Question:
Has anyone ever had to do stretching exercises as given by physical therapists and found them to be painful after doing them and did you also do them while your back was hurting. I am mainly talking about the lower back but I guess it would mean the same for any part of the back. I am in physical therapy for my lower back (diagnosis was tight muscles and tissues) and I feel awful after doing all the exercises they gave me to do on a daily basis. They keep saying to keep doing them and give it time, and of course the old saying 'No Pain, No Gain'. Any feedback from anyone who has gone through this will be greatly appreciated.

Answer:

I have DDD. My physical therapist tells me that I must do my stretching exercises and walking every day, and yes they do help me. However, he also tells me *not* to do the exercises if they cause me pain while doing them or after doing them. That old saw about "No Pain, No Gain" is dangerous for those of us with lower back problems. I respect my therapist and try to follow his orders as given. He is adamant about my not doing anything that causes me to have more pain. I'm always hearing, "If it hurts to do it, then don't do it."

Please remember that this is only one therapist's opinion. Please don't quit what you're doing based on this. If I were you, I would ask my own therapist about this theory of not doing it if it hurts you.

I had stretching & strengthening exercises to do, as ordered by a doctor, not a PT. The pain I experienced I attributed to muscles that were undertoned and deconditioned.

The "no pain no gain" idea is baloney. If you're in a lot of pain while doing and after the stretches, you could be getting little tiny tears in your muscles. I would suggest contacting Bob Anderson, author of the popular book, "Stretching", and running your question by him. My copy of the book is old, but his old 800 number was 1-800-333-1307, and I believe he has a website too.

He's got tons of books, supplies, etc., and a lot of general medical knowledge, though he is not an MD. He describes a process of stretching to where you feel it but are not in pain, mainainging that level of stretching for like 20 seconds, and then backing off.

I've never had any type of physical therapy that has helped me in any lasting way. In fact, it's usually made me feel worse too. But stretching can at least be accomplished comfortably, if undertaken with the knowledge that it's going to take a while if you tend toward tight muscles.

---

---