Doctors Now Prescribe Yoga For Lower Back Pain Relief

Yoga is an ancient form of movement and meditation that traces its roots more than 5000 years into the past. There are many schools of yoga that emphasize particular disciplines, but all have developed from common roots. Yoga can reduce stress, enhance memory, fight depression, and provide numerous health benefits. A growing body of western medical professionals, prestigious universities, clinics and hospitals recognizes these benefits. Peer-reviewed studies and clinical testing have confirmed what many practitioners have long understood—yoga is beneficial for mind and body.

Doctors routinely prescribe yoga for lower back pain relief. The causes of chronic back pain are sometimes difficult for modern medicine to pinpoint with precision. The complexity of the interaction of joints, muscles, vertebrae, and tendons often defies simple diagnosis. Poor posture, muscle strain, and injuries can lead to chronic pain for many people, and they try many therapies without finding significant relief from pain. Yoga involves working through a series of poses that apparently strengthen back muscles, improve posture, and provide a real reduction in chronic pain.

Yoga for Lower Back Pain Relief Provides Many Benefits

Researchers have not been able to discover exactly why yoga helps, but there are numerous theories. The most prevalent are that yoga strengthens muscles and increases flexibility, relieves muscular tension, reduces fear and depression, and helps mitigate the psychological stress of modern life. Yoga will not help patients with serious conditions such as scoliosis, spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, a herniated disc, or vertebral compression fracture. However, people with muscle sprains, strains and chronic lower back pain find that yoga therapy works to reduce pain where other treatments fail. For health and safety, people should always consult a physician before enrolling in a yoga class in case the pain is caused by some condition that the yoga regimen could exacerbate.

In addition to back pain relief, yoga provides distinct health benefits that have been confirmed by numerous clinical studies and a vast body of anecdotal evidence. These include the following:

• Yoga enhances circulation by stimulating the natural flow of blood through the body. Oxygen and nutrients are delivered more efficiently, which benefits organs, skin, and brain function.

• Yoga slows the pulse and respiration rate. A slower pulse is healthier for the heart, and a reduced respiration rate indicates lungs are performing more efficiently.

• The poses or positions that yoga practitioners make help massage the internal organs, which seems to strengthen the natural immune system.

• Blood pressure is reduced because better oxygenation and circulation ease pressure on the heart muscle.

• Digestive health improves from the increased activity of yoga practice.

• The balance in physical processes yoga encourages leads to more efficient metabolism for burning calories from food intake. Weight management becomes easier for many yoga practitioners.

Choosing the Best Form of Yoga for Lower Back Pain Relief

Yoga has evolved over thousands of years in many cultures, and different schools have developed. People who plan to take yoga to relieve back pain should not choose the more challenging types of yoga. Schools such as Kundalini, Bikram and Ashtanga are extremely specialized and challenging, so newcomers should avoid these yoga schools, at least in the beginning. Iyengar and Viniyoga make appropriate choices for people with physical limitations or yoga neophytes. No matter what type of yoga is selected, students should find a qualified instructor with experience in guiding people who suffer from back pain. Doctors or physical therapists can often provide suitable recommendations.

Yoga is about balance in all things, and students are not competing in a sport. Participants do not need to reach any performance milestones, and there is nothing to prove to anyone. Basic beginner exercises carry no stigma, and Iyengar yoga encourages better body alignment with props such as chairs, blankets and bolsters. These aids help people with less flexibility master the positions. Instructors must meet basic levels of accreditation that include knowledge of anatomy, physiology and teaching techniques.

Viniyoga is gentle and therapeutic, and adapts to the individual needs of each practitioner. Individuals with severe pain can learn to manage their condition and face their pain, understanding the difference between pain and suffering. The philosophy aspect of Viniyoga helps practitioners differentiate between the terms pain and suffering. Pain is a condition of the body, but suffering is caused by the mind. People can choose not to suffer, and this inner strength allows increased physical motion, strengthens weakened muscles, brings a sense of balance to asymmetrical muscles, and encourages healthy movement.

The most common form of yoga taught in the United States is hatha yoga, which combines classic poses and controlled breathing. Iyengar yoga is an offshoot of hatha yoga. Hatha yoga also uses props to help beginners achieve the proper poses needed to maximize yoga benefits. Precise physical alignment is emphasized, and teachers adjust the smallest details such as the angles of toes in relation to shoulder position. It is essential to conform as closely as possible to the ideal, even for people with physical limitations.

Mind, Body, and Spirit in Balance

Yoga stresses that people must strive to achieve a balance between mind, body and spirit. Recognizing the difference between pain and suffering is a great example of the basic philosophy of yoga. Yoga enhances overall mood and attitude, providing solid psychological benefits for many people. These include the following:

• Yoga practitioners sleep better, benefiting from reduced levels of stress. Concentrating on achieving correct yoga positions reduces the significance of everyday worries.

• Yoga exercises can reduce anxiety and provide a calming influence for people suffering from panic disorder.

• Perfection is not the goal in yoga, but the attempt is important. This philosophy leads many practitioners to greater self-acceptance.

• Matching controlled breathing with body movements helps retrain the mind, leading to an enhanced mind-body connection.

People suffering physical pain, lack of energy, stress, or mental fatigue can benefit by starting a yoga therapy regimen. Yoga instructors can be found online in any location, or people can order yoga instructional videos online that train practitioners in classic yoga techniques.