How to Stay active with back pain, your easy to follow 4-step guide on living a healthier, more active life. Created for those who suffer from chronic back pain. For more helpful tips and advice, be sure to visit us at www.BackerNation.com

1. FEELING GOOD, LIVING
BETTER – HOW TO STAY
ACTIVE WITH BACK PAIN
Do you want to get out and move? Do you want to say
yes and mean it? We are right with you, Backers. We get
frustrated too. But, as oxymoron-ish as this may sound,
getting up and moving will actually help you feel less back
pain.

2. EXERCISE YOUR WAY TO A HEALTHIER BACK!
 Dr. Joel Press, medical director of the Spine and Sports Rehabilitation
Centers at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago explained, "The disks
in your spine don't have much blood supply or neural supply. Instead
they get their nutrition from movement. Fluid squishes in and
squishes out —if you don't have movement the disks in your back don't
get the nutrition they need to be healthy."

3. FOUR SIMPLE EXERCISES
 Consider the following four, simple, exercises that can maybe give you
the motivation to jump start a more active lifestyle.

4. WALKING AND JOGGING
 Walking (or jogging) is a low-impact activity that you can do virtually
everywhere. It's summer, after all, so you want to be outside. Consider
asking that b-ball buddy to take a leisurely walk around your
neighborhood. Or, take a few extra minutes a day and walk around your
office or house. Maybe use the stairs instead of an elevator? By doing
so, you will develop a habit of movement while increasing your heart
rate and jumpstarting those feel good endorphins.

5. MILD STRETCHING
 Stretching is another comparatively low-impact activity that you can do
nearly anywhere. Turn any location into a stretch zone — home, work,
anywhere. There are specific positions for those who sit all day,
including stretches that you can do while at work. More importantly,
there are pocketfuls of stretches for particular body parts to assist in
relaxing any painful muscles and/ or joints.

6. LIGHTWEIGHT STRENGTH EXERCISES
 Moderate strength training (imagine a one 10 lb dumbbell) will
strengthen your body while alleviating some of the stress on any
overused joints. Remember: start slowly when beginning weight
training, particularly if you have not been active for a continued
duration of time. If you don’t have dumbbells or free weights, begin
with exercise bands or other weighted handheld objects. To target
distinct muscles, consider push-ups, crunches and/or sit-ups when
hanging around the house.

7. WATER THERAPY
 Swimming, or any form of water activity, is another low-impact exercise
that you can add to your arsenal to evade worsening any joint or
musculoskeletal pain. Aquatic exercises are very tender on the joints
because they essentially resist gravity while preventing inherent joint
injury or overexertion.

8. #FEELGOODLIVEBETTER
 For all of you ballers out there, throw all you have into your recovery as
you do the game — you may be pleasantly surprised at the decrease in
your back pain in addition to how well you feel.

9. THANK YOU!
 Join a conversation on BackerNation. Hang out with your peers. Learn
from their experiences. Share yours. Gain inspiration, guidance and
encouragement from others. Give and receive virtual hugs.
 Visit us at BackerNation.com
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