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Old 08-29-06, 08:27 AM  
gelfling
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ellieva
Do you find pilates, yoga, basic stretching, weight training...what has helpedyou the most?
All of those helped me and they continue to help. I haven't had back surgery but I have had injuries and have experienced chronic back pain for 6 years . I began with Pilates which I still do and moved onto doing Yoga which I find invaluable for me personally. I can do without weight training but I do better with it. Yoga is the one thing I can't do without but I had to work up to be able to be strong enough to do it and Pilates helped me to get there.

My first injury was 7 years ago this month and this year marks the first year I have been almost completely free of the pain that caused. I credit that to exercise and to VF for its amazing community.
ATB,
- Lisa
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Old 08-29-06, 10:49 AM  
Ellieva
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Chesapeake, VA
I first and foremost, believe that a lot of back injuries can be fixed with
exercise, mine, was not the case. I am 45, was 44 when i had my surgery,
I first had a bout with back problems at 23. I have exercised a lot in this
time span....23-44, but a car accident and a major fall...on my deck when
i was 41...well, like the straw that broke the camel's back...the fall, really
finished me off. The pain was sooo bad, i lived with sciatica down the back
of both legs. I was working in the fitness field and had to quit..thinking i
could heal, if i rested...didn't work, do my own fitness recovery. I had chiropractic care , walked and did yoga... tried pilates, too painful, some ab type exercises, it didn't work, for me.

My neurosurgeon asked me why i wanted to have the surgery...
"Because I don't want to live like this anymore" he said, at the end
of my spine...there was also a problem...that maybe I was born with or
the car accident had caused, but if i didn't get surgery, I would be using
Depends in my 40's not my later yrs. I am glad i had the surgery, it was
6 hrs. long.

I had a very inactive summer, for me. I walked a lot, but fitting in fitness
with lots of company..is hard. My son graduated, from high school, my
husband is in the Navy, took leave, was home all summer. My fitness routine
was not the same, it suffered and when I went back to my normal routine
I over did and now, I am suffering.

I think it is great if fitness/exercise can help you, but in certain situations, it is not enough..I was in that catergory. I wish I hadn't been. I can't thank you all enough for all the great tips and what has worked for you.

~Thank you~
Ellie
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Old 08-29-06, 10:51 AM  
Ellieva
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Chesapeake, VA
I wanted to add, I am happy for those of you, that have found relief with
exercise! I am going to attempt pilates again, when I did it before, it just
aggravated my pain. Try, try again..
Thanks,
~Ellie
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Old 08-29-06, 11:14 AM  
withpopcorn
 
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Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Another vote for pilates!

Learning to properly breathe & use my core has done more for me than anything else. I tend to hurt my hip with yoga, but find pilates to be very theraputic.

I would strongly recommend spending the money to find a good certified instructor. It can be expensive, but in my experience it is worth it, as once you get a handle on things you can do it on your own.

I hurt myself doing pilates (my back!!) before I went to an instructor. There's alot of junk pilates out there.

The list at the back of The Pilates Body by Brooke Siler was helpful to me!
Good luck
Liz
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Old 08-29-06, 11:23 AM  
athompson10
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Another Pilates vote

I have a degenerated disc in my lower back and the only thing that has helped is Pilates (I tried PT, orthopedist-prescribed anti-inflammatories and chiropractic with varying degrees of success). I agree with the other VFers about getting individual instruction first to get down the form and breathing, plus you can target your problem areas: my Pilates teacher and I work on my lower-back problem with a combination of core, back, hamstring, hip flexor and posture exercises.

I'm not an experienced yoga practitioner but yoga helps me stretch out my back when I'm feeling tight, IF I honor my limitations.

And keeping my weight down is key - I'm not model-slim but I hold my excess weight in my middle. If I put on 5-10 pounds, I feel it immediately in my lower back.
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Old 08-29-06, 03:40 PM  
Kimberly33
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ellieva
I wanted to add, I am happy for those of you, that have found relief with
exercise! I am going to attempt pilates again, when I did it before, it just
aggravated my pain. Try, try again..
Thanks,
~Ellie
You might also want to check out Pete Egoscue's book Pain Free. He gives a lot of exercises that are designed specifically for helping fix structural imbalances. Clair Davies Trigger Point Therapy Workbook can also be very helpful for chronic pain of various types.

I haven't had back pain, but working with small ball massage and trigger points has nearly cured some knee issues I've been dealing with for 15 years.
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Old 08-29-06, 06:50 PM  
cybil
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: CANADA
I have ongoing back problems. Then I broke a rib in April 05 and got rear-ended by a bus in September 05. I tried to continue on with my normal program but it became harder. Before Christmas, I had to scale everything back and tried to do Leslie WATP and Yoga/Stretching daily. I ordered Project: You and was sceptical, but decided to give it a go. That program worked well for me because in the first 5 weeks you do cardio and then either upper body/abs or lower body/abs. I did that 4 times a week with extra stretching/yoga afterwards and 2 yoga classes a week. The cardio got me really warm and the abs mixed in with the weight work forced me to do them. I used a stability ball where it was an option, and used a chair/no weights for lower body in the beginning.
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Old 08-29-06, 09:48 PM  
blue_hydrangea
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Ellie (Ellieva), I just wanted to send you a cyber (((hug))); you've been through so much, and I hope you'll find a way to cope with your pain.

Take care,
Leslie
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Old 08-31-06, 07:40 AM  
Ellieva
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Chesapeake, VA
Thank you Blue Hydrangea....(((hugs))) back to you!
Ellie
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Old 08-31-06, 07:48 AM  
SharonNYC
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kimberly33
You might also want to check out Pete Egoscue's book Pain Free. He gives a lot of exercises that are designed specifically for helping fix structural imbalances. Clair Davies Trigger Point Therapy Workbook can also be very helpful for chronic pain of various types.
I have back issues and the above sources have made a big difference -- along with daily yoga with careful attention to spinal positioning.
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