Can I do sports with back pain? 3 exercises against back pain!

Low Back Pain - the well-known lower back pain

Many people have the misconception: "Don't move when you have back pain - it's dangerous". This is not totally wrong, but it is also not completely true. 
Often the first thing people think of when they have pain in the lower back is the intervertebral discs. But in not even 10% of the cases these are actually the cause. More than 80% of all back pain is non-specific, meaning it is not caused by damage to the spine or other diseases.

This blog article will be about lower back pain = Low Back Pain (LBP), which affects 80-90% of Germans at least once in their lives.

Low Back Pain

LBP can be divided into 3 subgroups:

severe pathologies (<1%)
radicular syndromes (5-10%)
non-specific LBP (90-95%)

What is the cause of "non-specific" back pain?

The fact that non-specific back pain is not due to a specific trigger can be explained by the fact that this form of back pain is often due to tension, irritation or hardening of the back muscles or tendons and ligaments. This, in turn, is a functional disorder of the musculoskeletal system that can be traced back to, for example, regular, long periods of sitting or simply a very one-sided posture. Triggers can also be psychological stress, obesity or lack of exercise.

Anyone who sits for many hours every day at work forgets to mobilize their back sufficiently. But also those who perform intensive physical work every day often suffer from non-specific back pain. Office workers and craftsmen are thus among the largest group of people with non-specific back pain.

So it's clear that we need to take care of our backs and ideally also take preventive measures to ensure a healthy back! 
Regular physical activity and strengthening of the back muscles should therefore be integrated into the daily routine of every person.

Mechanisms of action of physical training

There is no better medicine with which you can prevent and fight back pain as well as with sufficient and varied exercise.

• Improvement of mobility
• Increase of muscle strength
• Strengthening the immune system
• Influencing the mental status
• Improvement of blood circulation -> pain relief
   

These mechanisms of action, however, do not only provide for a reduction of pain in the back, but also target concomitant diseases such as arthritis, cardiovascular diseases or psychological problems.

Suitable sports for back pain patients

Sports such as yoga, Pilates, strength training or endurance training are sports that, according to a study (Cashin et al 2021), favor the reduction of back pain and functional limitations, wosie the increase of well-being. This means that if you are not banned from exercising because of serious injuries, you can jog, cycle or do strength training without harming your spine.

3 exercises that are good for your back