exercises for back - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

12-14-2003, 07:01 PM

can anyone recommend any resources for exercises to strengthen the back to
prevent low back pain? Thanks.

12-14-2003, 07:59 PM

On Mon, 15 Dec 2003 03:01:25 GMT, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] wrote:

>can anyone recommend any resources for exercises to strengthen the back to
>prevent low back pain? Thanks.

Sure. Any primary health care provider would, as would a physical
therapist or certified athletic trainer upon their prescription.

Don't mess with your back. You only get one. What is bothering you
could be simple overuse or it may be something more serious. It
deserves proper medical evaluation and treatment.

12-15-2003, 05:15 AM

Zippy the Pinhead wrote:

> On Mon, 15 Dec 2003 03:01:25 GMT, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] wrote:
>
>>can anyone recommend any resources for exercises to
>>strengthen the back to prevent low back pain? Thanks.
>
> Sure. Any primary health care provider would, as would a
> physical therapist or certified athletic trainer upon their
> prescription.
>
> Don't mess with your back. You only get one. What is
> bothering you could be simple overuse or it may be something
> more serious. It deserves proper medical evaluation and
> treatment.

Your screen name is apt. Ninety-five percent of physicians know
jack about exercise, including for rehab/therapy. Physical
therapists are good, but most "certified athletic trainers" are
morons who spent a weekend getting an AFAA or ACE certification.

BTW, the OP didn't actually say he had low back pain.

--
-Wayne

12-15-2003, 05:17 AM

Jim wrote:

> can anyone recommend any resources for exercises to
> strengthen the back to prevent low back pain? Thanks.

That depends ($1 to LM).

How's your back now? Do you have acute pain, chronic pain, no
pain?

Follow up to misc.fitness.weights.

--
-Wayne

12-15-2003, 06:21 AM

In article <f148681411dd31fbc1b923c44d7109b2@news.meganetnews .com>,
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] says...
> can anyone recommend any resources for exercises to strengthen the back to
> prevent low back pain? Thanks.

Speaking strictly from personal experience (from which your mileage
may vary enormously), I have found that stretching, setups and leg
lifts helped the most; in the absence of structural damage (which only
a physician can diagnose), strengthing the abdominals is generally
considered to be important in preventing chronic lower back pain.

My occasional sore lower back went away completely once I started
fencing as a sport.

--
Dave Kerber
Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

12-15-2003, 07:06 AM

<[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:f148681411dd31fbc1b923c44d7109b2@news.meganet news.com...
> can anyone recommend any resources for exercises to strengthen the back to
> prevent low back pain? Thanks.

Haven't seen you post in rec.bicycles.misc but I will not cross-post to so
extensive a group as you did, so I hope you see this.

The classic strength training exercises for low back are stiff-legged
deadlifts or good mornings. I'm not sure if they will prevent low-back pain
however.

I don't have the aptitude to properly describe good form for these exercises
but any physical therapist or even the "moron" certified athletic trainers
you could find at any gym could do so. And I'm sure there is a website
someplace with good pictures, videos, or descriptions of these exercises.

12-15-2003, 07:07 AM

David Kerber wrote:

> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] says...
>> can anyone recommend any resources for exercises to
>> strengthen the back to prevent low back pain? Thanks.
>
> Speaking strictly from personal experience (from which your
> mileage may vary enormously), I have found that stretching,
> setups and leg lifts helped the most;

What are setups?

> in the absence of structural damage (which only a physician
> can diagnose),

but not reliably or necessarily correctly,

> strengthing the abdominals is generally considered to be
> important in preventing chronic lower back pain.

Perhaps this is considered generally, but it is incorrect.

> My occasional sore lower back went away completely once I
> started fencing as a sport.

You could certainly do a lot worse.

12-15-2003, 07:13 AM

In article <Xns9452668C6FC148ch@127.0.0.1>, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] says...
> David Kerber wrote:
>
> > [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] says...
> >> can anyone recommend any resources for exercises to
> >> strengthen the back to prevent low back pain? Thanks.
> >
> > Speaking strictly from personal experience (from which your
> > mileage may vary enormously), I have found that stretching,
> > setups and leg lifts helped the most;
>
> What are setups?

A misspelling of sit-ups <GG>.

> > in the absence of structural damage (which only a physician
> > can diagnose),
>
> but not reliably or necessarily correctly,

Then who can if not a physician? Are you saying nobody can diagnose
structural damage in the lower back? Because it normally requires x-
rays or MRI's to detect.

> > strengthing the abdominals is generally considered to be
> > important in preventing chronic lower back pain.
>
> Perhaps this is considered generally, but it is incorrect.

Why do you say that? Physical and occupational therapists routinely
tell people with lower back pain without any detectable damage to work
on strengthening their abdominal muscles, and it works for most of
them.

> > My occasional sore lower back went away completely once I
> > started fencing as a sport.
>
> You could certainly do a lot worse.

--
Dave Kerber
Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

12-15-2003, 08:10 AM

David Kerber wrote:

> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] says...
>> David Kerber wrote:
>> >
>> > Speaking strictly from personal experience (from which
>> > your mileage may vary enormously), I have found that
>> > stretching, setups and leg lifts helped the most;
>>
>> What are setups?
>
> A misspelling of sit-ups <GG>.

