Conditions / Musculoskeletal
Chronic low back pain
Persistent non-specific low back pain. Guidelines recommend exercise but do not specify dose, so individualise and progress by response.
Prescribe
- Resistance training 2-3 days per week, 2 sets of 8-12 repetitions
- Posterior chain work run for 12-16 weeks rather than 6-8
- Stabilisation work 3-5 sessions per week, 20-30 minutes
- Low-impact aerobic work most days, building to 30-60 minutes
Avoid, and why
- Framing any movement as dangerous - fear-avoidance worsens outcomes
- Promising a specific timeline, since guidelines do not specify dose
- Heavy loaded spinal flexion early in the block
How the generator handles this
Sources
- American College of Sports Medicine (Garber et al.) (2011). American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Quantity and quality of exercise for developing and maintaining cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal, and neuromotor fitness in apparently healthy adults: guidance for prescribing exercise.
Source
The FITT-VP framework. Aerobic: at least 150 minutes per week of moderate activity, 30-60 minutes per day. Resistance: 40-50% 1RM for beginning older and sedentary persons, 60-70% for novice to intermediate, 10-15 reps for beginners.