Tailor-made exercise program can help lower back pain go away
(HealthDay News) – It seems to be almost a contradiction in terms, but if you use exercise as a primary tool to treat back pain, you may not need anything else to ease the pain.
Dr. Joel Press, a Chicago sports medicine specialist, stresses the effectiveness of an individualized program that can help your particular back problem. Instead of back surgery or pain medication, Press recommends first consulting with a medical professional who specializes in creating exercise programs tailored to specific needs.
The problem is that exercise programs are often too generic, "one-size-fits-all," which do little to help patients get rid of their pain, said Press, medical director at the Center for Spine, Sports and Occupational Rehabilitation in Chicago .
"Non-specific exercises aren't going to be helpful to people with acute episodes of back pain. You need to build a program on the basis of how patients move and tailor exercises for them that don't hurt," he said.
Press cited several studies done in the early 1990s that showed patients who followed an individualized program of exercises for their backs were better after three months and at one year than patients whose exercises were not tailored for them.
"We are beginning to train people and changing the mindset of what medical students learn," he said of his efforts to promote individualized exercise for low back pain. "About 40 to 50 percent of health professionals are starting to integrate it into their programs."
Press designs exercise programs to give them pain relief and build strength. "In an exam, we move them in all the planes of motion -- sideways, forward and back and at angles -- to see how far they can move their bodies," he said. "We get an understanding of their pain, and will know when the pain is different or worse as they move."
He then creates an exercise program, often consisting of stretching and muscle strengthening, that's designed for them to alleviate the pain by moving their bodies away from the pain. If it hurts to lean forward, for instance, he will show them how to lean back, away from the pain.
"We give them direction away from their pain," he said, "and work on exercises that give them core strengthening to form a muscular corset."
The key to the program's success is its practicality, Press said. He prescribes exercises that resemble daily activities, like bending and stretching, so they are easy to follow.
"We aim for the average Joe with a program that takes no more than 10 to 15 minutes daily and that can be done anywhere," with little or no equipment, he said.
Renee Daniels, who works with many people with back pain as a rehabilitation specialist and fitness manager in New York City, said Press' advice is "right on point," and added that "it's the people with sedentary jobs" who are often susceptible to low back pain.
"You need to create individualized exercise programs to help strengthen weaker muscles and to promote better balance and flexibility," Daniels said. "The stronger the muscle gets, the less episodes of pain the individual will experience."
On the Web
Some tips on how to prevent back pain can be found at The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
SOURCES:
Interviews with Joel Press, M.D., Medical Director, Center for Spine, Sports and Occupational Rehabilitation, Chicago, Ill.; Renee Daniels, certified medical exercise specialist, fitness manager, New York City ; Feb. 21, 2002, American Medical Association pain management conference, New York City
Author:
Janice Billingsley, HealthDay Reporter
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