In general any gentle movement / exercise is better than prolonged bedrest after injury. Recent research and treatment into chronic back pain focuses on RETRAINING (not always strenghthening) the dynamic stability muscles of the deep abdomen and back. (refer to anything recent by C.Richardson P.Hodges J.Hides G.Jull et al).
If you are experiencing recurring or chronic back pain the best advice I can give is to SPEAK TO A PHYSIOTHERAPIST and enquire about Transversus abdominus / multifidus retraining.
If you want a brief synopsis of recent theory here goes:
In normal subjects certain deep stability muscles (not your superficial abdominals or "six pack")automatically contract PRIOR to your body performing an action such as lifting an arm/leg etc. (the proposed neurological pathways and feed-forward mechanisms are still under investigation)
In people with chronic back pain, not only have these muscles decreased in size (ie atrophied) but more importantly they no longer contract BEFORE the action or movement occurs. Instead they tend to contract AT THE SAME TIME as the larger superficial muscles which are assisting with moving the limb.
Research has shown that with correct training patients can be taught to SELECTIVELY activate/contract stability muscles (rather than the oldfashioned abdominal muscle "bracing") prior to performing tasks which place them at risk. Funnily enough people who practiced this significantly decreased incidence and severity of back pain!
The point is - Doing exercise such as situps only reinforces the bad pattern of bracing and late activation of abdominal stabilisers. If you have serious problems GET SERIOUS HELP. See your physio.........
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In general any gentle movement / exercise is better than prolonged bedrest after injury. Recent research and treatment into chronic back pain focuses on RETRAINING (not always strenghthening) the dynamic stability muscles of the deep abdomen and back. (refer to anything recent by C.Richardson P.Hodges J.Hides G.Jull et al). If you are experiencing recurring or chronic back pain the best advice I can give is to SPEAK TO A PHYSIOTHERAPIST and enquire about Transversus abdominus / multifidus retraining. If you want a brief synopsis of recent theory here goes: In normal subjects certain deep stability muscles (not your superficial abdominals or "six pack")automatically contract PRIOR to your body performing an action such as lifting an arm/leg etc. (the proposed neurological pathways and feed-forward mechanisms are still under investigation) In people with chronic back pain, not only have these muscles decreased in size (ie atrophied) but more importantly they no longer contract BEFORE the action or movement occurs. Instead they tend to contract AT THE SAME TIME as the larger superficial muscles which are assisting with moving the limb. Research has shown that with correct training patients can be taught to SELECTIVELY activate/contract stability muscles (rather than the oldfashioned abdominal muscle "bracing") prior to performing tasks which place them at risk. Funnily enough people who practiced this significantly decreased incidence and severity of back pain! The point is - Doing exercise such as situps only reinforces the bad pattern of bracing and late activation of abdominal stabilisers. If you have serious problems GET SERIOUS HELP. See your physio.........