‘My back hurts – what exercises can I do to relieve it?’

It’s an exercise everyone has done at some point, but Dr Zac Turner says this particular movement could cause more harm than good.

Back pain is common across the world and ranges from a constant dull ache all the way to a sharp shooting pain. Picture: iStock

Welcome to Ask Doctor Zac, a weekly column from news.com.au. This week, Dr Zac Turner shares tips on how to manage and prevent back pain.

Question: Hi Dr Zac, I’m getting old! Well not really, but my back is starting to hurt. My mother said that’s one of the most fatal signs of ageing, and I have to agree with her. She says one of the biggest mistakes she’s ever made in life is not looking after her back.

How can I avoid the mistake my mother made? What exercises can I do to help back pain, and which ones should I avoid? Are there handy medications I can use to alleviate the pain? What about surgery? – Mel, 38, Perth

For most people back pain can be completely avoided, but you need to put the work in early. Picture: iStock

Answer: Just because you are getting older, it doesn’t mean you need to feel old. For most people back pain can be completely avoided, but you need to put the work in early. By work I don’t mean the gym or excessive exercise; as you’ll see, it’s the small but regular changes that make all the difference. In fact, every choice you make now will affect you in the future.

Have you heard of that simple exercise accountants love to suggest, where if you put $100 away each month from early on in your working life, you’ll be able to retire happily? You need to follow this approach with your health.

The small habits you adopt today will benefit you immensely later in life. What’s the point of retiring if you are too sore to do anything?

Back pain is common across the world and ranges from a constant dull ache all the way to a sharp shooting pain. Many people gradually feel more pain in their back as they age, while others may feel it come on suddenly after an accident.

There’s a reason why people often use the metaphor of a ‘backbone’ for an integral system: It is one of the most important parts of your anatomy, and many structures rely on it. The spine is broken into four regions – cervical spine, thoracic spine, lumbar spine, and the sacrum and coccyx.

Strains in the back are common. Picture: iStock

The common causes of back pain have to do with strain and issues with back structures. Strains are caused by the muscles attached to the spine becoming affected by overactivity, incorrect lifting of heavy objects and sudden awkward movements. Structural problems are caused by issues with your vertebrae and discs.

I love that you have asked about exercises, because they are key to keeping pain at bay. Exercises for lower back pain can strengthen back, stomach and leg muscles. I’ll give you some starter exercises to do and I’ll also cover those to avoid. If the pain persists, speak to a physiotherapist.

Exercises to help prevent back pain

• Hamstring stretches

Lie on your back and bend one knee. Loop a towel under the ball of your foot. Straighten your knee and slowly pull back on the towel. You should feel a gentle stretch down the back of your leg. Hold for at least 15-30 seconds and repeat two to four times for each leg.

• Wall sits

Stand a small distance away from a wall, then lean back until your back is flat against the wall. Slowly slide down until your knees are slightly bent, pressing your lower back into the wall. Hold for a count of 10, then carefully slide back up the wall. Repeat eight to 12 times.

• Aerobic exercise

Aerobic exercise strengthens your lungs, heart, and blood vessels and can help you lose weight. Walking, swimming and cycling may all help reduce back pain. Start with short sessions and build up over time. If your back is hurting, try swimming, where the water supports your body. Avoid any strokes that twist your body.

Aerobic exercise strengthens your lungs, heart, and blood vessels and can help you lose weight. Picture: iStock

• Pilates

Pilates combines stretching, strengthening and core abdominal exercises. Under the instruction of an experienced teacher, it may help some people with back pain. Be sure to tell your teacher about your back pain, because you may need to skip some moves.

Exercises to avoid

By avoid, what I mean is avoid doing incorrectly. You can’t be an expert at everything and, like many aspects of life, relationships, finance and, you guessed it, back health, we may need help from a coach. Many of us try to do the right thing but we are often doing it in a way that can cause or exacerbate pain. The following are some of the most commonly misunderstood exercises.

• Sit-ups

Although you might think sit-ups can strengthen your core or abdominal muscles, most people tend to use muscles in the hips when doing them. Sit-ups may also put a lot of pressure on the discs in your spine.

• Leg lifts

Leg lifts are sometimes suggested as an exercise to ‘strengthen your core’ or abdominal muscles. Exercising to restore strength to your lower back can be very helpful in relieving pain but lifting both legs together while lying on your back is very demanding on your core.

Pilates combines stretching, strengthening, and core abdominal exercises. Picture: iStock

Medication

When it comes to medication, these are late solutions to the problem. If you put in the work early, you hopefully won’t need them. Otherwise, ibuprofen, if taken in small amounts, can help, but will cause effects with prolonged use. You can also try topical pain relievers such as creams and ointments.

Keep moving

One thing I always advise my patients to do is stay flexible and limber, because just like how Play-Doh can get hard and dry up, so too can our bodies if we don’t keep them warm and stretchy.

Think about how your sleep posture might be affecting your back health. Picture: iStock

Another important tip is to take a moment and think about the activities you do on a daily basis, and work on doing them with better posture. For example, sitting in a chair at work, on the lounge at home or laying down to sleep. There are lots of fantastic ergonomic ways you can improve your posture immediately and many are very affordable.

Simply swap out your chair and spend half your day on an exercise ball so you sit upright using your legs. Picture: iStock

Here’s my top tip for deskbound workers. Simply swap out your chair and spend half your day on an exercise ball so you sit upright using your legs. The difference will be profound.

I also get great results with my own back by simply putting a pillow between my legs while sleeping on my side as it keeps everything in alignment.

Start incorporating these simple, almost completely equipment-free exercises into your daily routine and reap the benefits for years to come.

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Dr Zac Turner has a bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery from the University of Sydney. He is both a medical practitioner and a co-owner of telehealth service, Concierge Doctors. He was also a registered nurse and is also a qualified and experienced biomedical scientist along with being a PhD candidate in biomedical engineering

Originally published as ‘My back hurts – what exercises can I do to relieve it?’