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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    What excercises are good for lower back pain?

    Related Topics
    Back & Neck Pain Fitness and Sports Medicine Pain
    What excercises help prevent lower back pain?
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    Stuart Donaldson

    Exercise Physiologist

    Accredited Exercise Physiologist with ESSA providing services to clients in the Hervey Bay region, including entitled DVA clients (Entitled Department of Veterans' Affairs clients may … View Profile

    An individually tailored exercise program by an Accredite Exercise Physioloigst or physiotherapist is the best way to manage any injury, including back pain.

    Typically ‘core’ muscle training will help to stablize the spine. The ‘core’ is not your ‘6-pack’ or ‘abs’. The core muscles are the deeper muscles such as your pelvic floor, transverse abdominis and multifidus. Activating these muscles is not easy, and difficult to explain unless you are being taught how to do it and what to feel for. Also strengthening your glute muscles can increase stablitiy around the hip region.

    Often people with back pain also have tight muscles in the back, hips and legs which can cause malalignment of the body, perhaps increasing pain. Common tight muscles are the hamstrings, glutes and hip flexors.

    *Disclaimer: this is general advice only and does not indicate this advice is right for you. Consult an appropriately trained professional for personal treatment.*

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    Sandra McFaul

    Physiotherapist

    Do you suffer from chronic lower back pain or neck pain? Based in SYDNEY, Sandra is 1 of ONLY 15 Physiotherapists in Australia with ADVANCED … View Profile

    The big picture answer is extension exercises. 

    Why?
    Generally back pain occurs when we sit slouched (which is flexion) and because we do lots of bending (once again flexion) activities.  We bend to put our shoes and socks on, to get dressed, to pick stuff off the gournd.  The key thing is that we generally do too much flexion and we need to keep the balance by doing extension exercises. 

    If you have a specific pain or problem that is not going away, seek the help of a trained McKenzie physiotherapist - they have post-grad training and are experts in helping people with 1 or 2 key exercises to get rid of pain.  There are 2 levels of McKenzie training - basic level which is called credentialed and then Diploma (Dip MDT).  If possible, see someone who has this advanced level.  Hope this helps…

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  • Tina Garrett

    Occupational Therapist (OT)

    Well Now Health Solutions offers high quality occupational therapy services to the adult population in Gympie and the surrounding regions. Our occupational therapy services aim … View Profile

    In addition to the information already provided, it is important to identify the reason you are getting the lower back pain.  As Stuart noted, it can be due to different muscle tightnesses, instability or weaknesses.  It can also be a result of certain activities, postures or repetitive movements that are causing the muscles to respond in a manner that leads to the lower back pain.  Therefore, for treatment to be most effective, it should not only involve therapy for the identified musculoskeletal problem, but remediation of any situtational cause.

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