Starting a New Workout? Tips to avoid back pain

Starting a new workout? Our Chiropractors can help you stick with it.

Throughout the year many of my patients start new workouts.  I love the excitement and energy that a patient has when they approach  new workouts and try new things.  Not only is it personally building for them, but I also believe that in life you need something to be excited about.

These new workouts can be challenging for the body and do create an opportunity for the body to adapt and become stronger!  However, they also create an opportunity for your body to become injured and weaker as a result.  I highly suggest getting regularly checked and adjusted accordingly by your chiropractor when a person is starting new workouts.

People who see chiropractors are less likely to decline in activities of daily living, lifting, stooping, walking, self-rated health, and health! A recent 2014 study in the Journal JMPT showed this impact chiropractic treatment and care can have on people through statistics.  I see this positive benefit daily in my practice with patients who are regularly adjusted and cared for.  The patients who are regularly supporting their bodies with chiropractic care also get more out of their exercise routines than those who don’t!

What exercises are the worst for creating lower back pain?

The worst exercises are ones that include repetitive bending and twisting of the low back – Sit ups.  No one is doing sit ups anymore as they can really irritate low backs and create disc injuries in the lumbar spine.  Sit ups will build abdominal strength, BUT they can damage a back severely! It is best to find exercises that build strength at the same time as not injuring the body.  Instead of doing sit ups, incorporate planks, side bridges, or squats into your new exercise routines.  Check out this blog on what discs in your back hate.

There are lots of other workouts that may seem good for your muscles but which actually irritate that frame of the body.

I also regularly see problems in patients who are doing repetitive overhead lifting exercises.  If you can avoid those, definitely do or else you will be running into shoulder and clavicle injuries.

When watching a person start their new exercise programs, I can identify where their body is having difficulty adapting to the new exercises.  This is very important to catch a problem before it arises.  This is a preventative behaviour which will keep you excited about your new exercise program without having to take time off to heal from an injury.

What exercises are the best?

The best workout is the one that you enjoy the most and are excited about.  If you can enjoy the exercises you are doing, they will be much easier to keep up with in the future.  The benefit from exercises doesn’t come with doing them once, but from building them into regular habits throughout your life.  This is much like Chiropractic care.  One adjustment may help you today, but the impact on your life can be great and will be there only if you are adjusted regularly throughout your life.

If you are starting a new workout, let your chiropractor know and be prepared to adapt to the changing demands on your body. 

I hope you are having an excellent start to the new year,

Dr. Callum Peever