Back Exercises Help Back Injuries

According to a new study, specific back stabilizing exercises are essential for preventing the recurrence of back injuries.

Following back injuries, the smaller stabilizing muscles of the back, such as the multifidus muscles, undergo atrophy. Because these smaller muscles play an important "stabilizing" role in the back, failing to rehabilitate them back to normal almost always results in reinjury.

In this study, researchers found that in patients who sustained back injuries, 29% experienced reinjury within one year if they had received treatment which included back stabilizing exercises. In the group of individuals who did not receive these exercises, an astonishing 80% experienced reinjury within 1 year.

This not only marks the importance of fully rehabilitating the spine following a back injury, but also shows the recurrent nature of back injuries in general. Therefore, individuals suffering from back injuries should seek treatment which addresses the health of their spine and involves the full rehabilitation of the spinal components. Treatments dealing with symptomatic relief only are highly ineffective and short-lived.

  1. Reuters. June 03, 1998.

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