Lower Back Pain – Prevention Better Than Cure

Having played sport for many years, my body had taken quite a pounding. I had my share of injuries and problems, including lower back pain, ankle and knee problems. However, nothing prepared me for the lower back problems that I encountered after I quit playing sport.

In the first instance, and the first piece of advice that I would give anyone in my position, would be to not quit playing sport overnight like I did. There were pressures on me to do so, but none related to my health, which is the only real reason one should have for stopping.

What I should have done, was cut back back gradually, but maintain an exercise regime. Instead, I stopped exercising and threw myself into other things.

Whilst I was working, I still maintained a good deal of activity though, and whilst not proper exercise was better than nothing. However, redundancy loomed, and I started working from home. Great in many respects, but not from an exercise point of view. I became even more sedentary (yes, ok, I work with computers!)

Again, what I SHOULD have done was develop a simple exercise regime of going for a 30 minute walk every day. Instead, my muscles weakened and I ended up with the worst back and knee problems I had ever experienced. I couldn’t even play ball with my son, that’s how bad it got.

I visited a number of therapists over the next couple of years, and whilst they usually got me straight again, my life style soon got me suffering lower back pain again before long.

It wasn’t until I discovered a sports physio who practiced something called the Bowen Technique, that I actually saw major improvements. The Bowen Technique is a very gentle manipulation. Nothing like Osteopathy or Chiropractic. However, whilst the manipulation helped, it was the ancillary advice that I received that actually made a significant difference to my well being.

I was given a daily regime of gentle stretches and strengthening exercises; exercises which last about 5 minutes only. The strengthening part was really on the muscles on my back, the stretches were to my abdomen and hamstrings.

The combination of these exercises and a better daily routine made a huge difference to me; so much so that I was actually able to play sport with my son, not just throw a ball, and banish lower back pain to a distant, but occasionally manageable problem.

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