Finding a highly qualified, back pain-focused personal trainer or exercise specialist is no simple task. Anyone can call himself or herself a personal trainer. To find the person you need, the American College of Sports Medicine is an excellent resource.

The NSCA is the National Strength and Conditioning Association, based in Colorado Springs, CO, which – probably not a coincidence – is also the location of the flagship training center for the U.S. Olympic Committee. Several people who definitely know told me that NSCA turns out the most qualified personal trainers, most of who have degrees in exercise science. If you look for a trainer with an NSCA-CPT (certified personal trainer) certification, you’re off to a good start. Here are some things you should look for in a trainer. And here is a not-too-great index of NSCA trainers. (You can search by state, but when you do, the results are not alphabetical.)

Majorca, Spain

If you speak Spanish and would like to join an functional rehab program in the Balearic Islands, have a look at the program offered by the Fundación Kovacs at S’AiguaBlava. The program is called Escuela Espanola de la Espalda. There are three facilities, each with a fantastic back-oriented gym program, and an amazing “high vitality” spa – which in much of Europe means hydrotherapy in a large pool with may stations equipped with jets at different heights. The facility I visited, on Majorca, combined physical therapy with supervised, high intensity exercise.

Here (again, in Spanish) is a video with director Dr. Mario Gestoso, explaining what goes on in the Back School.

Pennsylvania

Joe Zarett, whose large facility, Zarett Rehab, is an excellent pick for getting your body back in order. He is incredibly demanding, but can help you implement the major change you need.

Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Dr. Stuart McGill is a professor of biomechanics at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. He frequently advises governments, corporations, and elite athletes and athletic teams when it comes to difficult back cases. In his laboratory at the University of Waterloo, experts test out products and recommendations, and only the best make it to his website, BackFitPro, a repository of back pain prevention and rehabilitation information.

Watch this video to get to know McGill and his work a little better:

You can also find a video series in which Dr. McGill busts back exercise myths here or read an article about core training by Dr. McGill here.

This video provides a brief introduction to Tai Chi with Dr. Yang, as a sample of what you might find on the full DVD. Tai chi is an extremely popular and very gentle physical way to fight stress and reduce anxiety.

There is also a DVD available for purchase in which Dr. Yang presents gentle exercises to ease lower back pain in the tradition of Qigong (pronounced chee-kung), “the art of using the mind to direct the energy within your body to improve health and vitality.” The DVD serves as an introductory guide for beginners, going over the principal concepts of qigong as well as detailing the exercises.