With the right exercises and regular strength training, you can get back to feeling strong and pain-free, suggests rediffGURU Dr Shakeeb Ahmed Khan.
Whether you are recovering from an injury or surgery, dealing with back pain or finding everyday activities difficult, doing the right exercises can help.
Making simple changes in the way you move and perform daily chores can also make a difference, suggests rediffGURU Dr Shakeeb Ahmed Khan, a senior consultant physiotherapist specialising in orthopaedic and paediatric physiotherapy.
In this advisory, Dr Khan answers questions related to physiotherapy and suggests ways to recover from pain and injury.
- You can post your health-related questions for rediffGURU Dr Shakeeb Ahmed Khan HERE
Anonymous: I am a 52-year-old female with lower back pain that worsens after household work.
Simple tasks like bending and lifting trigger pain.
Can you suggest some treatment and core-strengthening exercises?
Are there any daily movement habits I should change?
The back pain that you are describing is very common among men and women after their 50s, especially after household tasks like bending and lifting.
It's often a sign that the deep core and back muscles that support your spine aren't quite strong enough to handle daily demands so your back ends up taking on too much of the load.
With the right exercises and regular strength training, you can improve and get back to feeling strong and pain-free.
1. Start by gently activating your core with pelvic tilts (lying on your back, flatten your lower back onto the floor by tightening your lower tummy).
Also do glute bridges. Lift your hips while squeezing your bottom to wake up the muscles that protect your spine.
2. Add bird-dogs, which can be done on your hands and knees. Reach one arm forward and the opposite leg back.
3. You can also do modified side planks to build stability for bending and twisting tasks.
4. When lifting or bending, keep your feet shoulder-width apart, bend at your knees and not your waist, hold objects close to your body and avoid twisting while carrying loads.
5. Break household tasks into shorter chunks with brief standing or walking breaks. Use long-handled tools to reduce how far you need to bend.
Consistency matters more than intensity. Even 10 minutes of gentle core work on most days can make a real difference within a few weeks.
If the pain is severe, shoots down your leg or doesn't improve after a few weeks, please see a physiotherapist in person for a tailored assessment. Wishing you a quick recovery.
Nadakuduru: In December 2025, I underwent umbilical hernia repair and removal of my gallbladder.
I am 66 years old, weigh 84 kg and am 165 cm tall. My waist is 45 inches which is very unhealthy.
My hands and other body parts are normal but I have a very big, fat belly.
Since I underwent surgery four months ago, as mentioned above, what type of exercises can I do without affecting the mesh that was put in my stomach during the umbilical hernia repair?
What other precautions should I take following my gallbladder removal surgery?
I read somewhere that belly fat can lead to a heart attack and I am also obese. Kindly guide me. Thanks.
After your hernia and gallbladder surgery, walking for 30 minutes twice daily is your safest and most important exercise.
You can also do wall push-ups, sit-to-stand exercises from a chair, gentle half squats and static lunges where you just bend slightly without stepping, all while keeping your belly completely relaxed and never holding your breath.
You can do isometric exercises like palm pressing, thigh squeezing, glute tightening and back pressing against a wall. But it is important that you never do any stomach isometrics, like planks or belly tightening, because that creates internal pressure which can disturb your mesh.
Walk every day but keep all other exercises to alternate days only.
Always start with five minutes of walking as a warm-up and end with five minutes to cool down.
I wish you a very quick recovery.
- You can post your health-related questions for rediffGURU Dr Shakeeb Ahmed Khan HERE
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