What exercises are best…and should be avoided for someone who has lower back pain and knee pain?
I have to do an assessment and workout plan for a 54 year male client who has never lifted weights and has low back pain, knee pain and is pre-hypertensive… what exercises should I initially assess him on for our first session, and what was are best to avoid? this is for a full body strength training assessment……? Thank You
Tasha,
I also am late to the game on this one, but have found that international back health expert Dr. Stuart McGill’s book, “Low Back Disorders” (2007) is a great resource for working with clients who have Low Back Pain (LBP). There are several exercises in this book that people have been doing for years that Dr. McGill has found to be overly compressive on the lumbar spine, which I think would be worth avoiding…specifically “knees to chest stretch”(Page 96) and lying prone while extending both the arms and legs, which I have seen referred to as “supermans” or “swimming” (page 219). These are just a few that have been proven by his research to be extremely compressive and Dr. McGill feels should be avoided by those that have LBP. Agreed with LaRue, physician’s clearance is priority number one! Then we can follow our “do no harm” mantra by proceeding with caution and using excellent resources like Dr. Mcgill’s research to benefit our practices. Good Luck!