How Can You Prevent Low Back Pain?

Patients often ask me what they can do to prevent future episodes of low back pain. My answer, almost always is physical exercise. While patients sometimes respond with a groan, frankly there is no good substitute for exercise. An anonymous physician was once quoted saying “if exercise could be capsulated in pill form, it would be the #1 prescribed drug.”

One of the benefits of exercise appears to be the conditioning effect that exercise has on the muscles that support the back. If your trunk muscles are strong, have good blood supply and demonstrate good endurance capabilities they are better able to resist the negative effects of poor posture and strains of everyday activities that cause injuries to occur.

Some form of exercise should be part of every management plan for low back pain since risk of developing recurrent back pain is as high as 80%. Recurrence is very drastically reduced if regular exercise is performed.

What type of exercise is best? Research has shown that yoga, tai chi, aerobics, aqua fitness, and pilates can greatly benefit those with low back pain. Unfortunately, science does not yet give answers to which form of exercise is best. Benefits appear to depend on the specific needs of the individual. For example, while yoga may be great for you, stretching may be better for your friend with back pain.

How can you know what type of exercise will help you? Any clinician (doctor, chiropractor, physiotherapist, massage therapist) that knows your low back pain will consider your particular needs and be able to recommend a type of exercise that would work best for you. If you do not have a reliable source to ask, it is okay to experiment with different types of exercise to figure out what works for you.