I am Dr. Martha Pyron, a board-certified sports medicine MD with a private practice here in North Austin. In my experience and in the experience of my staff, back pain is the most common overuse and/or chronic ailment we see. Frequently, patients being evaluated for separate ailments also complain of back pain. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the National Institute of Health finds back pain to be the most frequent cause of activity limitation in people younger than 45 years of age. However, most patients are pleasantly surprised to learn that simple exercises and stretches often reduce or eliminate back pain.

Through our collective 23 years of experience, we find that the majority of people with back pain have an imbalance in the structures around their back. As a result of adapting to years of sitting at a desk or other repetitive actions, some muscles may become too tight, and others may become too weak. The product of this adaptation is, all too often, nagging back pain. The good news is that in most cases, these problems can be remedied with relative!

Of course, some people experience more serious back problems, such as fractures, herniated discs and sciatica, to name a few. Still, even in these more severe cases, correcting the accompanying imbalance helps heal the major injury and reduce or eliminate the pain. However, these more serious injuries frequently require additional care, and therefore, should be evaluated further.

You’re probably wondering what you should watch out for when it comes to the serious signs associated with back pain. If fever, blood in the urine or stool, unexplained weight loss, shooting pain down one or both legs, numbness in the buttocks or lower extremities, night sweats, leakage of urine or stool or difficulty urinating are present with the back pain, please seek immediate medical attention.

Individuals suffering from less serious, nagging backaches, such as those that wake you up at night or keep you from sitting or standing comfortably for extended periods of time, will likely benefit from the exercises outlined below. For most, chronic back pain is directly related to tightness and/or weakness in the hamstrings, tightness or weakness of the core or an abnormal sequence of muscle firing during activity. In these cases, pain can usually be treated by working the appropriate areas to create a more balanced structure and muscle firing pattern. Not surprisingly, the main goal of this treatment is to create balance front-to-back, side-to-side and top-to-bottom. There are two types of exercises that can help you meet this treatment goal: stretching and strengthening.

The following illustrations exemplify each type of exercise used to promote balance. The goal is to prevent or treat chronic, lower-back pain. If at any time during these activities your pain worsens, please stop and seek care from a qualified physician.

Chronic back pain is widespread and usually not created by a serious injury. The most likely cause of chronic back pain is imbalance. This imbalance can usually be treated with simple stretches and strengthening exercises. If you experience lower-back pain or want to prevent lower-back pain, try these exercises! If you find the results unsatisfactory, please seek further evaluation from a qualified specialist who will provide additional guidance for creating balance and put you ”back” in the game!