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Back Pain & Exercise

Addicted to exercise? Craving your regular fix? If not, you should be. Exercise on as many days per week as possible - and avoid withdrawal symptoms altogether with a daily workout.

Binge exercising at the weekends is okay, but not as good as regular daily activity. So indulge in multiple rounds of golf or sets of tennis, but walk, cycle or go to the gym meantime.

DO WE HAVE TO?

Far too many people are fat slobs. Fifty years ago you'd have used as much energy in your job or at home doing the domestic work as if you were running a marathon race every single week. How times have changed! The average person now watches over 26 hours of television a week (that's one for every mile). Children spend many hours watching videos or playing computer games (and adults too) rather than getting off their butt and running about. We use cars to travel everywhere because we are so short of time. Many jobs involve sitting at a desk, and most of us get no exercise at work other than regular visits to the coffee machine and the morning trek to pick up the doughnuts.

On the other hand, we stuff ourselves with food and drink as much as we ever did. So, even though we are taking far less exercise, we are still packing in just as many calories. Result? We're more likely to be overweight or obese these days. And being inactive increases your risk of heart disease and stroke. So do something about it.

KEEP ACTIVE

That's a key message for beating back pain. This means keep doing normal everyday activities if you've got back pain, not sitting around resting. You don't have to be in the front row of a rugby scrum or do a two-hour workout in the gym, but you do have to put more into in than the odd Roger Moore-esque heavy-duty eyebrow lift.

BUILD UP SLOWLY

Increase the amount of exercise you do each day gradually - blitzing it will only lead to injury. Don't go for sports that involve twisting, like hockey and squash, until you have already regained some fitness/suppleness and feel your back can take it.

Work towards doing 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity on at least five days of the week. The 30 minutes can be accumulated throughout the day in 10-15 minute bouts. Moderate intensity means breathing slightly harder than normal but still being within your 'comfort zone'. You should be able to continue the activity whilst talking at the same time. That will please the gossips amongst you!

Extend some of your exercise sessions to 45 minutes or more. This will encourage your body to use some of your fat stores as a source of energy.

CUT DOWN THE AMOUNT OF TIME YOU SPEND SITTING ABOUT

Try not to sit down for more than 30 minutes at a time. That might mean cutting down on those three-hour videos - or pause the video and take a walking break.

USE LARGE MUSCLE GROUPS

The best activities for boosting your weight loss and fitness are those involving large muscle groups. These are mainly aerobic exercises: walking, running, swimming or cycling. You can read up on how much energy various exercises use, given as the equivalent in calories per hour.

Doing weight-bearing exercises, such as walking and climbing a hill (or mountain - or even the stairs!), helps to build up your muscles. This maintains your strength and is a good way to keep your back muscles well honed. Different types of exercise suit different people - so try various activities to find out what suits your back best.

DON'T OVERDO IT

Pace yourself. As a new convert to the benefits of exercise it is tempting to go overboard and be exercising every spare minute of your day. You won't be able to keep it up, you'll get bored and you'll slink back to the TV or the pub. It's not all or nothing - settle for a halfway position and enjoy the best of both worlds.


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