Abdominal and cardio exercises for person with bad back and neck pain and sciatica?

What exercises would you recommend to get me started. Old injuries to neck and back have progressed to the point where the pain is constant i.e. sleep sitting up and with heat and massage 16-20 hrs per day to maintain functionality. even still, need help sometimes getting up and about. Im gunshy about exercise because one wrong step can aggravate injury even more.

Have always been an athlete, basketball player mainly, a gym rat. But the injuries combined with sitting alot have my midsection spreading and feeling weak. Tried to run / walk on track on sunday and shoot a little hoops. Each step seemed to press the lower back discs together more with pain. Also old knee injury from ball makes running painful. 3 days later i can hardly walk.

I know extra weight is making pain and quality of life worse. About 75 extra pounds now. I need exercise thats low impact, wont hurt back, knee or neck, will strengthen back muscles and really! work on reducing mid-section spread?

First off, my heart is with you. I have neck problems, a crap back, sciatica and scoliosis so I know how you feel.

Exercising is a problem but I can offer 2 ideas that I do all the time.

Get yourself a resistance band (giant elastic band thing with handles) and lie on the floor or bed, with support under whatever parts hurt (obviosluy under neck and lower back), put your foot in one end of the band and just stretch your legs around till its tight, and hold it for as long as you can, and keep doing it, you'll find it gets easier, so find different ways to hold your legs. And while your doing all this, hold in your stomach, as much as you can, this really works wonders and puts no pressure on your back or neck.

Also for just a stomach one, when your sitting in a chair watching tv or something, hold in your stomach, suck in your gut in other words, just hold it for as long as you can and in between suck in your gut and let go as fast as you can over and over, then hold it as longas you cana gain.

Both these works well for me, I hope they help you.

I am not the poster of this question, and found it via my search in google, but I still want to thank you so much. I have the same problem as the poster and am considering using resistance bands. Your info has been very helpful - Thank You :) Report It