Oh. Heh: I never considered that, perhaps because I thought
you might mean step-ups.

>> > in the absence of structural damage (which only a
>> > physician can diagnose),
>>
>> but not reliably or necessarily correctly,
>
> Then who can if not a physician? Are you saying nobody can
> diagnose structural damage in the lower back? Because it
> normally requires x- rays or MRI's to detect.

This is really a big problem. It is said that you can't tell
from an autopsy whether someone's back hurt. If you take an
X-ray or MRI of an adult walking down the street without
symptoms or history of back pain, there's something like a 20%
chance that they'll show a disk bulge or outright herniation
(with the probability increasing with age, IIRC). If you take
an X-ray or MRI of someone with severe LBP, it may or may not
reflect such an abnormality.

>> > strengthing the abdominals is generally considered to be
>> > important in preventing chronic lower back pain.
>>
>> Perhaps this is considered generally, but it is incorrect.
>
> Why do you say that? Physical and occupational therapists
> routinely tell people with lower back pain without any
> detectable damage to work on strengthening their abdominal
> muscles, and it works for most of them.

It's difficult to say what actually works for people with LBP.
Studies show that LBP tends to clear up with time, regardless
of the nature of the intervention (chiro, massage, weights,
cardio, accupuncture, shamanism, aromatherapy, you name it).
Thus, it's difficult to say that ab exercises work on LBP.
With that said, the likelihood of long-term freedom from back
pain, or of performing the tasks of life in the presence of
back pain, is maximized by performing activities that
strengthen the trunk musculature, particularly the back
muscles.

I hurt my back a couple of years ago with an unfortunate
motion in deadlifting. After hobbling around for a while, I
found the best therapy was using it, gingerly at first, but
with astonishingly heavy exercise in short order. I'm not
saying that this is the answer for everyone, but if you suffer
from occasional LBP you owe it to yourself to do what you can
to strengthen your back when you can.

--
-Wayne

12-15-2003, 08:24 AM

In article <Xns9452714305FB38ch@127.0.0.1>, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] says...
> David Kerber wrote:
>
> > [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] says...
> >> David Kerber wrote:
> >> >
> >> > Speaking strictly from personal experience (from which
> >> > your mileage may vary enormously), I have found that
> >> > stretching, setups and leg lifts helped the most;
> >>
> >> What are setups?
> >
> > A misspelling of sit-ups <GG>.
>
> Oh. Heh: I never considered that, perhaps because I thought
> you might mean step-ups.
>
> >> > in the absence of structural damage (which only a
> >> > physician can diagnose),
> >>
> >> but not reliably or necessarily correctly,
> >
> > Then who can if not a physician? Are you saying nobody can
> > diagnose structural damage in the lower back? Because it
> > normally requires x- rays or MRI's to detect.
>
> This is really a big problem. It is said that you can't tell
> from an autopsy whether someone's back hurt. If you take an
> X-ray or MRI of an adult walking down the street without
> symptoms or history of back pain, there's something like a 20%
> chance that they'll show a disk bulge or outright herniation
> (with the probability increasing with age, IIRC). If you take
> an X-ray or MRI of someone with severe LBP, it may or may not
> reflect such an abnormality.

Definitely true. However, I'm talking about people who have both LBP
*and* detectable damage, such as a herniated disk, cracked vertebra,
etc. I am well aware that most of the time there is no detectable
cause for pain, and I've also seen the info about people who show
indications of bulging disks with no symptoms.

> >> > strengthing the abdominals is generally considered to be
> >> > important in preventing chronic lower back pain.
> >>
> >> Perhaps this is considered generally, but it is incorrect.
> >
> > Why do you say that? Physical and occupational therapists
> > routinely tell people with lower back pain without any
> > detectable damage to work on strengthening their abdominal
> > muscles, and it works for most of them.
>
> It's difficult to say what actually works for people with LBP.
> Studies show that LBP tends to clear up with time, regardless
> of the nature of the intervention (chiro, massage, weights,
> cardio, accupuncture, shamanism, aromatherapy, you name it).
> Thus, it's difficult to say that ab exercises work on LBP.

True, but from what I've read, and from my own experience, continuing
the exercises frequently keeps it from coming back. I.E., people who
used to have bouts of pain every couple of months might go a year or
more between bouts after they start doing stretching and abdominal
exercises.

> With that said, the likelihood of long-term freedom from back
> pain, or of performing the tasks of life in the presence of
> back pain, is maximized by performing activities that
> strengthen the trunk musculature, particularly the back
> muscles.

I think the key is to strengthen all of the muscles which hold your
upper body in position, which would include both the back muscles and
the abdominals.

> I hurt my back a couple of years ago with an unfortunate
> motion in deadlifting. After hobbling around for a while, I
> found the best therapy was using it, gingerly at first, but
> with astonishingly heavy exercise in short order. I'm not
> saying that this is the answer for everyone, but if you suffer
> from occasional LBP you owe it to yourself to do what you can
> to strengthen your back when you can.

I've never had a traumatic injury to my back, just occasional pain
from (for example) too much digging in the yard, etc. The heat (from
working up a good sweat), stretching and movement of fencing does
wonders for me.