By Rita La Rosa Loud, B.S.
Back pain is common
Occasional or chronic back pain affects more than 80% of Americans, young and old alike. Understanding its causes and treatment options is especially important if you are inactive, out of shape, or over age 75, as these factors increase your risk.
How it affects daily life
Low back pain typically affects the lumbar region of the spine. It may result from injuries to muscles, tendons, ligaments, or disks, including arthritis or other structural problems. Low back pain can make walking, sleeping, working, and completing everyday activities difficult—and, for some people, impossible. Symptoms include:
• Stiffness when rising from a chair
• Difficulty standing upright
• Remaining bent forward
• Uncontrollable muscle spasms
Seek evaluation from a healthcare professional if your back pain persists, particularly if you experience muscle spasms.
Resistance training may help
Studies indicate resistance training designed to strengthen the entire musculoskeletal system can help reduce moderate to severe low back pain and discomfort.
ACSM and ACE Guidelines recommend pain-free resistance exercise through a full range of motion to strengthen the lower back and reduce pain. Evidence-based studies are summarized below.
Select appropriate equipment
Choose strength-training equipment that targets the lower-back muscles (erector spinae extensors) rather than the hip extensors, regardless of a gym’s claims.
Nautilus machines use a specially shaped oval CAM designed to match the body’s mechanics for a specific movement. This design provides an appropriate strength curve throughout the full range of motion, consistently matching muscular effort with resistance during each exercise. Seniors respond well to properly designed equipment, like our Nautilus One Low Back machine.
Strength-training studies
In 1993, a 12-week University of Florida Medical School study linked weak lower-back muscles to low back pain. Researchers found isolating and strengthening the lumbar spine muscles through pain-free movement across the joint’s full range of motion significantly reduced pain in nearly all participants.
Wayne Westcott, Ph.D. helped conduct a 14-week Nautilus strength-training study for older adults at John Knox Village in Orange City, Florida that led to adoption in more than 500 U.S. nursing homes. The low back machine was among five Nautilus machines assisting frail residents to walk without a wheelchair, walker, or cane.
Westcott also conducted two 10-week Nautilus back-strengthening programs where subjects used the rotary torso machine and performed low-back extensions through a 72-degree range (full-trunk flexion to full-trunk extension). All 157 seniors increased erector spinae strength throughout the full range of motion; reported less low back pain.
Member testimonial
Dr. Benedict Daly, a cardiothoracic surgeon, suffered severe arthritic back pain after years of performing thousands of surgeries. “The most effective intervention was training on the Nautilus low-back, abdominal, rotary torso, and pulldown machines. No other treatment or exercise modality helped relieve my back pain.”
Suffering with lower back pain and discomfort? The supervised strength, cardiovascular, stretching, and functional training program at the Wayne Westcott, Ph.D. Center for Health and Fitness at Quincy College can help. We are located at Presidents Place, 1250 Hancock Street, Quincy. To tour our facility and receive a complimentary training session, call 617-405-5978. Street parking is available and a parking garage is next to the building.
About the Author: Rita La Rosa Loud holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology with additional education in Sports Medicine and Athletic Training. She is NASM Certified and has been actively involved in the fitness industry for more than 40 years. She is also an author and writes fitness-related articles for various publications. Currently, she is a fitness researcher and directs the Wayne Westcott, Ph.D. Center for Health and Fitness at Quincy College. She can be reached at 617-405-5978 or by email at Rita.larosaloud@quincycollege.edu.
