Exercises for those who suffer from back pain

I have always played sports.  I ran track my whole life.  Played football in high school.  But as I grew older the back pain was to severe.

Running is horrible for those who suffer from back pain.  The pounding on the back is too much to handle.  If you insist on running, do it on a soft surface like grass.  Do not run on asphalt.  Dirt is about as hard as you want to go.

But if you are like me, running is pretty much out of the question.  Cycling is great.  Especially for my type of back pain.  The position of leaning forward really helps my pain.  But the seat rubs and for me it is boring.  Plus I enjoy working my upper body as well.


One of the best exercises I have found is rowing.  Rowing helps me to use my back keeping it strong.  I use both my legs and arms and it burns a ton of calories.  When you look at the body of a competitive rower, those guys look like they could be on the cover of a fitness magazine.

It is super easy to sit in front of the television with a rowing machine and go for an hour once you get used to it.  The problem is these machines can be very expensive.  My advice is to shop around.  Try to find a used one if you can.  Like a lot of fitness equipment, people buy them and rarely use them all the time so you can get one in great shape for a great price.

Ellipticals are commonly used for back pain suffers.  And they are great.  Especially if you have a gym membership.  But for home use they can take up a lot of space.  I would avoid the small cheap ones as the motion tends to not be naturally causing frustration.  So you are looking at spending upwards of several hundred dollars if you want one in your home.

I used to box, and it is truly the best exercise there is.  But I can not get in the ring anymore.  But I can still hit the bag.  And the twisting of the trunk helps to strengthen the back.  I have found this to be a great and inexpensive exercise anyone can do.

But as I said in the first part of this series, whatever you do stretching and staying active are the two most important things you can do to keep the pain away.

I hope this series helps someone.  I have been dealing with this problem for 20 years.  I have spent thousands of dollars and countless hours trying to find relief.  Not everything works for every person.  But hopefully these tips will help someone out there.