According to the American Chiropractic Association, back pain is the second-most common reason for doctors visits in the United States. Arthritis and inflammation are the most common cause of back pain. Luckily, exercise and lifestyle modification can be used as a treatment and prevention of back pain caused by arthritis. A few simple exercises can lead to a happy, healthier back.
Goals of Exercise
Exercise should elicit certain outcomes pertaining to arthritis treatment. You should expect improvement in joint function as well as range of motion. Exercise should be used to enhance muscular strength, and aerobic exercise should increase function of activities of daily living. Exercise can improve your mood and enhance your well-being. You should also see an increase in bone mass, reducing the degeneration of joints caused by arthritis.
Exercise Program
Your arthritic exercise program should take an on appearance that differs from the average exercise program. You should place most emphasis on range-of-motion and stretching exercises, followed by muscle-strengthening and finally aerobic exercise. Flexibility and range-of-motion exercises should be done five to seven days per week using static stretching of all major muscle groups. Muscle strengthening should be done two to three days per week, with eight to 10 exercises including all major muscle groups. Aerobic exercise can be done three to five days per week using a dynamic activity.
Range of Motion
Range-of-motion exercises include stretches. You should hold each stretch for 15 to 30 seconds at the end of your range of motion, but without pain. Two exercises to begin with are the mad-cat stretch and the trunk extension. The mad-cat exercise starts with you on all fours. Looking up, keep your back straight and perfectly flat. To perform the stretch, bring your head down, moving your chin in to your chest, and round your back up, bringing your pelvis in toward your abdomen. Hold this position and then slowly return to start. This exercise will help spinal mobility with minimal loading. The trunk extension exercise begins with you lying on your stomach with your hands flat on the floor next to your shoulders. Pushing up with your hands, straighten your arms and extend your torso up and off the floor. Keep your pelvis on the floor and your back muscles relaxed. Hold this position then return to the start.
Muscle Strengthening
Resistance exercise should be done two to three days per week with about 24 hours of rest between sessions. You should do one set of three to 20 repetitions, which should bring you to volitional fatigue. You can start with the quadruped and partial curl-up exercises. To do the quadruped, start on all fours with your back perfectly straight. Slowly raise and extend alternate arms and legs, holding for eight to 10 seconds. Lower each arm and leg back down, then repeat with the other two arms and legs. To do the partial curl-up, lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Keep your arms extended at your sides. Lift your upper back off the floor just far enough to raise your shoulder blades up and allowing your arms to come up as well. Lower yourself back down, then repeat.
Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercise should be done three to five days per week for 20 to 60 minutes. Work at a moderate to somewhat hard intensity, doing a dynamic activity that uses large muscle groups. For back arthritis, low-impact exercises like bicycle riding, walking or swimming are particularly useful. Although aerobic exercise is not stretching, it can increase joint mobility and flexibility of the back because it increases blood flow to the working muscles.
References
- "Exercise Testing and Prescription"; David C. Nieman; 2007
- "ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription"; Mithcell H. Whaley, Ph.D,, Peter H. Brubaker, Ph.D., Robert Otto, PH.D. (Eds.); 2006
- "Health Fitness Instructor's Handbook"; Edward T. Howley and B. Don Franks; 2003
- American Chiropractic Association: Back Pain
Member Comments