5 Amazing Things You Can Do in Austin If You Did Not Have Back Pain

Austin is such an amazing city with its lakes, green spaces, music scene and fitness culture, to name a few… Cheryl & I moved here in 2004 from California, after living a year in Sonoma and 5 years in LA. California was an amazing place to live at that time in our lives, and we were very spoiled with the amount of fun things to do, from snowboarding to surfing to camping and hiking in Yosemite. As a Physio out West, it was my first time treating surfers, competitive skiers and snowboarders, kite surfers, mountain climbers. I just never ran across those type of patient when I was in PT school or working in Louisiana…I had seen many football, basketball, baseball and soccer players, runners, dancers, gymnast, etc… but not this new type of active person I was running into in California. Thats when I realized that no matter what your activity, if you can not do it because of back pain, then you were not happy about it. Whether it was golfing or surfing on the California Coast, hiking, playing old man softball, or beach volleyball, back pain does not discriminate.

Fast forward a few years and my niece and nephew were visiting Austin from Northern California, and they loved how green it is and how much fun stuff there is to do in Austin. Except for one bad thing, my nephew, who played college soccer at the time, was having back pain that limited his ability to enjoy Austin as we had hoped. We ended up at the studio working on his back and teaching him some Pilates to improve the flexibility in those soccer legs and stiff hips and strength in his spine.

A few years later my nephew returned for a visit, this time without back pain…

This allowed us to do 5 Amazing Things in Austin, if you do not have BACK PAIN…

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Known as ACL Fest, this music festival takes over Zilker Park every October for 2 weekends. This was my nephews true reason for his visit to Austin and 3 days of music, standing, walking and dancing does not go well with back pain. I could only handle a day (not back pain related), but he is 20 years younger than me and he knocked out all 3 days of the first weekend. If it is not an ACL weekend, head on down to Zilker park anyway and make an afternoon of it. Walk the trail, play some beach volleyball, feed the ducks and go climb on the rock in the center of the park for some great photo ops of downtown.

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[feature_box style=”17″ title=”2: Hike Mount Bonnell” font_font=”PT%20Sans” content_font_font=”PT%20Sans” alignment=”center”]

This hike up hundreds of stairs to the top of one of the highest points in Austin, overlooking Lake Austin offers an amazing view of Austin and the hill country. The stairs have handrails, but they are steep and many of them, making a real challenge to negotiate with back pain. He was amazed by the beauty of the area, as he was expecting Texas to be flat.

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There are several places to rent Stand Up Paddle (SUP) Boards on Town Lake/Lady Bird Lake that allow you to explore the city from the water. SUP became popular some time ago and has taken over the Lake, resulting in much less rowing traffic. Expect to challenge your balance and core with SUP on the water.

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[feature_box style=”17″ title=”4: Swim Barton Springs Pool” font_font=”PT%20Sans” content_font_font=”PT%20Sans” alignment=”center”]

Located in the heart of Austin, this natural spring pool is in Zilker Park just south of Barton Spring Rd. It is a local hotspot, especially on a hot summer day, but the lap swimmers are there year round. The water is cold, averaging 68-70 degrees, as it is fed from the Edwards Aquifer. It is great for lap swimming as it a large pool, covering three acres. The pool is open daily from 5a-10p and is closed for cleaning every Thursday from 9a- 7p.

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[feature_box style=”19″ title=”5: Dance at the Broken Spoke” font_font=”PT%20Sans” content_font_font=”PT%20Sans” alignment=”center”]

Located at 3201 South Lamar St and established in 1964, it has been voted “Best Dancehall in Texas” by Texas Highway! Owner James White has this to say about his place, “Last of the True Texas Dancehall’s and Damn Sure Proud of it!” Two- step and Swing lessons are offered from 8:30 to 9:30 from Wed to Sat night. Have dinner and catch a show. You might even catch Willie hanging out or see a unannounced Garth Brooks show at the Broken Spoke.

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And there you have it, 5 Amazing things to do in Austin if you do not have BACK PAIN. There are so many other things that could be added to this list, but this is a good start to getting back out into the community after your back pain has improved…

If you or someone you love is suffering from back pain that is limiting your activities and the ability to do the things that you want to do, then please start the conversation with us on how we can help.

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