"What do you so for core conditioning and strength?"

I tend to avoid recommending specific exercises - instead I like to recommend that you think of your trunk in three dimensions and apply weight bearing loads to at least every 90 degrees around that circle (which implies at least four exercises).

So that would mean your flexing your back, your abs, and each of your two sides (Abdominal external oblique, I think).

I personally try to hit every 45 degrees (which implies at least 8 exercises).

You need to try a lot of different exercises and find the ones that work for you and for your body type.

And you need to walk.

You can do 50 different trunk/core exercises and you will never hit every single muscle and combination of muscles the way that walking does.

Your body is a walking machine. You were built to walk. Walking will heal you. It will be painful and difficult at first - when I blew out my L4/L5 I needed to lie down for an hour after walking 4-5 miles. That doesn't last. Your body will tighten and strengthen up all the right muscles to hold your back in the most natural and healthful position it can be in - the one that supports walking.

For a back pain sufferer, the comment about your body becoming stronger after walking 4-5 miles is a really encouraging one.

And frankly, even if the system doesn't work for everyone, the way you have deconstructed it into 45 degree angles is something I have never come across before, so kudos to you for figuring this out.

I have the same question as the sibling. Where did you read about this stuff?

No books. I have been lifting weights regularly since I was 14 and was a wrestler through school, etc. ... it's just something I've spent enough time and though on to learn something.

Was there a book or something you read?

I'd seriously consider Yoga.

But to get started, deep breathing I feel has had an affect on my overall core strength.

At times, you'll feel like a moron. Deep, deep breathes. I'd suggest starting off for session of like 5 or 10 minutes. It doesn't matter how you do it. Just breathe deep as a practice. But if you need something to get started: something that's standard is X second in, X second hold, X second release. You probably won't be able to do 8 seconds. So start with 4 seconds, and move up.

Then there's deadlifts, squats, bench. Core functional movements. You should feel your core expanded, and activated. You should be recruiting these muscles when doing these movements.

But yoga. for real dog.

Yoga is not recommended for people with lower back pain. When I started having back pain, somebody suggested to me yoga. Everything went great for three months, the pain was still there but lesser , and I felt good and fit. Then one day, while doing surya namaskar, I felt a pain ripping through my spine and fell down, unable to move. I consulted an M.D , and he immediately asked me if I had been doing surya namaskar.

Tldr; yoga is great , but not for all.

"Then one day, while doing surya namaskar, I felt a pain ripping through my spine and fell down, unable to move. I consulted an M.D , and he immediately asked me if I had been doing surya namaskar."

This is important. Yoga is very powerful and I think everyone should incorporate yoga movements into their fitness regime.

However, typical yoga classes and even established yoga movement series (like the Ashtonga primary series) are heavily weighted towards forward folding/bending which is the last thing you want to do with a weak/injured back.

This doesn't mean you shouldn't do yoga - it means that you should understand the physiology of a bulging/blow disc and build up your strength (perhaps with other yoga exercises/poses) to the point that you are strong enough to do that forward folding ... and even then maintain caution and moderation.

With a fully rehabbed/asymptomatic L4/L5 I am doing heavy freeweight squats and deadlifts and even inverting during BJJ - but I would still be cautious and even modify portions of a typical yoga class ...

I fully agree with you. I had never felt as good as I had while I was doing yoga.

The problem is , most yoga practitioners (atleast the ones I consulted in india) consider it like some sort of magical cure for everything. I was asked to do surya namaskar , despite them knowing I had back pain . I went to one of the most reputed centres here, and all I got from them were pseudo science mumbo jumbo.

I have got much more valuable info from this HN thread. Thank you for sharing for you experience. Your story has given me hope , I feel motivated to learn more about backpain and find a solution tailored for me.

I also feel this sort of information (personal stories of knowledgeable people) should be more easily accessible for people.A non profit , trust worthy website like Wikipedia, or even a github wiki.

