Yoga Pants!

Back pain isn’t just a pain problem, it influences our overall mood, energy and well-being as well. If you have ever had a bad case of back pain, you know just how debilitating it can be. Even small, everyday activities become painful, and everything you do during the day is impacted.

Yoga exercises for low back pain, upper back, shoulder or neck pain have recently drawn researchers’ attention as a natural treatment for back pain. Back pain often arises from chronic tension and imbalances in the soft tissues, and as a consequence, surgery and prescription drugs are relatively ineffective at resolving back problems. Yoga offers promise as an alternative treatment for back pain, precisely because it’s so effective at relieving tension and stiffness in the soft tissues, thereby targeting many back pain problems at their root.

In a 2005 study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, yoga exercises for back pain were found to provide more effective pain relief than a combination of exercise and proper back care. Back pain yoga has also been recommended by the American College of Physicians and the American Pain Society as a measure for treating persistent back pain.

Yoga offers natural relief from back pain in four major ways:

1. Yoga strengthens weak muscles, particularly the core muscles. Yoga for back pain strengthens weak muscles by engaging and toning the body’s core posture muscles, thereby giving the spine’s muscular support system greater strength and stability. In this way, yoga for back pain takes the pressure off the spine and improves posture. This is a key element in lasting back-pain relief.

2. Yoga restores flexibility to the soft tissues. Chronically tight muscles can pull on the vertebrae and tug the spine out of alignment, in turn creating pain and strain. Yoga stretches are very effective at increasing the flexibility of the soft tissues, and this in turn releases strain caused by chronically tight muscles tugging on the spine. By stretching muscles and increasing flexibility, yoga helps release the pressure and relieve back pain.

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.

Click here to learn more about yoga exercises for back pain or download a yoga practice for back pain to experience for yourself how to relieve back pain with yoga.

Tags: back pain, fitness, health, Yoga