Should you push through the pain when exercising or you're doing more harm than good? People with back pain often ask doctors if they should continue with exercise if it's painful, or is it better to rest and take it easy?
I'm going to explain the guidelines for when rest is important, and when it's okay to feel some discomfort with exercise. In general, the answer is that your spine and joints need movement for lubrication and nourishment, and to keep the muscles around them strong and limber to minimize stress. So it's very important that we stay active and that we keep on exercising.
What we want to do is work around the pain, not push through it. We want to stay active. We want to make sure we target the appropriate muscles and get them stronger. But we want to do it in a way that's not going to provoke more pain over time. Slowly, we can see if we can reintroduce some of those other exercises that had caused pain, but only in a gradual, controlled manner.
For example, to start weightlifting may cause pain and this may be something you need to work up to. So instead start with isometric exercises, which is strengthening using your own bodyweight, and work up to weightlifting in a gradual, progressive manner, and preferably with the guidance of a health care professional. If isometric exercise is too painful, you can start with exercise in a warm pool, so the buoyancy of your water supports your body weight and keep stress off your spine.
Sometimes it's hard to distinguish if it's muscle pain or joint pain when that's the case, it's best to consult a qualified health care professional, physical therapist, or doctor for a diagnosis and to make sure you're doing the right exercises and not causing more harm.
While a bit of muscle soreness is okay if a particular exercises makes your low back pain worse, do not try to work through the pain. This is because pain is typically your body's way of telling you something is wrong. Your pain may be alerting you because maybe you're performing a particular exercise wrong. The exercise you're performing is not the right one for your condition. You have another injury or lower back condition that you may not be aware of. In all cases, if things are not progressing as appropriate, please consult with your medical provider.
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