New to this

[purpletwinkie11]

Hi all I am new to the site and have back problems and fibro just wondered if anyone has any ideas about any exercises that would be gentle but effective? xxx April

[alex7ra]

Pilates has really helped my back problem.

What about walking or going on a stationary bike?

[portmoon]

The 3rd exercise on on this leaflet was useful for me - my back pain comes back occasionally but I do these and it goes away again (it's a pdf so you'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open this);

arthritisresearchuk.org/~/m...

These will get you started. After that I'd move on to swimming or walking. In my opinion you will achieve more weight loss through diet than you will through exercise, although obviously exercise is important too.

[GoogleMe]

With a similar sort of health profile, I found these things helped my back:

1) yoga - Ekhart Yoga clips on YouTube, there are some particularly good things you can do for your back in bed which made some grim nights more bearable. I now do 10 minutes every morning by myself and do their online classes at other times

2) running - I learned to run using the NHS Couch to 5K podcasts. I don't run on tarmac as it is too hard on my body and I take it gently but I find it less painful and more sustainable than a brisk walk

I still have to spend most of my life in bed but those two things mean I am a lot fitter, I don't have a 'bad back' and, with attention to my calorie intake, I am no longer overweight. I've been able to do some other things too but swimming was much more of a problem for my back than running, it is better now but much harder to start with.