I'm a person who really believes in exercise for everything. I hurt my back at work last week. After a few days of rest, I thought I'd be back to full speed. But I'm still gimping along. What kind of exercise should I do for this?

In many cases, exercise works well both to prevent and to treat various injuries, illnesses, and conditions. Low back pain (LBP) is a fairly common problem in adults of all ages. Exercise is often used in the treatment of LBP.

But finding the right kind of exercise to help all LBP patients has been a challenge. Physical therapists and other health care specialists have been tackling this problem.

Reviews of many studies has brought about the recommendation of strengthening exercises for chronic LBP sufferers. More recently, studies have been focused on finding subgroups of LBP patients who might benefit from extension exercises.

Current standards of care for acute LBP advise patients to remain as active as possible. Since your symptoms started last week, you would be considered in the acute phase of injury and recovery. During this phase, do not rely on bed rest or inactivity to help.

If your symptoms are not improved over the next 10 days, see your doctor. A proper diagnosis may be needed before seeking a specific exercise or treatment program. If your pain is the result of mechanical factors (soft tissue or bone structures), physical therapy may be helpful.