Swimming beats back pain

Faced with the choice of a lifetime of back pain, or painful surgery to fix it temporarily, Alec Stuart took a third path: he dived into swimming. That was 3½ years ago, when Stuart, now 50, discovered he had ruptured a disc in his back. He had suffered from back pain for most of his life.

"Doctors suggested surgery, but I did some research and found out that 10 years after people have the surgery, the pain returns," says Stuart, who runs the Hong Kong-based design and architectural firm, Alexander Stuart Designs.

"You go through all that cost, drama and recovery from the operation and it makes no difference in the long term."

Stuart had a better idea: he started swimming. "I knew swimming would be good for one's back, and I always liked swimming," he says. But it was a painful process. He battled through the pain to do six laps in his first swim. Within eight months he was swimming 2km to 3km a day.

Next month he goes even further when he takes part in Clean Half, a 15km solo swim around the south of Hong Kong Island on October 11.

His transformation from student into a competitive swimmer has surprised everyone, including himself. "It was unthinkable, and it was quick. Within a month of swimming daily, I knew I would overcome my back problems.