Is Exercise Making Your Back Pain or Sciatica Worse?   What You Don't Know May Be Hurting You...

If you suffer from back pain or sciatica, exercise may or may not help you.

Many people falsely assume that if you have back pain that you need to exercise... Doctors will often say "you need to strengthen your back so this doesn't happen in the future"... that's pure BS!

The fact is, some exercises will help, some won't make a difference and some WILL make things worse! One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to exercise without knowing exactly which exercises will eliminate your pain...

What About The Exercises Your Doctor, Chiropractor or

Physical Therapist Recommended?

For example, how can the generic exercises that are typically given to most back pain sufferers on a handout be right for every person? Not only that, but you must understand that while the pain may be in the back the cause is NOT! If this comes as a surprise to you, you need to read our latest back pain advisory here

Exercise is critical if you want to eliminate your pain and stay pain free over the long term... it must be a component of your back pain treatment program however, you have to ensure that the exercises you are doing are improving your condition and not contributing to the problem.

If you are using our Lose the Back Pain System you already know this and have pinpointed the exact areas you need to target and know which exercises and stretches you need to perform. If you're not, you must understand that if you exercise without having identified the muscle imbalances you have, you are likely making things worse and your pain will hang around for a long, long time.

Now that you understand, that in order for exercise to help you it must be specific and targeted to your unique physical condition and it MUST address the imbalances you have.

What about Pilates, Yoga, Tai Chi?   While these activities may be fun, relaxing and deliver fitness and health benefits, the fact still remains that they do NOT address your specific muscle imbalances which are a major cause of your pain.   We know that there are hundreds of different ways that you can exercise... you can workout in a gym or health club... take a class like pilates or yoga... you can run, bike, hike or walk... we could go on for days...   In working with thousands of back pain sufferers, we have found several forms of exercise that deliver better results in less time and without increasing the pain.

So What Should I Do Then?

Water Exercise   Top on our list is water exercise... there simply isn't anything better. There's no impact, it supports your body while also providing resistance and you can perform hundreds of different exercises and movements that will strengthen, tone and increase your flexibility...   The only downsides are that for most people it's not convenient (or possible) and over time your body will adjust to the resistance of the water and the improvements in your strength will quickly plateau.

Strength Training

The best way to continue to make improvements in your strength and flexibility is to perform exercises with resistance that can be increased gradually over time. This can be done with machines, barbells and dumbbells but they too have several limitations and downsides...

For instance, when exercising with machines your body is forced to follow a particular movement path that is usually not natural to the body and by using machines you neglect many of the small muscles that would normally be involved in that movement or exercise...

And with free weights, while the movement is not forced or controlled like a machine, the major limitation is that gravity is your resistance... and this means only certain exercises can be performed and with many the resistance level varies and is not optimal. Also, if you are not experienced, free weights can be very dangerous.

There is however a method that delivers constant resistance, is safe and easy to use and most importantly, it can replace every other piece of exercise equipment that's out there. We are talking about resistance bands... and maybe you've seen or used them in the past.

Here's why we love resistance bands so much:

• Affordable - They cost next to nothing.

• Safe and Easy to Use - From kids to grandparents and everyone in between!

• Highly Effective - Resistance bands actually deliver a superior workout

• Extremely Versatile - You can perform every exercise imaginable!

• Portable - You can take them anywhere!

As with anything, there are some downsides to resistance bands. Nearly all of them look like the one in the picture above and have handles permanently attached to the ends... this limits the number and type of exercises you can do. Also, the resistance may not be enough or may be too much and it can't be adjusted.

These downsides used to be a problem.... but not any more... We've overcome these issues and have put together the most powerful exercise system on the planet!

Here's how we've taken the every day exercise band and improved it:

1. Quick Switch Clip System Our unique clip system allows you to quickly and easily remove the handle and use an ankle strap so you can now perform both upper and lower body exercises! Plus, you can even instantly clip on multiple bands for increased resistance.
2. Height Adjustable Door Anchor The door anchor allows you to quickly and easily position your resistance at various heights and positions so you can perform every possible exercise know to man! Here's just a few examples of how the anchor can be used: