DrLamb.com

Up

Email Dr. Lamb

Click on this 3 minute movie link for an overview of the Lamb Program For Stretching

Dr. Blair Lamb, MD recommends

Get Healthy!

Stay Healthy!

Abs Exercise

I Cannot Stomach Another Abdominal Exercise for Back Pain!

Many of our readers ask about various therapies for back pain. One of the more frequently asked questions is about abdominal exercise for back pain treatment and prevention.

It would be almost impossible to avoid the television blitz of exercise products for abdominal re-strengthening and weight loss. Every week there is yet another product demonstrating how you too can have the perfect "abs" and by the way " get rid of your back pain." Many even have studies to show they have helped back pain . Maybe they do help to some degree.

A recent Canadian Trial studied whether abdominal muscle exercises would reduce the incidence of back pain. Their study enrolled 402 patients with weak abdominal muscles which were determined by manometric (pressure) testing. About half the patients, who had no back pain at the initiation of the study, ended up with back pain within five years. The participants were randomized into either a daily five-minute abdominal strengthening program or no exercise at all. All attended back education classes. The study concluded with no significant differences between the two groups studied over a two-year period.

Edited from Journal Watch, Volume 19, October 1999, Page 150.

---

I have seen many patients over the years with acute or chronic back pain, with weak "abs" and strong "abs". It is my opinion that back pain is usually exactly that, back pain or perhaps a lower limb problem such as a foot misalignment. 

The basic problem usually relates to a paraspinal muscle abnormality with or without disk, vertebrae or nerve disease. Over the years, I have introduced literally thousands of needles into deep paraspinal muscles and have almost always found muscle disease. Most often it was reversed and the back pain would subside. Never, did I have to treat the abdominal muscles. 

Now I will agree that there are exercises that involve the tightening of abdominal musculature, that will also stretch, strengthen and even re-align the spine and it’s muscles.

  I do not, however, subscribe to treating back pain with sit-ups .