Any back pain sufferer knows just how debilitating back pain can be. A bad case of back pain isn’t just excruciatingly painful, it spills over into everything we do during the day. Even small tasks become difficult and painful, and most often our mood, energy, and well-being suffer as well.
Yoga for back pain has emerged as one of the most promising-and long-lasting-back pain therapies. Many back problems emerge from problems in the soft tissues, which means that some of the most effective treatment options often are non-surgical and non-prescriptive. Yoga therapy targeting back pain helps smooth out heal chronic tension and tightness in the soft tissues thereby often eliminating the root cause of the back pain.
In 2005, a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine reported that study participants who regularly practiced yoga stretches for back pain experienced more effective pain relief than did study participants who received instructions in proper back care. Recently, the American College of Physicians and the American Pain Society have recommended yoga therapy as a promising alternative modality for treating chronic back pain.
Yoga can help relieve low back pain, shoulder, or neck pain in four major ways:
1. Yoga tones and strengthens weak muscles. Yoga is particularly effective for toning and strengthening the body’s core muscles, which are critical for creating proper support for the spine and giving the back greater strength and stability. By increasing core stability and improving posture, yoga exercises for back pain decrease the pressure on the spine, a key element in creating lasting back-pain relief.
2. Yoga improves flexibility. Yoga stretches for back pain increase flexibility in a balanced manner, in turn removing the strain caused by muscle groups tugging the spine out of alignment. Many back pain problems arise from too-tight muscles pulling on vertebrae at unnatural angles. Yoga offers natural back pain relief by stretching out these muscles, relieving the pressure.
3. Yoga enhances circulation. Yoga also relieves back pain naturally by increasing the flow of oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to the soft tissues around the spine. By alternating compression and release of pressure, yoga postures create a pump to flood the body with oxygen-rich blood, clear out toxins and deliver vital nutrients to the soft tissues. For people who sit at computers all day, this is particularly helpful, as prolonged sitting will lead to compression of the spine and restricted blood flow. Yoga stretches relieve back pain by decompressing the spine and improving circulation to the vertebrae and vertebral discs.
4. Yoga relieves stress. Stress leads to chronic tightness in the soft tissues, which is often a factor in back pain. Yoga helps relieve back pain by creating greater relaxation and inner calmness. The stresses of modern life can trap our body in a constant “fight or flight” mode, in which muscles and soft tissues tighten up. Chronic tightness in the soft tissues of the neck and back can cause back pain, neck tension, and even tension headaches. By inducing greater relaxation in body and mind, yoga shifts the body from a “fight or flight” mode into the rejuvenating “rest and digest” state, in which the body can begin to heal itself.
Like any holistic healing modality, yoga isn’t just useful for relieving chronic back pain, it offers numerous other therapeutic benefits. Yoga enhances the flow of vital energy in the body, and this in turn improves our overall health. For this reason, someone who starts practicing yoga to get natural relief for back pain may also find that they have more energy, greater emotional balance and overall greater well-being.
Want to learn more about how to use Yoga for Back Pain?. Download yoga for back pain exercises and get general information about using yoga as therapy at YogaTherapyWeb.com.
The problems creating neck pain are completely different than those creating back pain. Most people believe the same problem is at the roots of both because they both involve the spine. The truth of the matter is the spine is reacting to other forces acting on it.
So let’s address both separately by giving you a a couple little tests. Let’s start with your back pain. Lie down on your back with legs outstretched on the floor. Rest there for 30 seconds sensing whether your back pain gets worse or better. After 30 seconds, bend your knees to bring your feet close to your rear-end, resting on the floor. Rest there for 30 seconds.
Which felt better, knees straight or knees bent? If your back felt better with knees straight then you have a problem with your back flexing too easily or too much. If you felt better with your knees bent (as most peoples’ backs do) then you have a problem with your spine having too much extension. It’s simple to fix both of these conditions with a few exercises.
Next, let’s talk about your neck pain. Here’s another simple test. If you have right-sided neck pain or headaches, then place your right hand on top of your head. Make sure your head doesn’t side-bend or rotate to make this happen. Rest there for 20 seconds. If your pain diminishes then it is caused by the shoulder blades sitting too low on your trunk. There are muscles that attach from the shoulder blades directly to the neck and skull which irritate them when the shoulder blade sits too low. This is also easily correctable. I’ve just written two books about fixing neck and back pain using an approach that has been very effective over the last few years.
Thank you for your article.