Yoga Poses and Meditation for back pain

Thursday, March 29, 2012 - 12:18

Yoga- the ancient physical, mental and spiritual discipline - has been found to be a great intervention for chronic back pain. And many high level athletes use yoga as a part of their training and recovery programs. The physical stretches are the most helpful part of the recovery but let us not forgot that the mental aspect of the discipline is quite beneficial to recovery as well.

By holding a pose in yoga, our muscles strengthen. If you can hold it for about a minute and start to feel a burn you are strengthening your muscle. Yoga is a workout that reduces stress, increases flexibility and coordination.

Studies have found that sixty to ninety percent of adults will suffer from back pains. Outside the athletics world, we put our back through so much lifting, heaving, twisting and shoving in every-day life. Some of the numerous causes of back pains include: poor posture, excess body weight, herniated disc and degenerative disks to name a few. With all that work our backs are doing it’s not surprising that with 20 small intricate joints building our vertebrae, our backs are taking a beating. Add to that any athletic endeavor and it is obvious that we need to be mindful of our back health.

Although yoga is ideal for back pain recovery, simple stretching activities also work to help relieve the pain. The focus on mindfulness is what makes yoga differ from simple stretching. It calms the body and gives peace of mind. A large emphasis in yoga is good posture, which help counter the initial causes of the back pain. Before stretching your way into recovery, try asking a healthcare professional what works best for you.

Contact SIRC for more information on yoga!

Reference from the SIRC Collection: 
(2012) Suffering from Low Back Pain? Maybe You Should Try Yoga. Tufts University health & Nutrition Letter, 29(12), 3.

Online Resource:
Shepley Caron (2012). Yoga for Sports Performance: Why Yoga is an Athlete’s “Secret Weapon”. Presented at the 2012 Coaches of Ontario Conference. Retrieved from the Internet March 29, 2012.

Holingshead, Sue. Yoga for Sports Performance. Retrieved from IDEA Health & Fitness Association website March 29, 2012.

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Comments

mike replied on

Knowing there are steps you can take to improve your posture, muscle strength and general fitness can lessen the symptoms and possibly prevent Lumbago.

Exercise and Nutrition Tips
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Muneeb Ahmad replied on

As a chiropractor and a yoga instructor, I think that both are great techniques for the treatment of lower back pain!!! Yoga will help to maintain your spine in proper alignment and integrate the benefits to your nervous system (chiropractic is not defined by the pop, and there are many techniques that involve no cracking), that are the true purpose and function of chiropractic, AND chiropractic will allow you to deepen your yoga practice, and keep you practicing through hard times.

tahera replied on

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tahera replied on

I was looking for something related to back pain, thank you for sharing this post. I would also recommend you to check back pain specialist, who can offer best treatment options.

michael john replied on

A lot of information in the article are very helpful to our Treatment, very good article, Keep up the good! It is worthy of my learning,thank you for sharing this info.
Back Pain Treatment