I've had several back-to-back patients who seem to be stuck in a perpetual cycle of reinjury, forced rest, and forced deconditioning. When we started to pick apart the reason for their reinjury, it became apparent that the patients were doing a whole core strengthening routine, and were not able to really identify which part of their workout may be the problem, and which one may not.

I find it pretty vital to make sure that people are able to keep up with some sort of normal conditioning program regardless of what issue they are dealing with. That will require a much more customized approach than simply releasing them back to their normal routine when they got hurt in the first place. To that effect, I will often spend 10 minutes with patients putting them through 12 simple maneuvers, to watch if any of them cause loss of form and pain. What the patient and I are finding out is that out of the 12, there are usually only one or two that are problem causing, while the rest can be safely done. With alternate maneuvers, modified maneuvers, or striking down that one maneuver altogether, the patient could go back to exercising without reinjury and with a sense of confidence that they can rebuild core strength and stamina. Don't let your fear of your normal exercise program prevent you from staying strong.