Core Exercises for Back Pain....

[NakedFinger]

Does anyone have any suggestions?

I have chronic back and hip pain from bone graft after a car accident. To say I do nothing physical is an understatement. I don't work out because its painful. My main form of calorie burning is walking around for my job, or a mall, and of course there's... . LOL. Fortunately for me I have a naturally small figure and fast metabolism for the time being, so the the motivation and need to work out hasn't been prevalent. I am both thin, and completely out of shape it terms of muscle at the same time.

HOWEVER, I have been having conversations with DH about whats going to happen when I get pregnant. I'm really worried. I feel like having that extra 25-30 (or more, eek!) pounds will only heighten the pain since I am not use to carrying the extra weight. Plus, I hear many pregnant women get back pain, so I am afraid mine will only increase when I get pregnant.

DH was telling me that his uncle who had back problems, was told by his doctor to strengthen his core, thus taking some of the strain off his back. I think this will not only be beneficial for my back now, but also help when it comes time for me to carry a child. While I am sure I can do some form of exercise while pregnant, I want to get a jump on this before hand so I don't have problems.

My problem is, most exercises that I see on TV, workout dvd's, equipment, etc. isn't exactly low impact. And due to pain restrictions, I am not sure how much I can do. Does anyone have any suggestions of core exercises I can do? I appreciate any helpful suggestions. Thanks!

(Pandora, if you are out there, I remember reading that you have back problems, and did physical therapy during your pregnancy? I appreciate any incite you can offer)

 

[charbie]

A great exercise for your core is planks. Prop yourself up on your elbos and toes, then just hold your body there, straight and stiff. This will strengthen your stomach and back. Another type is side planks, where your lay on your side, prop up on your elbo again, and force your hip away from the ground and hold that position. Hope this helps! DH suffers from a bulging disk, so I understand how painful back probllems really can be.

 

[Pandora II]

Hi!
I'll see if I can help...

The exercise that really helped me was core abdominals - they are very like doing kegels except you are using your deep abdominal muscles rather than your pelvic floor muscles. It's quite hard to explain how to do them as you are using muscles that you don't normally conciously use. Once you have been taught how to find and use them it's very easy to do and you can do them while sitting watching TV or walking around or in bed - basically whenever you can or want to. They absolutely do not involve any kind of sit-ups or exercises of that kind.

To teach me how to find them my physiotherapist used an ultrasound machine so that I could watch the muscles contracting when I pulled them in the right way (it also had sound so I could hear as well). I spent a couple of weeks doing them while hooked up to the machine and then could do them without. My physio was pretty happy as it normally takes around 6 weeks to teach people how to find the muscles. You should be able to hold them for a count of 10 or so while breathing normally - eventually you get to the point where you can do them pretty much all the time if you feel like it.

It has had a great effect on my back so well worth doing them - plus they are low impact and not painful to do. Added bonus is an almost flat stomach - despite having had a kid and putting on the amount of weight I did (over half my pre-pregnancy body-weight) I have a totally flat stomach and it's totally down to these exercises.

I had a total ban on all other forms of exercise especially anything involving twisting or anything high impact. I also had a lot of accupuncture - I found doing that in conjunction with TENS was helpful especially as I don't really enjoy the sensations associated with accupuncture and the TENS meant I didn't feel them. The other thing my physio sometimes did was to tape the whole of my back up at times! I also had a couple of corset braces, but they're not a great idea for more than a couple of days as they allow your muscles to not work.

I found my back pain got a lot better when I was pregnant - I have spinal stenosis - which my physio had said was a good probability, right up until I got an inflamed facet joint where one of my ribs attached to one of my vertebrae. It was hell and there was nothing in my meds cocktail that was touching it. I had massage, accupuncture, TENS and heat and although the heat was the most helpful it was only effective while I was using it. I finally tried a full body bandage - one of the elasticated ones like you have for sprained ankles - from under boobs to mid-thigh. Wriggling into the thing was an entertaining sight I'm sure but the relief was instant - plus it gave me a lot of extra support.

I put on 75lbs when I was pregnant and had the most terrible odema - I could barely walk the last few weeks and even after a whole night lying down, the swelling in my legs, ankles and feet didn't go down a jot. However I lost the lot very quickly - around 5 weeks PP.

Since having Daisy I have found carrying her in a Mei Tai has been great for my back - it distributes the weight over your shoulders and hips and the baby is wrapped round you so that the weight is not hanging off you like it is with slings like the Baby Bjorn but is incorporated by your whole body. As I have been carrying her pretty much everyday I have been getting a workout with very gradually increasing weight as she grows and has really strengthened my back muscles. She's now 20lbs and I can easily carry her for several hours at a stretch without being in pain which I couldn't have dreamt of doing before she was born.

I would recommend finding a really good physiotherapist and getting them to teach you how to do core abdominals - if they also do accupuncture that is a bonus! My physio was attached to the hospital where my neurosurgeon works rather than being someone private that I saw. I really, really advise finding someone good to teach you the exercises as it is so hard to know if you are doing them right at the beginning. I've had a look online to see if there is a good article on doing them but can't find one that I think would work. It is important perhaps to have a look at some of the anatomy of the spine and adbdominal and back muscles. So many so-called abdominal exercises (like crunches) actually use muscles around the hips not abdominal muscles. Crunches are not what you should be doing at all.

Just to add - I don't use chiropractors or osteopaths as I don't like people messing with my spine who don't see the need for a set of MRI and x-ray reports before they do so. If my specialist spinal physio at one of the leading orthopaedic hospitals in the world can't fix things I doubt any of them can.

Not sure of that helps at all....

 

[hawaiianorangetree]

I would find a pilates instructor or physiotherapist who could give you a few private sessions that are tailored to your needs. Once you are familiar with the excersizes and you know how to do them all correctly (which is the most important thing) you could start doing them on your own.

I don't think attempting new excersizes with instructions from the Internet when you are already in pain is a very wise thing because you are likely to do more damage to yourself than any good. it's really important to get the excersizes right in the first place to a) actually get the benefit of them and b) not do yourself any more damage.

Good luck!

 

[mary poppins]

I have a variety of back problems, including scoliosis, which cause pain. As a result, I used to have debilitating and immobilizing muscle spasms several times a year. My doctor sent me to physical therapy and the therapist taught me some exercises which turned out to be core exercises. After a while, PT got to be expensive and inconvenient. I noticed the exercises I was supposed to do for PT were accomplished through Pilates, so I switched to Pilates at the gym and videos at home to suit my bank account and schedule better. It made a BIG difference - if I exercise regularly and incorporate what I learned in my daily activity, I have minimal pain and debilitating muscle spasms only once or twice per year, maximum. I also find Tai Chi to be helpful, more for relaxation than core strengthening.

I would suggest you ask your doctor if physical therapy could help your situation, and start from there.

 

[random_thought]

I have been having back problems from being pregnant with some spinal issues. I have one exercise where I hold in my stomach as much as I can and push my pelvis forward and this helps me short term (my PT gave me this one to do). I also do 2 sessions of aqua physical therapy each week which also helps a great deal. Maybe something like that might help?

 

[katebar]

I second all the recs' but in particular Pilates is very effective. You definitely need to do a few classes to really get the hands on basics. I have been doing pilates for over 10 years and recently discovered this web page for at home classes. It is brilliant but you need to have done some classes I think with an instructor first.
http://www.pilatesanytime.com/