Exercise can reduce back pain by increasing your range of motion and stretching the muscles and tendons that affect the spine. Exercise for weight loss helps you burn the calories you need to create a daily caloric deficit --- the only natural way to lose weight. Activities like riding the stationary bike or swimming can both reduce back pain and facilitate weight loss in some patients. Consult with your health professional before starting an exercise program to reduce back pain.
Stationary Bike
Riding on a stationary bike relieves lower back pain by improving the flexibility of your leg muscles and causing your body to release natural pain blockers called endorphins. This cardiovascular exercise also helps your body maintain the range of motion in your spine which naturally becomes stiff with age and disuse. Regularly riding on the stationary bike is good for your heart and burning the calories required to achieve a daily caloric deficit. When a 150-lb. person rides a stationary bike at 6 mph for one hour she burns 240 calories. Riding outside on an unpredictable surface can jar your spine and aggravate your back condition.
Low-Impact Aerobics
Low-impact aerobics reduces the stiffness in your joints and spine that contribute to back pain. Participating in aerobic activity burns calories to help you lose weight. Walking, low-impact aerobics classes and aquatic exercise are considered low-impact aerobic activities. A 160-lb. person burns 365 calories per hour during a low-impact aerobics class, 511 calories per hour swimming laps and 277 calories walking at 3.5 mph.
Swimming
Swimming with improper form causes stress on an aching back. For proper form during front strokes, keep your body level and your head aligned with your spine rather than lifted. Add side and back strokes to your swimming routine to reduce the amount of strain on your neck. A 150-lb. person swimming at a rate of 25 yards per minute burns 275 calories per hour. The same person swimming 50 yards per minute burns 500 calories in the same amount of time.
Yoga
Yoga can help you ease your back pain and lose weight. Practitioners who do yoga twice a week for eight weeks have a significant improvement in endurance, flexibility and strength. A 150-lb. person burns 240 calories per hour of yoga.
References
- American Heart Association: Physical Activity Calorie Use Chart; 2011
- Spine-Health; Pain Relief and Aerobic Benefits of an Exercise Bike; J. Talbot Sellers, DO; 2005
- Mayo Clinic; Calories Burned in One Hour; 2009
- Spine-Health; Low-Impact Aerobic Exercise; Dr. Peter F. Ullrich, Jr.; 2009
- Spine- Health; Swimming and Back PainThomas E. Hyde, DC; 2000
- Spine-Health; Yoga for Back Problems; Dr. Karen P. Barr; 2003
