Exercise Therapy Basics

The Wrong Exercise Can Make Things Worse

What Happens When You Put Gasoline in a Diesel Engine?

Both gasoline and diesel engines need fuel to run. But put the wrong fuel in, and the engine breaks down.

The same principle applies to exercise and back pain.

• If bending forward causes your pain (disc-related pain) — forward-bending exercises can make it worse
• If arching backward causes your pain (spinal stenosis, facet joint pain) — extension exercises can make it worse
• If your back feels unstable — flexibility exercises alone won't address the problem

"Exercise helps back pain" is true. But which exercise helps depends on your specific condition.

This Has Been Demonstrated in Research

A study by Long and colleagues (2008) clearly showed this principle. When patients who had been doing exercises that didn't match their pain type switched to direction-specific exercises appropriate for their condition, improvement was reported.

For the same patients, simply changing the type of exercise led to very different outcomes.

This is why finding the right exercise for your pain type matters. See "Which Exercise Is Right for You?" for a guided approach.