3 Keys to not losing out on New Year’s Resolutions with back pain

One of the hardest injuries to exercise with is back pain or sciatica. Literally everything you do seems to flare it with the exception of maybe just walking on the treadmill(boring…I know). On top of that, there are so many opinions on what to do, should you stretch it, strengthen it, just focus on “core”, avoid squats or overhead strength?  Are there machines you should avoid? Is running good or bad for back pain? Pile on top of that not knowing why you hurt. You’re also probably concerned about one or more of these 4 things. 

1. Worried about surgery 

2. Not knowing what’s wrong 

3. Fearful of losing mobility 

4. Relying too heavily on pills to get relief!

So, in this post, we’ll focus on 3 keys for getting back in shape even with back pain. 

Key #1: Rest is not Best

If the thought of making it to the gym right now is a no-go then this first key is for you. Even if it seems like resting is the thing you should be doing for your back, it is unfortunately taking your spine in the wrong direction. Usually when the injury is fresh, yes a couple of days of rest is ok, but after that, we want to focus on the 20:20 rule. So, every 20 minutes, get at least 20 seconds of moving about-this can be as simple as getting up out of your chair and walking around the house or office. This is often enough to offset the strain sitting places on the spine and start to get the postural muscles engaged again in order to support the spine. If possible, aim for at least three 10 minute walks per day and work up to a single 30 minute bout of exercise/walking daily. 

Key # 2: Ungluing sticky joints and loading in the right direction

When we are told we need to stretch when dealing with back pain, we often try to go in the direction that we are limited. So if you struggle tying your shoes or rotating your hip, we often focus on forcing that stretch and in so doing, we sometimes get a bit of mobility but usually at the cost of it hurting while stretching. Instead, its usually more helpful to bend towards the side of the pain(so if you have left sided low back pain-you bend towards your left(you’ll feel a stretch on your right)) or if the pain is central to your spine, a gentle stretch backwards(like being on your stomach propped on your elbows). Why is this more helpful than stretching away from the side of the pain? It is often less painful and longer lasting than stretching away from the side of the pain and usually can be done fairly easily several times a day to help keep the pain away or knock it down. When you go towards the side of your pain, you’re actually helping the joints of the spine while taking some of the load off the muscles that are tight and tender. 

Key #3: Gently unlock tight tender muscles

While most videos on foam rolling or using tools to release tight and tender muscles talk about “breaking up fascia” or “releasing trigger points” the truth is that you can often get great relief with just a little bit of force(and don’t have to be in tears doing so).  How is this so? The truth is that fascia is extremely tough and takes about 2000 pounds of force to deform it by about 1%. The reason we don’t need to use as much force is that we’re really getting the nervous system to calm down in the area that we’re rolling and in so doing this gets the tight tender area of the muscle to relax which creates a cascade of reducing tension on the fascia and the nerves that are causing the pain in the first place. 

Confused about where to start? Book a call from the comfort of your home or office and  on your schedule with one of our Back Pain Specialists. You can schedule your call here.  Need help now? Come by and talk with one of our Doctors of Physical Therapy at no charge. We offer FREE consultations, which give you the opportunity to come in and meet us and see for yourself how we can help you.

Here are just a few of the things you will learn in one of our free consultation:

• What is the underlying cause of your pain? (hopefully nothing too serious!)

• Roughly, how long will it take to fix the problem?

• What to do to help – which doesn’t include painkillers, resting or surgery etc.

• What other, natural, drug free methods are there to speed up recovery alongside treatment?

Our consultations are great for anyone that may be “unsure” if physio is right for them, and they give you the opportunity to ask questions and see for yourself if we can help you.

If you’d like one of our limited free consultation sessions, please click here to schedule your free consultation or CALL us on 850-765-2779 to make a no-obligation enquiry.

About the Author

Dr. Brandon is the owner and a Physio at Body Mechanix Physiotherapy and Fitness. Four of his favorite people call him daddy while he's been married to his other favorite person for 23 years. He enjoys teaching martial arts and is a Mestrando in Capoeira while in the mornings, he can be found working out with the guys in F3 around town.  He's the author of 4 pain relief guides for sciatica, low back, shoulder, and knees and the lead contributor to the Active Tallahassee Blog.