4 Ways Yoga Relieves Lower Back Pain (PHOTOS)

Yoga is one of the nondrug, nonsurgical therapies that has been shown to benefit back pain. In 2005 a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that a yoga program was more effective in treating low back pain than another exercise regimen or educating yourself about proper back care. In October 2007 the American College of Physicians and the American Pain Society released guidelines that recommend therapies that include massage, Viniyoga (a gentle, therapeutic yoga style), acupuncture and spinal manipulation for persistent back pain.

More from Health.com:

• How Yoga Can Improve Your Health

• How the Mind Controls Pain

• Meditation Can Release and Relieve Pain

• 3 Pain Conditions Meditation Can Help

According to Timothy McCall, MD, the medical editor of Yoga Journal, yoga can enable patients to do the following:

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Strengthen Weak Muscles

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All of those changes can help support the musculoskeletal system and bring pain relief, but beyond those physical improvements, Dr. McCall believes that the greatest benefit yoga can provide to patients is in their mind.

"In yoga there is a difference between pain and suffering. Pain is often caused by physical things, but the mind fuels the fires of suffering by thinking about it and coming to negative conclusions, which activates your stress response system," says Dr. McCall. "When you do meditation or breathing practices, you start to see the role that the mind plays. Advanced meditators can modulate their pain. They know the pain is there, but they don't react to it the same way."

Comments

[Yu Xin]

09:31 AM on 08/01/2010

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[Descutner]

06:33 PM on 07/28/2010

Before you start doing Yoga for your back, please get the advice of a doctor. You can do irreparable damage to your back trying some of these poses. Tai Chi may be a better option for older people with back problems, even then, start gently and slowly.

[Jennifer State]

05:55 PM on 07/28/2010

Yoga has DEFINITELY helped my back pain. Obviously you have to work up to holding poses longer and doing more difficult poses - you have to strengthen the back over time for the pain to improve. I had mild scoliosis as a child and a back injury, and it only bothers me occasionally now from carrying my heavy toddler around. Another non-drug approach to back pain relief is chiropractic adjustment. Here is an article that gives the survey results backing up that adjustment relieves back pain...
http://biovedawellness.com/2010/07/back-pain-incidence-causes-and-treatment/

[Tristan9]

10:55 AM on 07/09/2010

be very careful. Yoga can also really hurt your back. ITs different for everyone. Twists can torque and destroy the disks between the vertabrae and much better and more rapid results in back strengthening are to be found in boring old weight lifting. Yoga is not all its cut out to be, for light bodies it is less dangerous and it does definitely promote a shift in the nervous system, its main strength. This can lead to meditation. But as a calesthenic, its highly over rated and could lead to chronic injury. I practiced for 25 years, I have some small experience with this.

[natasha blag]

08:10 PM on 07/08/2010

I just started getting into Pilates and Yoga. It's a lot harder than it looks especially when your out of shape. But I like it better than a more vigorous work out. Back strengthening is something I definitely need to work on. Prevention is always better than cures. Lower back pain relief can be hard accomplish sometimes, more so when you don't know the initial cause.
This site has helped be out with some back issues:
http://GetLowerBackPainReliefNow.com/Lower_Back_Pain_Relief.html

[Jennifer State]

11:52 AM on 07/07/2010

Since Yoga really strengthens muscles and improves posture, this makes sense. I've been doing yoga for years and my back pain is much better than it used to be. Here is another article about back pain that details the causes and possible forms of relief...
http://biovedawellness.com/2010/07/back-pain-incidence-causes-and-treatment/