Yoga for Lower Back Pain

An Effective Low Back Pain Exercise!

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Yoga for lower back pain can at times give instant relief if it is going to work for you. It's worth taking at least 10 minutes to try this low back pain exercise and see what kind of results you can achieve....especially if it can take your pain away.

As a Physical Therapist I have treated many people with back pain. It has been said that 80% of the population, or 8 out of 10 people, will experience back pain at some point in their lifetime. (1) Because it is such a widespread problem, it is something that I often treat in the clinic.

As I was looking for an effective low back pain exercise to help my patients, I came across the press up. In yoga they call it the Cobra Pose.

What I found is that a significant amount of people with back pain will respond to this exercise. Hopefully, one of those people can be you!

Before You Start Yoga for Lower Back Pain...

Most people with lower back pain can start this exercise immediately within the precautions below. Once you start the exercise take note of if your location of your pain is changing and if it stays the same, gets better or gets worse. If it gets worse, stop the exercise and seek advice from a health professional such as a doctor, physical therapist or chiropractor.

Do not begin an exercise program before seeing a health professional if:

This is the first time you have had lower back pain and it is not better after 1-2 weeks
You have severe pain in yourleg below the knee and notice weakness, numbness or pins and needles in your foot or toes.
You have lower back pain from a severe accident that happened recently
You have developed bladder or bowel problems at the same time you developed back pain
You had other general health symptoms that appeared the same time as your back pain

Robin McKenzie states in his book "7 Steps to a Pain-Free Life" that you are most likely to respond to this treatment if you answer yes to four or more of the following questions

"Are there periods in the day - even as short as ten minutes - when you have no pain?
Is the pain confined to areas above the knee?
Are you generally worse when sitting for prolonged periods of when standing up from the sitting position?
Are you generally worse during or right after prolonged bending or stooping, as when making a bed, vacuuming, ironing, gardening, or laying concrete?
Are you generally worse when getting up in the morning, but improve after about half an hour?
Are you generally worse when inactive and better when on the move?
Are you generally better when walking?
Are you generally better when lying facedown? When testing this, you may feel worse for the first few minutes but then feel better; in this case, the answer to this question is yes.
Have you had several episodes of lower back pain over the past months or years?"(2)

If you answered yes to three or less of these questions, it is recommended to see a health professional for an evaluation prior to initiating these exercises. See the list of credentialed McKenzie providers here.

How to Perform this Low Back Pain Exercise

Take note that this is just one exercise explained in McKenzie's book, "7 Steps to a Pain-Free Life." For more detailed explanations and other exercises, I highly recommend reading his book. It is an excellent resource and something you will find yourself loaning out to your friends.

Position One - Lying on your stomach
Lay on your stomach with your arms at your side and your head turned to one side. Stay in this position for 2-3 minutes and try to completely relax.

Position Two - Propping yourself on your elbows
Next prop yourself up on your elbows resting under your shoulders. If you feel sharp pain, move your elbows further away from your shoulders to a point where your pain subsides. If it does not subside, do not continue with the exercise.

Position Three - Press Up Exercise
Lay on your stomach again with your head turned to one side. But, this time position your hands palm down underneath your shoulders. Straighten your elbows as far as your pain permits. Try to keep your hips relaxed and in contact with the ground so that you are arching your back. Hold 1-2 seconds.

Repeat the exercise with each time trying to go a little further until your arms are completely straight and your elbows locked.

Your Response to Yoga for Lower Back Pain

Note the intensity of your pain and the location of your symptoms before and after you do the exercise. Think of it like cause and effect. If your pain is gradually decreasing or if your symptoms begin to come out of your leg or hip and centralize to your back, that is a good sign to continue with the exercise. If the pain is getting more intense or moving further down your hip or leg than it was prior to the exercise, stop and consult a health care provider.

If your pain and symptoms stayed the same, check out the section below for no response or benefit.

However, if you find that the exercise is helping, it should be performed 10 times per session for 6-8 sessions a day. For the first few days, I even recommend that you do it every hour if possible.

It may be difficult to find a place to this low back pain exercise because you need to get on your stomach. But, I've found with my patients that "where there's a will, there's a way." If this exercise is helping you decrease your pain and have a better quality of life, you'll find a way to do it. I've known people to bring a towel to work in a factory and find a place in a break room or supervisor's office to do the exercise during their breaks.

Don't Forget to Get to the Root of the Problem

The most common cause of low back pain is poor posture. So, if you get relief from this exercise, but don't correct your poor posture, there is a good chance your pain will return. This is critical in getting long term relief. I have seen people improve from correctly posture alone and not even doing the exercises. So check out these recommendations on posture.

No Response or Benefit - Reason #1 One Sided Pain

After trying the exercise above with no response or relief for 3-4 days, there are two main reasons for lack of relief. It is possible that for some people the pain is generally felt more to one side during the day and when attempting the press up exercise. In this case, you may need to modify your body position before you start the exercise.

Get in position one as described above and shift your hips away from the painful side. Therefore, if your pain is normally on the right side, then you will shift your hips to the left 3-4 inches. Once in that position try to completely relax for 3-4 minutes.

While keeping your hips off center (shifted away from the painful side), lean on your elbows as described in position two above.

As long as your symptoms are not worsening, continue with the press up. Make sure that each time before you begin the press up that your hips are still off center, shifted away from the painful side. Repeat 10 times. If your pain begins to centralize and is now in the center of your back, then go back to performing the press up without shifting your hips. This is very important. If your pain begins to go to the side again, you can go back to shifting your hips until it centralizes again.

No Response or Benefit - Reason #2 Pelvis Needs Stabilized

Sometimes you can greatly improve the effectiveness of the pressup (position 3 above) by finding a way to hold the pelvis down. This can be done several ways. Another person can place pressure on your lower back. Or you can put together a simple way of doing this. It sounds weird but it works! What you do is use an ironing board and either a seat belt or strong strap (like a luggage strap). Place the belt or strap around the ironing board and your waist. This added pressure will help you decide if this exercise can help your lower back pain.

If after trying all the variations of the exercise, your symptoms remain, it is recommended that you see a health care provider for an evaluation. See the list of credentialed McKenzie providers here.

Don't Forget to Get to the Root of the Problem

Continue Reading Here...

Anatomy of the Back

Low back strengthening exercises

Back stretching exercises

Get to the root of the problem - Poor Posture

The Bean Exerciser - One Way to Exercise Abs Without Back Pain

Recommended Book

"7 Steps to a Pain-Free Life, How to Rapidly Relieve Back and Neck Pain." by McKenzie, R. and Kubey, C.

References:
1) Duane Saunders, M.S., P.T. The Back Care Program Fourth Edition. Back Facts
2) McKenzie, R. and Kubey, C. "7 Steps to a Pain-Free Life, How to Rapidly Relieve Back and Neck Pain." 2000. Penguin Group.

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