Can Yoga Improve Back Pain?
Poor posture and tight or weak muscles can place undue
strain on the spine, thus causing back pain.
However, a delicate balance must be maintained between the various
postural muscles to ensure proper
alignment and curvature of the spine. The traditional medical
approach is to encourage strengthening of the abdominal muscles. Unfortunately, this generic prescription only
benefits a small portion of patients, while others require stretching of tight
muscles or strengthening of the weak muscles. Yoga practice offers a well-rounded approach that
addresses all potential muscle groups and may be customized to fit specific
needs. With the combination of warm-up,
asanas, breathing exercises, and meditation, yoga serves as an effective and versatile therapy to remedy
tight muscles, weak muscles and postural issues that contribute to back pain
(McCall, 2007, 190-192).
Tekur and colleagues (2012) studied the impact of a
comprehensive yoga program on patients
with chronic low-back pain.
Surprisingly, they found that the majority of participants experienced
significant relief from back-pain with just seven days of yoga therapy. The
authors concluded that the yoga intervention produced equal or superior
results to typical treatments such as traditional exercise, physical therapy,
and counseling (Tekur et al, 2012).
In addition, they postulate
that yoga therapy may mediate chronic stress, anxiety and depression, which can
break the cycle of chronic back pain (Tekur et al, 2012). Always consult your physician before beginning any
complimentary treatment for back pain or other physical symptom...