I really like this HN thread. It is a wonderful series of coming outs! I want to reply on all comments here and ask and ask and ask. But this post is most relevant, because I started doing surya namaskar on my non-training days, and in general when I only an hour or so to move my body a bit.

Do you remember the exact conditions when you fell down (movement, which part of the day, what did you do before, etc). Have you been practicing yoga alone or with a teacher, group?

Did you went in and try figuring out what caused your pain? Are you on track with it now? If yes, what has changed? Will you go back to your Yoga practice or you feel that it is dangerous for you?

Thanks!

One year back, I started having back pain. I could not sit for more than 45 minutes. I had tripped over the steps some months back and I was thinking it must be because of that.I went to a Dr and took an x-ray. The diagnosis was that it had nothing to do with the fall , an everything to do with my long working hours. The doctor also advised strengthening my core . He referred me to a physiotherapist , and after 1 month of regular therapy I could now sit for around 3 hours before light pain would start.

I felt ready to start exercising and zeroed in on yoga. I started practicing with a group of people , led by an instructor. It was very intensive (hatha yoga) and most exercises involved stretching your arms and touching your feet.Other exercises like the bow pose, crow pose and head stand was also there. Sometimes, while I was sitting and touching my foot, the instructor would use his body weight to push my spine down from behind so that my stomach touched my knees. This may be the reason , but am not sure. So, after 3 months of this , I felt better and fitter than ever before and joined another yoga studio near to my home. Here, the poses were not as tough as the other place, but was done considerably faster. 1 month after joining there, I am bending down to touch my knees , and lightning strikes.I couldn't walk and was bedridden for a week. The time must have been around 7 pm. I went after work and did some warm ups as usual.

Coming to the reasons, I can think two things : the instructor exerting his force on my spine and the faster pace of the exercising. This is onle conjecture though.

Right now ,after some months of physical therapy and no other exercise, I have no pain while sitting.

I certainly plan to go back to my yoga practice. However , before I do I need to get some expert advice and some tests done.

I hope this answered all your questions!

Edit:just to be clear, the two reasons I stated are in addition to the main point I made, that some yoga poses are not safe for everyone.

Yoga helped me a lot with lower back pain. It strengthens the core, opens up the shoulders, increases hip flexibility, etc. In less than 6 months I have no back pain anymore and I feel that I have a considerably better posture.

The comments about the dangers of doing yoga are valid, but every sport or exercise can be dangerous depending on your condition, even swimming which is usually recommended as a safe sport. General tips are: ask your doctor for movements that you should avoid, tell your yoga teacher about your condition, if it hurts don't do it. More importantly I think, is for you to understand your condition. Read about it, feel your body and how it reacts to each exercise.

For example, even though I should avoid back bends they still help me build strength and improve my posture when done carefully. I am always aware of that during my yoga practice so I either skip the back bends or I do them softly, depending on how I feel.

Indeed, I had constant neck and back pain (probably because I'm sitting all day long). 3-6 months of Yoga 3-4 times a week healed me. It was also very good to fight stress. It may not work for everybody or every issues.

One passive way to work the core, sit on a yoga ball instead of a chair. Just start slow, maybe 30-60 minutes at a time.

After a few weeks, if you don't address your postural issues, you'll discover that you can have terrible posture on a yoga ball just as easily.

Absolutely, but it's a great way to strengthen the core and work on posture. It's always going to take work of course.

This puts a lot of pressure on the lower back. Sitting down for long periods without any back support doesn't seem like a great idea to me.

I would argue that half an hour to an hour is no one's idea of long periods.

You said starting so I assumed there would be a progression. Overall it doesn't seem like a good idea to me because it puts the whole weight over the lower back without any back and arm support (like the ones that exist on a good office chair, they're recommended for a reason). Also, there are a ton of good exercises for the core that don't stress the back, like planks for example.

Anyway, I recommend that people ask their doctor for advice or at least Google up a bit about the pros/cons of this and try to find articles from reputable sources. I did that some time ago and wasn't very impressed with the results.