Recent studies conducted by the Central Statistics Office found that back pain was the most commonly reported chronic health condition in Ireland. Almost 80% of people have experienced back pain in some form during their life, and a staggering 30% said they suffer from chronic back pain on an ongoing basis. Over the last 20 years, home & work life has changed so that now the majority of us spend a large amount of time at a desk, behind a computer, driving long distances, or even crouched over looking into our phones every evening. If you are an adult aged 35-55 years old, you may find this rings a bell. But not to worry!
Often times I have customers joining the gym and then they say "I don't think I'll be able to do much I have a bad back". The term "bad back" is incredibly vague, and could mean anything from a long term serious injury to just stiffness from watching TV 4 hours a night with bad posture.
Obviously severe acute pain resulting from an accident would need to assessed by a Doctor/Physiotherapist and involve scans/MRIs etc but what we are talking about here is what I would refer to as a "weak" back. Your back has both a bone structure and muscle system to provide stability to your body, and like many other muscles in your body, if you don't use it - you lose it! Or in this case - it gets weaker.
Knowing this difference in diagnosis, my question to you is this: Do you have a bad back, or weak lower back muscles? The best advice is always to start small, and introduce short periods of exercise at a gradual level. We always advise people to start walking 2-3 times per week first to help with the bodies movements.
HANDY TIPS
Stretch every morning.
Go for a walk in the evenings, even 10 minutes will do the trick.
Do some strengthening exercises for your core 2-3 times a week.
As for gym based exercises, we will generally start working with people on resistance machines which are designed to keep you safe and secure while you exercise. This guarantees no adverse reactions or pain when you begin gym training. After our initial 4-6 weeks combining both cardio and strength training we now know that the body is ready to be challenged and we start introducing core based exercises to help strengthen both our back and abdominal muscles.
"I joined for the weight loss, but stayed for the progress my back made in only a matter of weeks." Keith Murphy (PT Client)
If you would like to try our Free Consultation please get in touch with us via scullyfitness@gmail.com.
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