Yoga to Ease and Prevent Back Pain

          Back problems are one of the most common ailments in society.  Almost everyone has experienced stiffness, tension or pain in some part of the back.  Some people suffer for years.  Some conditions that cause chronic pain are leg length discrepancy, scoliosis, degenerative disc disease, obesity, postural defects, osteoarthritis, poor abdominal muscle tone, pregnancy, spondylolisthesis, lack of flexibility, accidents/trauma to back, and occupational/emotional pressures.  Often, after back injury, muscles tense and contract to prevent further injury to the area.  If this continues, eventually the muscle itself becomes the source of the pain.  When one area of the back is stiff the body automatically compensates by taking pressure off that area and shifting it to another in order to relieve the strain and effort caused by common everyday movements.  This shifts the extra burden of effort to another area of the back, compounding the problem. 

          Yoga increases your awareness of your posture, how you hold your body at all times and in all times and situations.  As your awareness grows, you may notice being slumped, twisted, or strained sooner than you otherwise would.  This helps you perceive an imbalance at an early stage in its development, so you can do something about it before it grows to a larger problem.  It is important to work on back pains as soon as you notice them, rather than “trying to ignore it” until it becomes so bad that the ache or pain becomes the unavoidable center of attention.  The spine houses the spinal cord which feeds into motor and sensory nerves throughout the body.  The healthier the spine, the healthier the whole body is.  Immobility and inflexibility of the spine, along with poor posture, result in spinal misalignments, degeneration of the discs, and pinched nerves.  Muscle tension creates stress, then more pain, and more tension.  Yoga breaks that cycle.  The slow gentle movement of yoga in combination with use of breath to open and support poses leads to relaxation and gradual correction of imbalances caused by tightness and weakness in your back.

          There are some key points when dealing with back pain through yoga.  First consider if your pain is from a fresh injury or re-injury and may still be in the acute, more painful stage.  During this time, it is best to find poses that are very supportive and relieve pain and spasm.  Some poses may work for you and others won’t.  Part of yoga is finding and exploring your body’s needs at the particular time, and learning to notice what helps and what makes the pain worse.  This can be valuable information for your health care provider as well.  Sitting and standing poses may be impossible during this time.  In that case find what reclining postures seem to alleviate the pain.  Notice also how you feel as your come out of any pose, as you may notice afterward that some poses may have been too deep.  Sometimes the best poses are just reclining with simple support under your knees, chest, or neck with slow regular breathing.  Exhalation tends to be the more calming and relaxing side of the breath, so focus on lengthening the exhalation slightly.  Some poses that may be especially easing may be running brook pose, relaxation pose with legs on a chair, simple supported back bend, supported child’s, and  elevated twist on bolster.

 Any time you have numbness, tingling, pain or loss of movement to an arm or leg, or loss of bladder or bowel function you should seek medical assistance before proceeding with any exercise or yoga.  You especially do not want to ignore these symptoms as they could mean that there direct compression on a nerve that could lead to ongoing pain or permanent loss of movement or sensation.

          If your pain is not in the acute stages, you will want to try more active stretching and strengthening poses.  Some suggestions for movement with back problems are:

·        Avoid compression of the lumbar spine in forward bends.  Inhale to lengthen upward and outward, exhale as you fold forward.  Remember that the function of most poses are to stretch and strengthen the hips, legs, and shoulders as much as to stretch directly into the back.   The lumbar spine is most vulnerable to compression, so try work into the surrounding hips, thighs, upper back and shoulders to shift the effort away from the lower back directly, especially if you have disc problems. 

·        Twists can also compress the discs if not done properly.  Again, inhale to lengthen upward around the spine and ribcage, and use the exhale to turn into the twist.  Try to twist using the muscles of the back, rather than leverage with the arms.  This way you will be developing strength in your twist and avoid squeezing on the discs. Gentle twists are wonderful for relieving nagging aches in the upper and lower back and drain tension away from the muscles that support the spine.

·        Backbends need to be gentle and gradual, and with the intention of shifting away from the tendency to collapse the chest inward and rounding of the shoulders.  At first, just correcting that tendency into an upright position will be considered a back bend as you may be reversing the habit of leaning forward and allowing the head to shift forward of the shoulders.  Notice that breathing will seem easier when you sit or stand upright, as this provides more lung space.  Work with your breath in backbends – knowing that a backbend may be too deep if you find it difficult to breathe again. 

·        Transitions are just as important as actual poses.  It is important to move slowly into, out of and between poses so that you have time to notice the effects and allow your body to absorb the change without producing more muscle spasm.

·        Abdominal support with the deep abdominal muscles close to the front of the spine will help to avoid compression of the back in any yoga posture.

·        If you go to a yoga class tell your teacher if you are having pain or discomfort, so the teacher can modify the pose or give you alterate poses.  If the class is too large for this try to find a smaller class or individual instruction.  You want to find poses that fit your needs so you can do them regularly and enjoyably.

Some poses specific to special back problems

 ·        Kyphosis (hunchback) and forward head posture – cobra, supported backbend, supported bridge, bow pose, locust, triangle, warrior 1, down dog (any variation)

·        Excessive lordosis (swayback) – lunge, boat pose, yoga sit-ups, knees to chest

·        Sacroiliac pain – standing poses against wall, wide leg locust

·        Scoliosis – triangle on the wall, down dog (any variation), head to knee pose, seated twist

·        Arthritis – any rounded yoga practice will help to lubricate joints and loosen muscles around joints to increase movement and decrease pain.  Cat/dog tilts, cobra, reclining leg stretch, standing poses in moderation to increase hip and leg strength ( warrior 2, triangle, side-angle pose, chair pose), head to knee pose, twists to increase rib movement around spine, cow pose arms.