Robertson said. It seems a bit far-fetched, and actually overcoming discomfort is largely about overcoming fear of pain.
He explains that if you feel pain every time you exercise, it's normal to get scared -- that's the job of a physiotherapist, who can get you to exercise more to get over your fear. Many are also told they merely have problems with their backs. But the fact that about 90 percent of back pain isn't serious means most people just need proper training to get rid of it, Robertson says. Some have a sudden recurrence of back pain, but that doesn't mean the pain will last them a lifetime.
Robertson says he also has intermittent back pain, which can be a struggle for him. “Every time back aches I feel like it's something I'll never get rid of. It's OK to admit it -- it's scary and overwhelming,” he says. “We should all talk about back pain in a more positive light. It may be terrible right now, but it can be surmounted.”
