Back pain relief through exercise

Hello and welcome to my little hub.

In this hub we will take a look at back pain and how it can be relieved through mild exercise.

Back pain is one of the most common ailments in the modern world. Each one of us either suffers from one form of back pain or another or know someone else who does.

Many causes of back pain are bad posture. We get into bad habits such as slouching, leaning on things sitting badly, leaning over desks etc.

But as we do it on a regular basis our bodies form into that shape. So you may develop muscles down one side and not the other which pulls your spine out of alignment or to wear on one side which then leads to pain.

So by sitting and standing correctly and have our muscles formed to allow and hold us correctly we can avoid these problems and the associated pain.

So how do we get out of those habits and develop a good posture?

I can see you getting worried now, with pictures of hours holding poses every day. Although you can do a daily workout if you like ( and you may feel like it after a while as the exercise makes you feel better ) you only really need to do it a couple of times a week. For say 30 minutes at a time to feel some back pain relief and a whole lot better for it.

One thing I have noticed is that I now naturally use what I call 'dead time', the time between things when you just have bits of time to kill to do additional stretches and exercises. You know the times I mean, when you are waiting. Waiting for the kettle to boil, the tea to brew, waiting for a bus or an elevator. I even do stretches when cooking or watching tv.

You will soon find there are lots of bits of 'dead time' throughout your day, so why not make the most of them and turn what could be seen as a negative into something that will have positive effect. People around you may find it strange at first, until that first time when they say 'ouch my back hurts today' and then you gently remind of that stretch you do ( and they sniggered at ) which may help alleviate the pain.

Well this is diferent for each of us. The two main options are

1. attend a class

2. buy or rent a dvd

Lets look at each of those options:

1. Attending a class - if I am learning something mental this is my first choice as I can interact with the class and tutor. However if you do not have an atheletic build and are not the most coordinated this could be a little on the embarassing side performing exercises in front of others. You may be more inclined to think about what others are thinking rather than learning the exercises to relieve your back pain. With this option you generally attend once a week at a predetermined time which may or may not be convenient. Also there may or not be a suitable exercise class near to you.

2. learning from a dvd at home - this I found the most convenient and comfortable way of learning the stretches. I could go at my own pace, rewind the dvd when I needed to look at the exercise again to get it correct. I did not need to feel self conscious and could focus on improving my core muscles and get the back pain relief I have been wanting. Of course as I have the dvd and I feel the need to exercise then I can put it on at any time during the week and be led through the routine. One downside of this is that you need the will power to put those dvd's on in the first place and actually start the exercise routines but once you start getting the relief from your back pain and generally start feeling more flexible it is no longer a problem.

Whichever method you choose it is important to start slowly and not overdo it. The exercise routines I use are Pilates and general stretching which I learned from dvd.Although the exercises appear easy to do I cannot stress enough to know your limits and keep to them and when you are ready push them slightly.