Weight Training for Back Pain

by Randall
(Tennessee)

My life with back pain began at age 14. Growing pains caused all my joints and bones to hurt, but these pains came and went. My back never stopped hurting.

One day I noticed my father putting on a back brace as he got ready for work. I asked him about it and he told me he had been diagnosed with mild scoliosis of the spine. His brace helped support his back and keep his spine in a more healthy position. I told him about my ongoing back pain, so he scheduled an appointment with my doctor.

I soon found out I had a slightly more severe case of scoliosis than did my father. A brace was suggested and surgery was not ruled out as a last alternative. Almost as an afterthought the doctor mentioned the idea of weight training for back pain. He said it could help strengthen the muscles that support the spine and could help alleviate some of the more drastic long term effects of scoliosis.

I was not allowed to weight train until the growth plates on my bones fused, but once they did, I hit the weights with a vengeance. I played soccer and baseball at school, so I saw an immediate benefit in added muscle mass and strength. What I could not have foreseen was the incredible benefit weight training has had in alleviating my back pain.

My doctor referred me to physical therapist who showed me how to handle weights safely and effectively. He showed me a number of exercises that strengthen the long muscles of the back. Among the most beneficial of these were military presses, dead lifts, inclined bench presses, squats and dumbbell flies.

After several months of carefully supervised training, I experienced my first pain free day at the age of 19. Since that day I have maintained a constant regimen of diet, cardio training and weight training. While some days are better than others, in general my back pain has been more than manageable.

I have taken medication to ease my back pain only a handful of times in sixteen years. My faith in the efficacy of weight training for back pain was strengthened by an episode of sickness in my late twenties.

I wasn't unable to exercise for about a month due to a bout of mononucleosis. At this time my almost forgotten back pain returned. As soon as I was able I returned to my regimen, and within four months the pain was negligible again. I highly recommend speaking to a physician about incorporating weight training into your back pain management strategy. It has truly worked for me.