Mannion et al 2012 found that people who performed core exercises reduced their back pain without getting any stronger.
So, it’s fair to say that you probably don’t need to get any stronger to reduce your back pain
But there is a saying that we use in manual therapy – ‘you can’t go wrong with getting strong’
This means that to become stronger is definitely not a bad thing.
An increase in the tolerance and strength of your spine can have useful carry-overs to day-to-day life.
If you get stronger, then carrying your shopping into the house, or doing the gardening or the cleaning can become easier and less taxing on your body.
However, it is definitely not necessary to become stronger to experience less pain.
If a weak core doesn’t cause back pain, then what does cause it?
Over 90% of low back pain is known as multi-factorial or non-specific pain.
This means that there are multiple different factors that need to play together in order to cause a new episode of low back pain.
In 2018, a high-quality series of scientific studies (The Lancet 2018) reported that you are at the greatest risk of reporting new episodes of low back pain if you have a physically demanding job, experience other types of physical or mental health problems, if you smoke, and if you are obese.
These are the highest risk factors for developing an episode of multi-factorial back pain and none of these things have anything to do with how strong your core is.
What should I do to help with my back pain then?
The way that we treat patients with back pain involves looking at the risk factors that are present in their history (such as the ones I have stated above) and putting in place an action plan to tackle those where possible.
Once I have identified these factors and discussed them with a patient, I will then look to perform a treatment on their back (when relevant) to help reduce their pain.
Alongside their treatment, I may prescribe some exercises to help reduce their pain in the short term (such as core strengthening exercises).
These exercises also need to be specific to the patient’s goal…
The exercises I give a patient who wants to return to playing golf are different to the exercises that I would give to a patient who wants to be able to do gardening for eight hours a day.
As well as rehab exercises, I would encourage regular engagement in recreational exercise to help manage the pain long-term – this can be anything that the patient wants (even core exercises!).
Whilst you can never completely prevent back pain from returning, you can give yourself the best chance of reducing the likelihood that it will return.
Back pain recovery and core strengthening
In summary, there is a lot more to back pain recovery than simply performing core exercises.
And there is absolutely no need for you to develop a stronger core in order to recover from your back pain.
The idea that a weak core causes back pain is very much the MSK equivalent of flared trousers (without a subsequent return to fashion) and simply trying to strengthen your core is unlikely to manage your back pain as well as you would like it to, especially if you do not address the other factors that may be relevant for yourself.
I hope you have found this article about core strengthening helpful.
If you are experiencing lower back pain and wondering if we can help, then feel free to get in touch. We’d love to hear from you!
Read the first part of our article on Core Strengthening for Back Pain.
