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I Have Back Pain, When Can I Start Hooping?
Posted by Jodi Jainchill PT, CFMT‘ really want to exercise and I love to hoop. When can I start hooping again?’ This is a question I often get from people who have experienced back pain at some point in their life. First, let me start by saying you should consult your practitioner for clearance to exercise. Next, I would like to educate you on three different stages of recovery from back pain. Once you understand these three stages of recovery from back pain, it may help you and your practitioner decide when you are ready to start an exercise program.
After a back injury or exacerbation of an old injury, you are considered to be in the acute phase. The acute phase usually lasts about two weeks. It is important to consult your practitioner to rule out any organic factors that may be referring pain. I highly recommend this especially if you do not know how you hurt your back. Also, if you feel pain, tingling or numbness down your leg. The main goals during the acute phase is to decrease inflammation and find a position of comfort. You can decrease inflammation with ice or an anti-inflammatory prescribed by your practitioner. You may also need to take pain medication and muscle relaxers in order to break your pain cycle. Next, your position of comfort should be in neutral alignment. This will allow for space for your spine to heal without increasing stress on the spine’s structures. At this point, stabilizing exercises that are in neutral and supported are beneficial. Therefore, at this time, hooping would not be recommended during this pain stage.
The second stage of recovery is called the sub-acute stage. This stage generally lasts from two to four/six weeks. During this stage you are still vulnerable to re-injury. This is a time to progress your spine’s stabilization. You may slowly progress from supported to unsupported exercises. Depending on the severity of your injury, you may still want to maintain a neutral spine with your exercises. This is also an important time to use correct body mechanics with your functional daily activities. You should also avoid repetitive activities as well as any aggravating movements. Therefore, you must learn to set your limits during this stage. You may still want to ice after any irritating movements to prevent further inflammation. Therefore, depending on your extent of your injury in this phase, you may be able to start hooping for short periods of time if you are relatively pain free. This means you have minimal pain and hooping does not increase your pain during hooping for one to two days thereafter. If not, hold off until you are more pain free and stable.
After six weeks from your injury or exacerbation, you are now in the chronic phase of recovery. During this stage, your goal is to return to your normal activities of daily living. In doing so, it is important to have good body mechanics. It is also time to progress your exercise program to unsupported articulating positions. Yes, this means you may start hooping if you are relatively pain free. I usually have a patient start with only five minutes a day of waist hooping without any increase in back pain. After a few days, I progress my patient to ten minutes daily without any increase of pain. Then I recommend to increase their time slowly in increments of five minutes for a cardio workout. It is important to not have any increase in pain during or after your exercise program. You may benefit from ice after you exercise as well.
Some times there will be set backs during your recovery. If this happens, please be patient and set your limits to continue your recovery. You must find a balance with the help of your practitioner. It is important to get movement and stability for your spine to help heal. But at the same time, you do not want to exacerbate the injury. If you are not getting better, this is a ‘red flag’. It would be important to consult with your practitioner for further testing. You must also remember there are other factors to consider for your healing. These include your age, back and health history, eating habits and digestion, pain tolerance, personality, athletic background and daily activities. Also, only add one new activity or exercise at a time. This way you can easily identify any one activity that may cause any new onset of pain or aggravation while returning to your normal daily exercise program and activities. There are so many variables to an injury as well as the process of healing for each individual. Be sure to consider your individual situation rather than comparing yourself to others and their healing process as you return to your hooping and exercise goals.
Jodi Jainchill PT, CFMT`
-red flag if not getting better`