There seems to be a threshold effect in most people - either no exercise or too much. The main reasons exercise programs fail is because there is no clearly visualized goal (purpose) to the program, or because the exercise program is unsuitable.

Without a goal, any exercise program is likely to become perfunctory at best or a mechanical chore at worst. Either way, there is little incentive to continue and you increase your risk of injury. Even with the best of intentions, many break their routines after only a week or two and stop completely within 4 to 6 weeks.

Those of us who’ve suffered with neck or back problems are more motivated to continue, at least while the exercises seem to be fixing the problem. Unfortunately, ending the program when you get better is leaving the job only half done. Remember, it was the state of your back’s fitness before the injury that contributed to the problem in the first place.

It IS necessary to strengthen the body against the likelihood of a recurrence. If that’s what you’re after, I can tell you that you DON’T need a comprehensive gym training program, but you do need a number of strengthening exercises of the sort that can be done at home. The critical point is that you do need to DO them.

Most of us ‘weekend athletes’ who play sports like golf or tennis and who have a history of back or neck problems, will need a few additional exercises. Such activities have high demands on spinal extension-with-rotation and require strong waist and back muscles. Here, I would recommend you get advice from a good physiotherapist or Pilates trainer AND obtain your own copy of the two books I have already mentioned - preferably both if you can. I believe it will be one of the best investments you will ever make.

As mentioned previously, many people begin programs and give up after a short time. As well as embarking on programs that are unsuitable or too ambitious, some of these people drop out because they fail to take into account personal lifestyle factor. For example,it’s impossible to do your stretching with your 3 year old crawling all over you. It’s also very unlikely you will even feel like exercising after a 14-hour day at work. Part of the success of any exercise program is to choose the right time and the right location for your exercise and not to take on too much.

The all important key which leads to that sense of well-being is aerobic fitness. To attain this you need to perform an activity or several activities which will cause your heart to function better and your body to use oxygen more efficiently.

These activities must be performed regularly. I have added a list of The Five Elements of Fitness  activities showing their relative value in producing aerobic fitness. The main fitness factors - flexibility, strength, speed, power and muscular endurance are shown. Any of these factors can be created to some degree depending on the type of activity you select.

Activity which will increase the heart rate over a prolonged period of time (so the heart muscle will strengthen and your body will function better) is called rhythmic activity. It should become part of your daily routine, like brushing your teeth.

Conventional sport is not up for discussion, a languid game of golf once a week, an occasional game of football or baseball or a few days a year spent skiing do not produce a state of fitness. Sport is fine and most of us enjoy it. It makes us feel better - but only for a while.

Source: Russo, P. Aussierobics, Summit Books, [ISBN 0 7271 0383 0]

Let’s begin with a scientific principle which goes like this:

To illustrate this point two people - one fit and the other unfit - were made to ride on stationary lab bikes. These bikes are called ergometers, since ‘ergo’ means work. The force which is needed to pedal the machine is the work load. This work load is measured in units called kiloponds (kp).

Both people rode the ergometers for 9 minutes at different work loads: namely, 300, 600 and 750 kpm (kilopond meter) respectively over successive three minute intervals. A lab assistant recorded their heart rates at the end of each three-minute period. See table below for the results.

Notice how the heart rate of the unfit individual is much higher. Their heart is being made to work much harder. It is less efficient than that of the fit person whose heart beats much slower. Their heart doesn’t have to work hard to supply the necessary oxygen for that activity.

For the next nine minutes they rested. Their heart rates were recorded again at the end of each three-minute period. The second part of the table shows these results. The fit person’s heart recovered to its resting rate much faster. Even at the end of the nine minutes the unfit person’s heart hadn’t returned to its normal resting rate. Thus, the fitter you are, the better your body will function and the better you will feel.

The difference between the heart rates of fit and unfit people.

If we take the difference in the heart beats before any activity - 25 beats per minute, the figures are staggering.

Difference:

25 beats per minute
1,500 beats per hour
36,000 beats per day
252,000 beats per week
13,104,000 beats per year

This is a simple scale of 0 to 10. Zero being no stretch where no pain is felt and no stretch occurs.

Ten, on the other hand, is where the pain level is extremely uncomfortable to unbearable. The position cannot be maintained. This is a level where you feel there is no benefit to the movement or your body. Regularly striving or this level may result in long term tissue damage and is to be avoided at all costs. The only exception to this rule is the quadriceps stretch.

If you feel any pain or discomfort during a movement or stretch, evaluate it rationally by asking yourself at what level it lies on the scale.

1-5 represents a mild stretch and continued stretching in this zone is safe - PROVIDED no other body parts are being affected. At this level the exercise can be easily controlled and many repetitions can be performed.

6-8 represents a strong muscular stretch that challenges you but does not cause pain.

9 represents a real struggle where the muscles are shaking. When approaching level 9, the feel of the stretch or movement changes from one of comfort to discomfort and pain. In this zone damage may occur. It is better to back off to the work zone and continue to exercise at that level than to risk forcing the muscles and causing injury.

10 represents unbearable pain and should never be experienced. At this level the exercise cannot be controlled and so should not be attempted.

