to your doctor about incorporating
the following strategies to help you
stay pain-free.
Exercise on Your Own or in
Physical Therapy
Walking and other activities can im-
prove your back by strengthening
muscles, relieving tension and stress,
helping with weight control, and—
bonus!—triggering the release of feel-
good brain chemicals. In a 2013 Israeli
study of 52 nonexercisers ages 18 to
65 with lower-back pain, a treadmill-
walking program did as much as
back exercises to bolster supportive
“core” muscles and improve the pa-
tients’ ability to perform day-to-day
activities.
Don’t like walking? “Try an ellipti-
cal trainer, a bike, swimming, or any
other activity that’s fairly easy on your
back but lets you move,” Delitto sug-
gests. “If you feel some discomfort, try
to continue for 10 to 15 minutes. Then
reassess how you feel a few hours
later. Chances are, you’ll feel better
than before your exercise session.”
Other research suggests that yoga
may be as good as physical therapy for
chronic lower-back pain. In fact, yoga
and tai chi are among the nondrug
therapies that the American College
of Physicians recommends back-pain
sufferers try before turning to pain
relievers, especially prescription-
strength ones. In one recent national
survey of people with back pain,
90 percent who tried yoga or tai chi
experienced relief, compared with
64 percent who simply followed their
doctor’s advice.
If you’re nervous about exacerbat-
ing your back pain when you exercise,
ask your doctor for a referral to a phys-
ical therapist. In a May 2018 study,
researchers found that people with
lower-back pain who tried physicalrd.com 73Health & Medicine Reader’s Digest