As a chiropractic physician my recommendations are made based on a variety of factors including spinal biomechanics, research evidence and practical considerations such as ease of advice implementation and cost particular products. I would like to disclose that, although I may get a referral fee from some of the items advertised or reviewed, this will never impact the integrity of my reviews or recommendations. I hope you find my recommendations useful; however, if you have a specific spinal problem or condition, and have not yet done so, it is recommended that you contact your qualified health care provider for recommendations that may apply to your particular case.
Peter C. Spathis, DC
The Best Treadmill To Exercise With Back Pain
Almost everyone is aware that there are many benefits to participating in a regular exercise program. These benefits include improved circulation, weight management, helping maintain bone density and muscle strength, stress relief and more. However, trying to exercise with a "bad back" may be difficult and, in some cases, may even be ill advised. It is, therefore, recommended that you talk to your qualified health care provider to ensure any exercise you are contemplating is advisable in your specific case.
Those with back pain will often have to avoid more aggressive, high impact exercise - at least in the acute phase - or exercises involving heavy lifting, bending or twisting. Here is where a treadmill can be an attractive option.
The Advantage Of A Treadmill For Back Pain
Most people find treadmills to offer a variety of advantages compared to many other types of home exercise equipment. If you suffer from neck pain, low back pain or have a bad back due to a particular spinal problem, you may a find a home treadmill to be an especially good option. It allows you to perform a low impact walk in the privacy of your own home on a softer surface than a sidewalk or street and you can slowly increase the speed of your walk as your spinal condition improves. The versatility of a treadmill allows those who are able to perform higher intensity and higher impact workouts to exercise at almost any fitness level. As humans are biomechanically structured to efficiently walk and run, treadmills offer one of the most natural forms of exercise.
The upright posture maintained during treadmill use allows the spine to stay in a relatively "neutral" position and avoids unnecessarily increased spinal disc pressure. Those with herniated discs may find walking to be a suitable and tolerable exercise even when other types of exercise are off limits. Although it is most often advised that no incline is used on your treadmill when dealing with an acute lumbar disc herniation, a slight incline may be helpful if you have certain types of lumbar stenosis and is a useful feature to have (although a recumbent bike may be a better choice in these cases and is worth considering). However, as always please consult your qualified health care provider about your specific case as these recommendations may not apply to certain types of disc herniations and other spinal conditions - every case is unique!
Choosing The Best Treadmill
From a chiropractic perspective that includes consideration of spinal biomechanics during exercise as well as the above outlined factors, we can see that treadmills can be a great option for most of the general population interested in a useful peice of home exercise equipment. Those with a bad back that suffer from neck pain, upper back pain or lower back pain, this may be an allowable form of exercise when other types of exercise equipment as not advised (as always discuss this with your qualified health care provider). However, considering the sheer number of home treadmill types now available, which one should you choose? I hope to make this decision a little easier by narrowing the field to just a few treadmills by considering them both from a health professional's perspective as well as from a practical perspective that includes price, space requirements and so on. In this way I hope to help you find the best value in a treadmill that is right for you. With these considerations, I believe the following treadmills are worth looking at by people searching for a versatile piece of home exercise equipment that they can use with a bad back as well as most of the general pubilc.
I believe the NordicTrack T Series Treadmill is one of the best choices for a home treadmill for the majority of the population. With a great combination of price and features, the basic T6.5S version (link provided) has a 300 lb user weight capacity, a 20" x 55" tread belt with cushioning, a 0-10 mph speed control and a 0-10% incline control. This model comes with a 5 inch display; however, larger display sizes are available on more expensive versions of this product. This NordicTrack treadmill also comes with a 30-day i-Fit membership which some may find useful to test the feature of live and on-demand workouts. Those that especially enjoy interactive workouts, or are higher level runners, may wish to consider the T8.5S version of this treatmill (also available through the link provided). Although more expensive, it has a 10" interactive screen display, a speed range of 0-12 mph, can incline 0-12% and provides a 20" x 60" running deck! An Amazon link is provided for more information about this and the other versions of this product as well as current prices.
This is a low cost treadmill that is worth oonsidering by those under its maxiumum user body weight of 250 lbs. It provides a little more shock absorption than some similar treadmills at this price - an important consideration for those with back pain and degenerativce spinal conditions who want to minimize spinal stress during exercise. The speed range is between 0.5 to 10 mph. This should be sufficent for most people but probably not be enough for advanced runners or those interested in performing higher intensity running workouts. Although this product is described as having 3 manually adjustable incline levels, these are very limited and I believe those interested in a treadmill with an incline function would most likely prefer one with an automatic incline feature. For those looking for a basic, low cost, treadmill to walk or jog on without high speed running and are average size or smaller, an Amazon link is provided for more information and current price.
This treadmill is obviously not for everyone but can be great for some that may not otherwise be able to use a treadmill at all. It is marketed as a "walking treadmill" and has handrails to help those with balance problems or those that just prefer the extra stability to minimize the chance of falling. This treadmill will function between 0.5 and 5.5 Mph with a 300 lb weight capacity. It is not meant for competitive athletes but more for those that would like the benefits of walking, or perhaps slowly jogging, with the added handrail support.
