Fun and Fitness for the 40-Something

That’s the surprising conclusion of a study presented at last month’s annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine. Researchers at the University of Alberta found that people with lower back pain actually fare better if they lift weights more often than less.

The study considered the effect of regular weight sessions on sufferers of chronic lower back pain. Volunteers were divided into four groups that worked out two, three or four times per week, or not at all, for 16 weeks. The volunteers had no history of back surgery, damaged vertebrae or nerve root problems. Their lower back pain was a result of injury to soft tissue in the lower back.

Those who worked out four times per week saw a 28 percent drop in their level of pain. Pain decreased by 18 percent for the three-days-per-week group and by 14 percent for the two-days-per-week group. The quality of life—defined as general physical and mental well-being—increased by 28 percent, 22 percent and 16 percent, respectively.

Why does increasing strength help ease back pain? “Let’s say you garden or go out for a full day of activities and come home tired,” the lead researcher says. “We are more apt to injure our backs if we are fatigued. By increasing overall strength, it makes it easier for us to complete activities of daily living.”

The volunteers in the study performed bench presses, lat pulldowns and leg presses and increased the intensity of their workouts gradually. They began their programs by lifting 55 to 60 percent of the maximum amount of weight (for healthy people, around 80 percent is considered strength training). By the last three or four weeks, they lifted 75 to 83 percent of the maximum amount.

As their strength in the exercises increased, their pain and disability decreased. “If you continue to strengthen the body, the pain will subside, either substantially or to a small amount, but it will subside,” the lead researcher says.

Some caution is advisable, though. My acupuncturist, for one, was appalled at the write-up of the study that appeared in the Los Angeles Times last week. He thought it needed to be more specific about the type of lower back pain that might be relieved by weight training, as well as the type of injury that could be aggravated by exercise. The best advice is no doubt to check with your doctor before you begin a weight program if you suffer from back pain.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 17th, 2009 at 7:53 am and is filed under General Fitness, Health and Wellness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.