Back injury and rehab

Back pain is the curse of modern society. Research shows that around 80% of the population experience back pain on a regular basis, with up to 60% of people going to a doctor or hospital at some point for treatment to this most troublesome area.

The reasons for this are myriad, ranging from a body designed to travel on all fours rather than upright, through to the occupations we follow - excessive sitting, driving, working at a computer, or indeed heavy lifting. The question is, when back pain strikes, how do you deal with it? The old fashioned remedy was bed rest. The problem is, that can often exacerbate things, turning a short term issue into a chronic long term injury. Modern treatment is much more aggressive, appreciating that the only way to resolve this issue in the long term is through a regular programme of strengthening and flexibility exercises.

So what should you do if you have such an injury? The first port of call is your doctor - it's important to try and isolate the cause. If your doctor prescribes physical therapy, then that's great. But even if he doesn't, you can still take positive steps yourself. As soon as your doctor gives you the all clear to exercise, look into the activities known to strengthen and heal this area - most popular and effective would be yoga, Pilates, and core training and stretching, all of which will help to relieve the symptoms by increasing both flexibility and strength. What do you have to lose? Nothing but a whole lot of pain!