Keeping Fit / Active with back pain

This was so important to me as I have always trained and been very active with Martial Arts,weight training,Surfing so I needed to keep active.I found various things helped me keep active even at times kept me sane!

I found my specialist was quite helpful I would suggest what I could do and he would agree yes or no. You really need to speak to your specialist or health care professional to find what is right for you but I believe keeping active helps in the long run even helps after the operation.

Budokon
This is a form of martial arts/yoga type of training. You can buy a DVD http://www.budokon.com/store.php?selected=dvds&dvdselect=4#desc
(I bought mine off E-bay as it was cheaper) and you can do it in your own home. The martial arts side of it helps to build inner core strength and the yoga/stretching side of it helped greatly. I did not find this that stressful on the back but the kicks may make your back ache if you are not used to them.

Light weight training
I kept this light and the reps high and stayed away from heavy multi compound movements like the squat,deadlift. If you are into keeping fit and train either at home or in a gym this is another site I have found invaluable for putting routines together to suit my back pain. You can pick and choose your exercise and watch it being performed http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html I would recommend keeping away from exercises like lower back rows and bent over rows.

Keeping Active
As strange as it seems but even things we take for granted like walking can be a mission once you have a back injury I found this hard as my left leg is weaker than my right since the injury and sciatica would kick in,however I found walking a lot slower or cycling would not aggravate it. I would stay away from rowing machines as I found this increased the pain greatly. The bottom line is some form of exercise will help keep you fit release those happy endorphins which are said to improve our moods and to have an analgesic effect. No excuse not to exercise!