What is the beat way to help a poor lower back, and keep it strong?

I don’t think that beating it will help it.

Personal opinion, you understand…

Pilates

Al backs are not created equal. See whether you can get your primary care physican to write you an RX for some sessions with a first-rate Physical Therapist. He or she will design back exercises, activities and a “no-no” list specifically for you.

That is, after the initial agony calms down. (Heat, ice, tylenol for several days – possibly an elastic support found at any good CVS to get you up and about. Do not lift anything heavier than a glass.)

You might want to rephrase your question. Beating isn’t really good for backs.

It’s not too terrific for fronts, either.

Bad back pain can interfere with the concentration, I promise you.

I had back surgery when I was in the eighth grade (I’m now 22) and I’ve found that the best and only way I’ve been able to combat back pain is to keep my core strong. By keeping your core strong you’re strengthening the muscles that support your back. It took me a few years to finally understand this, but now I’m a firm believer.

Ditto to what gail said. It wasn’t until I went to a great physical therapist and listened to her and practiced exactly what she said that I finally got relief. You need to find one that is a good teacher and will explain things to you until you understand. It helped me a lot to have explained to me the “whys” as well as the “how to do it”.

Also to the “do not lift anything heavy” I would add be carefull how you lift and bend. I messed my back up by bending all the way over into a large recycle bin rather than dumping it out to get what I wanted. Bad mistake and it took me years to undo that damage.

After I had my car accident, I had to have physical therapy….the therapy was PILATES!
Pilates will strengthen your core and back.

Believe it or not pilates was invented for that very purpose by Joseph H. Pilates. Pilates was invented for people who had, had car accidents and sports injuries. You can read more about it just by googling…Joseph H. Pilate.

My neighbor broke his neck…physical therapy was given…he showed me the physical therapy exercises it was PILATES! Pilates can be tricky so be careful.

Yoga seems to help my back a great deal and core. As long as you have a doctors go ahead or your back pain isn’t drastic. In fact I bet a doctor would recommend it. My physical therapist is the one who gave me the dvd.

I would really consult my physician before you engage yourself in any activities such as Back extension exercises etc. This may be something big so i recommend not putting it off. I hope its something minor. Take care and hope this issue gets resolved.

www.Crossfit.com

The Crossfit website is pretty cool eh. Isn’t it kinda extreme? bootcamp almost .. shrugs

Yoga

I had scoliosis surgery a few here ago, losing weight and building up your core goes a long way. Plus just getting enough sleep with a good mattress and the right pillow.

@brian; Did you consider the surgery a success?. What was the degree (angle?) of your scoliosis? Do you have grafts or a rod attached to your spine? Would you have the surgery again in hindsight?

Ok. I’ve herniated two discs – several times, had a discectomy/laminectomy about 7 years ago and just had a spinal fusion 5 months ago. See a doctor. Can’t afford that? See a witchdoctor! No seriously. Good exercises for the back are as follows:

Cross Country Skiing.
Nordic Track
Swimming
Water Therapy (yeah with all the old folks. I’m doing that now. Well not right now cause then my computer would fry, but now in the sense of I’m enrolled in it and participating during certain days of the week.)
Walking (after my surgery I worked myself up from walking to the end of the block – less than 500 feet – to walking 8 miles in a matter of weeks. Physical therapy screwed me up, but I’m getting back to my 8 miles day by day.)

Pilates can seriously screw you up if you do too much. The core muscle workouts are great, but you really need someone to help and watch you do them. Yoga, I’ve tried but the stretches were too intense for me as well.

I agree with @brianru that losing weight and a good nights sleep is definitely going to be key. Core muscle buildup is probably the most important, but you need to see a professional to get the proper workups and workouts.

Do NOT run. Do NOT jog. No high impact sports.

I concur with everything except the X country skiing. I am fine until I fall down. There seems to be no way of standing up without a sky hook to haul me to a vertical position. I too have specific exercises, walki (or treadl) regularly and swim when possible. I was never advised to have surgery because my scoliosis was mild, but, boy, it has certainly made my life miserable.

And reluctantly, I gave up pro-football a few years ago..

@gailcalled I do consider it a success. I had two 40 degree curves in opposite directions and a 3rd curve forming near the base of my spine. The surgeon – dr Lonner of scoliosis associates – attached two rods straightening out the big curves, and the lowest mostly straightened itself out and is at like 12 degrees now.

I would have the surgery again, it’s saved me a lot of pain.

@twrex I found biking does the trick

@tWrex and @Brian; how old were you when you had the surgeries? My Physical Therapist started by saying,“Listen to your body. If if does not like what I am teaching you, stop.” So I eliminated one exercise.

40˚ is serious. Mine is only about 14˚ but the assymetry of the soft tissues is a problem.There is no denying the laws of physics.

@brianru With biking I feel like I bend too much, so I need a different type of bike (something where the handlebars are higher. Like those tricked out Huffy’s you see in LA.).

@gailcalled I can totally understand the cross country skiing and falling down. That definitely would not make things better at all. The only reason I suggested it is because my doctor just suggested it to me (along with the Nordic Trac).

< you just crafted an answer so now I have to do this continuation =) >

I had my first surgery at 19. My most recent one I was 26. It definitely gave me an edge on my recovery. My parents have a friend who is 38 and just had the same surgery (different doctor) and is at about 7 months now and isn’t anywhere close to where I’m at in my recovery. We’re about the same height, same build (neither of us overweight) so it shows how much age can be a factor. He may also not be as motivated as I was, although I don’t know so I can’t comment on that. I had goals for myself right out of surgery to be off meds after 2 weeks and walk 10 miles by 3 months. I got the meds outta the way, but never hit 10. Only 8, but I thought that was a huge accomplishment, so I was ok.

@tWrex – 8 miles daily or several times a week? Congratulations. That is more than OK.

Daily. =) Seems kinda intense, but that was my goal. It had to be something that most people would think to be insurmountable to themselves. I guess that’s the Marine in me. My sister called me a freak and said it was bs cause I was “in better shape than her now”. I’ve since lost a bit of that over the last 2 months because my physical therapist was a moron(and some other choice expletives), but now that my doctor ordered me to stay away from the village idiot I’m getting back into my groove. If we didn’t get so much rain (damn you hurricane ike) I woulda been out there today.

(Well, the Nordic Track is inside, yes?)

@gailcalled I was 15

Yes the Nordic Track is inside, but it’s the same as cross country skiing. Just without the snow.

I was shocked at how much yoga helped me. I was very sceptical. But after sticking with it for a while found that it is really helpful for both body and mind. Everything is connected. If you aren’t ready to dive right into yoga though you would be amazed at how much basic stretching can help your back. Start with stretching your hamstrings and you will slowly find lower back relief.

Again, be careful. Some yoga postures can be lethal. Start slowly, listen to your body and remember to breathe. I can only do some yoga.

good abdominal strength = a more stable lower back.