Some Initial Tips on Treating Pain and Stiffness

Before you forge ahead and use these tips, for your own safety and well-being you should read the cautionary notes in the LEGAL & PRIVACY STATEMENTS. Just because they work for me is no guarantee they will work for, or are appropriate for YOU.

Ensure you read ALL directions for these exercises, including how to get out of the final position, BEFORE attempting them.

Moving Out of Pain

Many who are in pain and have moved past the acute phase of their back/neck problem are still reluctant to move the body into the areas where the pain previously existed.

This protective attitude of the body (known as ‘guarding’) can be detrimental in the long term. What was once a normal movement has now - through fear - become an ‘excessive’ one. This mental protection (fear) of the physical structure inhibits recovery, rehabilitation and progress to normal movement. In the long term, an imbalance is created which the body adapts to and accepts as the new normal. Eventually, so too does the mind.

It’s important to realise and accept that:

I can’t emphasise strongly enough the value of doing a few basic exercises at least every other day to maintain a healthy back. After many years of trial and (t)error, I can say with absolute conviction that even a modest regime HAS provided, for me, these three benefits:

If, like me, you’ve had to live with chronic conditions and a variety of intermittent injuries, you might be interested in some of the strategies I’ve investigated and tried over 30-plus years.

What I have learned is:

• The spine and its supporting soft tissues - muscles, tendons and ligaments - perform a complex balancing act to deal with posture, movement and all sorts of daily forces such as gravity, acceleration and impacts.
• Even a basic understanding of how the back operates, provides a valuable respect and awareness that can prevent or at least minimise injury and pain
• Regardless of WHY it happens (e.g. disc problems, facet-joint arthrosis, muscle strain or just tension), the pain is still very real and it often HURTS LIKE HELL
• Prevention is worth a TON of cure. Once you have a serious problem, you may have to look after it for life with just simple exercises.
• There are no quick-fixes for many back conditions. Treatment can require several concurrent remedies and be prolonged. One has to be patient - not always an easy task
• What works for someone else, won’t necessarily work for you - frustrating!
• What works for you now, may not always work - even more frustrating! Another reason why prevention is preferable to cure
• Age is no barrier to improvement. Us older subjects (patients) usually progress at a slower rate than a younger one, but the difference is nowhere as great as one might expect (Laughlin 1999). From personal experience, I would say that I’m living proof of the benefits available.
• We have to listen to, and be guided by, our bodies. We have to distinguish between BAD pain that signals serious damage/injury that requires ‘rest’, treatment or even medical attention and ACCEPTABLE pain such as non-serious muscle tension or soreness from training ..See section on STRETCH PAIN SCALE.

…The expression, ‘No pain, no gain’ is a load of B.S. In my opinion, it’s little more than a motivational slogan or advertising hype. Either way, you follow it at your peril, especially where back or neck pain is involved.

So, if you want some initial guidance with your stiff or sore back, then please:

• Take a look at Lower Back-Attack - Some Tips on Treating Pain and Stiffness
• Chase up your own copies of the 2 books I have mentioned and,
• Seriously consider and act on my recommendations about doing just a few simple exercises to strengthen the muscles supporting the spine to prevent / minimise future problems

‘Health and wellness’ is a passionate concern of mine - one of several, actually. And, at long last, more people are starting to appreciate their health BEFORE they lose it. They are also realising that it’s preferable to have, for example, a healthy 55 or 60 years of life than a mediocre or even miserable 75 to 80 years.

Too often we take our health for granted and realise, only too late, that it needs to be maintained, not just repaired when it breaks down after years of neglect or abuse. If we looked after our bodies - internally as well as externally - the way some of us maintain our cars, boats and other valued possessions, we’d be healthier, happier, less stressed and probably financially better off as well.

If we’re serious about living longer or just being able to enjoy the life we have now without strain, discomfort or unnecessary medication, then we need to pay attention to our INNER health, not just our external appearance.

I live by two mottos:

1. QUALITY is better than quantity
2. PREVENTION is better than cure

There is no shortage of quantity in the many weekly magazines, daily newspapers, television, radio and, of course, the Internet. Few of us have the time these days to trawl through the virtual avalanche of information, speculation, titbits, snippets and just plain gossip to get to the real stuff that we both want and need to help us be better informed and/or to make better choices.

While I am certainly no expert in any particular field, I do have the benefit of having a lot of time on my hands. This has allowed me to research and investigate widely on a range of topics that are of special interest to me.

Conversations with family, friends and strangers alike, have convinced me that people often want to know more about certain topics, but:

• they can’t always afford the time out of their hectic work or domestic schedules to do the necessary research
• they get confused or frustrated by the mountain of apparently conflicting information

We’re bombarded with a continual stream of medical breakthroughs and scares. One week, reports claim something is good for you, only to be contradicted the next. Consequently, many people say ‘it’s all to hard to understand’ and so don’t change ANY of their dangerously unhealthy lifestyle habits and choices. This will affect their own and their family’s health (quality) or even their ultimate life expectancy (quantity) as well!