Can You Keep Exercising With Back Pain? A Brisbane Physio’s Guide for Desk Workers.

April 26, 2026

It’s the end of the workday in Brisbane CBD. You’ve been sitting through meetings, shifting in your chair since mid-afternoon, and now your lower back feels tight, irritated, or just plain off. You were meant to train tonight. Maybe legs. Maybe a run. Maybe just a quick gym session before heading home.

And now you’re asking the question nearly every active office worker asks at some point:

“Should I still exercise with back pain – or should I rest until it settles down?”

Nicholas Whimp, Physiotherapist at AHF Physiotherapy, gets asked this all the time.

In most cases, the answer is yes – you should keep moving.

That might surprise people, especially if they’ve always assumed back pain means something is “out”, “damaged”, or needs complete rest. But modern low back pain guidelines consistently recommend staying active, continuing normal activities where possible, and avoiding prolonged bed rest. Most people will experience low back pain at some point in their lives, and most acute episodes improve within the first few weeks.

Why complete rest is usually not the answer

When your back flares up, doing nothing can feel like the safest option. The problem is that complete rest often doesn’t help in the way people hope.

Australia’s Low Back Pain Clinical Care Standard recommends staying active instead of resting in bed because it can improve pain relief, help you function better day to day, reduce time off work, and support an earlier return to normal activity. It also notes that the longer someone stays in bed because of lower back pain, the worse their ability to work or return to work can become. A review also found that, for acute low back pain and sciatica, advice to stay active provides benefits for pain and function compared with advice to rest in bed.

That does not mean pushing through pain no matter what. It means that, for most people, the better strategy is to keep moving in a way your back can currently tolerate.

What “keep moving” actually means

This is where people often get stuck.

“Stay active” does not mean pretending nothing hurts. It does not mean smashing through a hard training session just to prove you’re tough. And it definitely does not mean there is one magic exercise that fixes every sore back.

What it usually means is this: keep doing what you can, modify what you need to, and build back gradually.

The key is getting assessed to determine what aggravates your symptoms and what modifications can be made, not avoiding exercise altogether. Usually this looks like modifying the aggravating activity first, for example if you have pain with sitting try changing chair height (use a cushion) try movement snacks like short walk breaks or intermittent standing. If you are someone who enjoys the gym then it may look more like reducing load, reps, depth, or tempo — or temporarily use a variation that feels better.

Most modifications are temporary until symptoms settle and involve gradually increasing your tolerance/capacity with graded exposure. Once you have modified your movements and found a tolerable baseline, you can slowly build capacity and your tolerance by increasing the load. This looks like increasing:

walking distance
weights
squat depth
sitting or standing tolerance
general activity levels.

That is still movement. It still counts. And for many people, it is a far better starting point than waiting for pain to disappear before doing anything again. The Australian standard is explicit that people should not wait until all pain is gone before they start moving, and that reducing or altering painful activities for a few days, then gradually building them back up, can be a sensible plan.

Why walking is such an underrated starting point

For desk workers with back pain, walking is often one of the easiest ways to keep moving without overcomplicating things.

It breaks up long periods of sitting. It feels achievable even on busy workdays. And it gives people a low-pressure way to rebuild confidence in movement.

There is also good evidence behind it. A 2024 randomised trial found that an individualised, progressive walking and education program reduced recurrence of activity-limiting low back pain by 28%, reduced care-seeking episodes, and was cost-effective.

That does not mean walking is the only answer. It means walking is a very credible place to start – especially for people who feel unsure, deconditioned, or nervous about loading up the gym straight away.

What about pain during exercise?

This is where fear tends to take over.

Many people assume that if a movement hurts, it must be causing damage. But for common low back pain episodes, that is often not the case. The Australian standard specifically notes that a temporary increase in pain is not necessarily a sign of damage, and that fluctuations in pain are common during recovery.

That does not mean every painful movement is automatically fine. It means pain needs context.

A useful rule of thumb is this: if a movement causes a manageable increase in symptoms that settles reasonably quickly, and you are not getting progressively worse afterward, it may still be workable. If pain ramps up hard, spreads further down the leg, lingers significantly afterward, or leaves you worse the next day, that is usually a sign the dose was too much for now.

That is the sweet spot AHF Physiotherapy helps people find: not complete avoidance, and not blind pushing through – but the middle ground where recovery actually happens.

Bottom line

If you are a busy Brisbane professional with back pain, the answer is usually not complete rest.

In most cases, the smarter move is to:

keep moving
modify the things that aggravate your symptoms
avoid long periods of inactivity
gradually build your tolerance back up.

That is what gives people the best chance of getting back to work, training and normal life with confidence.

At AHF Physiotherapy, Nick and the team help busy Brisbane CBD professionals work out what to keep doing, what to change for now, and how to build back up without unnecessary rest or fear. If your back has been dictating your training, your desk tolerance, or your week, that is exactly what we help with every day.

Disclaimer: This content is for general information and educational purposes only, and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physiotherapist, GP, or healthcare provider regarding any medical condition or before starting any exercise program.

Nicholas Whimp

Nicholas is a registered physiotherapist at AHF Physiotherapy (Brisbane CBD) with qualifications in Physiotherapy and Exercise & Movement Science, plus Clinical Pilates (Level 1) and Kinetic Link Training (KLT Level 2). He combines hands-on treatment (joint and soft tissue mobilisation, trigger point therapy) with tailored exercise rehabilitation to build long-term strength, stability and injury prevention. Nicholas has a special interest in neck and lower back pain and sports-related injuries, and enjoys helping people understand their symptoms and return to confident movement.

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