Back pain from the cart and the jumpseat after ten years: the physio's view, the three exercises that work, the shoes and the day the back decides for you

Ex Qantas, 22 years, now in training, and the back pain thread on here is from a crew member asking. This is the answer from someone whose back ended the flying at 47 and who then spent a year with a physio who specialises in aviation crew. The three things that actually work and the one that would have saved me five years.

What the job does to the back

The cart: pushed and pulled from a standing position with the arms, braked with a foot, loaded and unloaded at the galley at the wrong height, for hours. The bins: bags lifted above the head, repeatedly, often heavier than they should be. The jumpseat: a hard seat with a harness, sat in for take off and landing with the spine in a position the physio called 'the worst in the industry'. The galley floor: standing on a hard surface for ten hours. The hotel mattress lottery. And the body clock, which affects the muscles' recovery more than crew know.

The physio's view

That the damage is cumulative and starts in year one. That the crew who come to her at 40 with a disc problem had the warning signs at 30 and ignored them. That the fix is strength, not stretching: the core and the glutes and the back muscles that hold the spine when the cart is pushed. And that the crew who do three exercises three times a week from year one are the ones she does not see.

The three exercises

The dead bug (lying on the back, opposite arm and leg extended, the core braced) for the deep core. The glute bridge (lying on the back, hips lifted, held) for the glutes that the cart pushing needs. The bird dog (on hands and knees, opposite arm and leg extended, held) for the back muscles and the balance. Ten minutes, three times a week, in the hotel room or the crew house. No gym needed. The physio said these three, done consistently, would have prevented most of what she sees.

The shoes

The uniform shoes with the support insole, not the fashion insole. The heel height at the minimum the standard allows. A second pair rotated. The crew with the ten year careers and the good backs have the shoe thread's advice taken seriously and a podiatrist's insole in the uniform shoe.

The cart technique

Brake with the correct foot, as Tomasz said in the physical thread. Push from the legs and the core, not the arms and the lower back. Load the galley at waist height where the design allows. Ask for help with the bag that is too heavy for the bin, every time, and let the passenger wait.

The day the back decides

Mine was a Dallas pattern at 46: a bag into the bin, a sound, and six months on the ground. The physio said the disc had been going for years and the bag was the last straw. The crew who avoid that day are the ones who did the three exercises and the technique and the shoes from year one. I did none of them until 40 and the back decided at 46.

For the year one crew

The dead bug, the glute bridge, the bird dog. Ten minutes, three times a week. The support insole. The correct foot on the brake. Ask for help with the heavy bag. It is boring and it is the difference between 22 years and 12. The physio's whole message, in one paragraph.