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None of the studies found any benefit in bed rest. In fact, the people who stayed in bed recovered more slowly than those who didn't. After a back injury, your best bet is to return to your normal routine as soon as you can, says Wilbert E. Fordyce, Ph.D., professor emeritus at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle.Be gentle to your back. Most experts recommend resuming exercise within 2 to 3 days of the onset of pain.For his patients with back problems, Brian Shiple, D.O., director of primary-care sports medicine for Crozer-Keystone Health System in Springfield, Pennsylvania, prescribes a combination of gentle stretching and walking, swimming, or cycling. He recommends working out for about 1/2 hour, 3 to 5 days a week."Just make sure that your exercise program is moderate and doesn't reinjure your back;" says physical therapist Eileen Vollowitz, founder of Back Designs, a store in Berkeley, California, that specializes in backcare products. "Anything that pounds, jars, or suddenly twists your back isn't appropriate. So forget high-impact aerobics, racquet sports, and most team sports."Tai ChiEnroll in a tai chi class. If you're looking for a no-impact, no-sweat way to work out while your back gets better, try tai chi. In one study, researchers instructed 51 people with chronic lower-back pain to either practice tai chi or continue their usual back-care programs. After 6 weeks, the people doing tai chi reported significant reductions in pain.YogaStrike a pose against pain. When Nashville pathologist Mary Pullig Schatz, M.D., developed chronic lower-back pain, she tried almost everything for relief. Nothing helped. Then just as she was about to agree to surgery, she decided to give yoga a shot. She felt better, so she kept it up. The more yoga classes she took, the less pain she had.Dr. Schatz was so pleased with the results of her yoga therapy that she eventually became a certified Iyengar yoga instructor. She also wrote Back Care Basics, a yoga-based guide to back self-care. "Yoga cured my bad back;' she says. "It's a gentle activity that builds strength and promotes flexibility."Among the various yoga styles, Iyengar yoga is the best choice for back pain. Certified Iyengar instructors learn how to adapt yoga postures to provide maximum benefit and minimum harm to people with lowerback problems.
A typical response to experiencing back pain is to take it easy - either staying in bed or at least stopping any activity that is at all strenuous. While this approach is understandable and may even be recommended in the short term, when done for more than a day or two it can actually undermine healing. Instead, active forms of exercise are almost always necessary to rehabilitate the spine and help alleviate back pain.
Some specific exercises can help your back. One is to gently stretch your back muscles. Lie on your back with your knees bent and slowly raise your left knee to your chest. Press your lower back against the floor. Hold for 5 seconds. Relax and repeat the exercise with your right knee. Do 10 of these exercises for each leg, switching legs.
While some exercises are specific for your back, it's also important to stay active in general. Swimming and walking are good exercises to improve your overall fitness.
Balancing Exercise
Opposite Arm and Leg Extension: balancing / stabilization exercise: Strengthens muscles running down sides of spine, back of shoulders, and buttocks
Begin on all fours, hands directly under your shoulders and knees directly under your hips. Keep the back flat. Keep buttocks and abdomen tight. (To activate your deepest abdominal muscles, cough once or twice) Lift one arm up and forward that it is parallel to your back. Keeping the arm extended, lift the opposite leg in the same manner. Keep your face down, head aligned with spine. Keep arm, spine, and leg aligned as if they are forming a flat tabletop. Balance yourself for a count of ten, relax, switch sides and repeat. Remember to breathe. Do a couple repetitions.
Exercises to strengthen your muscles
Wall slides to strengthen back, hip and leg muscles: Stand with your back against a wall and feet-shoulder width apart. Slide down into a crouch with knees bent to about 90 degrees. Count to five and slide back up the wall. Repeat 5 times.
Leg raises to strengthen back and hip muscles: Lie on your stomach. Tighten the muscles in one leg and raise it from the floor. Hold your leg up for a count of 10 and return it to the floor. Do the same with the other leg. Repeat five times with each leg.
Exercises to decrease the strain on your back
Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on your bed or floor. Raise your knees toward your chest. Place both hands under your knees and gently pull your knees as close to your chest as possible. Do not raise your head. Do not straighten your legs as you lower them. Start with five repetitions, several times a day.
Stand with your feet slightly apart. Keep your knees straight. Bend backwards at the waist as far as possible and hold the position for one or two seconds.
Back Stretching Exercise
1.Lie on the floor on your front.
2.Bend your arms and place the palms downwards beneath your shoulders. Your forehead should be towards the ground.
3.Push your hands into the ground and lift your upper body as far as you can comfortably go. Your back should be arched and your arms should be as straight as you can.
4.Hold and return to the starting position.
5.Repeat.