Core strengthening

Hi @slug - as a retired physio, I hope I may be able to help a little. Correct posture is indeed very important to us all. If you stand up, & imagine a string at the back of the top of your head, then imagine it gradually pulling you upright, you will find your body naturally aligns correctly. Practice this also in upright sitting, as there's nothing worse than slouching, or slumping forwards, & don't remain sitting too long; have frequent breaks from sitting if at all possible.

As I can't see you, nor your medical history, I can only offer the most basic of exercises, but hope these very gentle back exercises may help as they also show how to tighten your stomach muscles, & help stabilise your hips. Please see this physio led exercise video, scrolling down to the last one rather wrongly entitled 'exercises for sciatica - a degenerative disc disease' : https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/exercises-sciatica-problems/

Please try these, & let us know how you get on. Anything rhythmic is also good, & walking is a good example of this if you're able.

May I just add, that discussing your problems with your GP may be a way forward. Perhaps they'd be able to get recommendations of exercises to help you further.

Edited to say I saw your initial query before you deleted it. I hope the above may be both more helpful & safer than looking online, as they are indeed very gentle physio exercises.

Hi @slug - to be completely honest, I really wanted to be a Paediatrician. Being good at English & Geography however didn't really help. I had some great teachers; my Biology teacher allowed me to help her do dissections during lunch hour, & my English teacher said she'd found I could do a 5 year conversion course to then get into a medical school. 5 years+ 5 years medical school was a very long time, & then I found my Mum was terminally ill with cancer. I didn't want to move a long way from home because of this. I looked into physiotherapy, & thought it was perhaps a more 'hands on' profession than some Drs.

I specialised in treating children with Cerebral Palsy (& also some young adults), but also some young children with different diagnoses. It was rewarding whenever you saw just even that slight bit of progress. I'm also grateful as to the profession I chose as it helped me look after one of my children; with some medical understanding, helped me work out our family's genetic problems, & my understanding (about exercise) also helps me maintain my mobility.

I'm sorry you're not able to contact your GP right now, but appreciate your difficulty. Do please let us know how you get on, & lovely to talk to you.