Beginner with back pain

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Im feeling a little down today. I started doing yoga around six weeks ago and I’m really enjoying it. I have always had back pain but now it’s much worse. Im doing yoga at home except for one class that I attended, and I sorta over did it. My back pain was already bad when I went. I have been pushing my body to do certain poses and Im sure thats part of the reason why Im in this shape now. Now I see the importance of having a good instructor to guide you.

I read the other thread on BP and its troubling. This is day two that I have not done yoga and Im already missing it and feel like my body is craving it. I have only been doing a few exercises that I learned in PT which is basically yoga, (cobra pose) and putting ice on my back. Its helping some. I think I will wait a few more days to let my back heal, but feel that everything I have worked toward will now be lost. I really don’t want to give this up because this is the best I have felt in a long time excluding the back pain of course. Any advice would be much appreciated.

#2

Are you doing cobra pose with back pain? cobra pain is an advanced pose.

What you need is good teacher to guide you as you say, iyengar yoga would help you to avoid these injuries. Just leave your back resting for a couple of days and then start little by little.

#3

dasana, thanks for your reply. My pt had me doing sphinx pose and also the cobra for back pain. When I do the cobra for my back I keep a little bend in the arms. I dont want to over do it. Yes I do need a good yoga teacher but its unlikely in my VERY small town that I will find one. I will look into iyengar yoga.

#4

If it hurts dont do it , if you have stiff legs that could be the reason + we westerners have bad spines , well most of us as we dont have a good sitting postures. So stretch your legs till you feel flexible enough. Stretch legs before you go to sleep or in morning, what suits you best. Try also to think on your posture when you sit , if you are aware that will also strengthen your spine and sitting posture. And last when something hurts more than normal you should stop it. And go slow, dont push your self when stretching.

#5

When we, as human beings, have preexisting injuries it is “less-than-wise” to simply ramble into any thing labeled “yoga” AND expect a therapeutic offering. This is true of instructed group classes, privates with poorly or inadequately trained teachers, as well as books/dvd/internet streams.

While much of asana (the poses or postures erroneously referred to as “yoga”) feels “good” and may be “good for you” and brings a modicum of wellness (depending on what exactly is offered and how it is embraced), these things are not yoga therapy. Yoga therapy is not delivering a sequence of poses to people for them to feel better. Yoga therapy is assessing the student then crafting a very particular, specific, targeted protocol for what is being addressed.

Students of Yoga who have “low back pain” (an incredibly general term) should be assessed to determine what is the causation of the pain, where that causation lies, and how best to attend to it. To tell a student “do Bhujangasana for low back pain, it is good for it” is gross negligence, not to mention a dull shard of "truth.

Until the student learns how to lift the pit of the abdomen and sides of the waist, rotate the thighs and contract the buttocks, then move the sacrum toward the Achilies tendons, “cobra” is not good for the lumbar spine (read: low back). It is actually counter productive and ill-advised.

Students who remain aggressive, violent, or performing will always sustain injury no matter how sound the teachings or teacher is but that shouldn’t stop one from seeking the most sound instruction/instructor possible.

It is unlikely you will lose everything. If you gain a deep understanding of the approach to asana then you are far and away ahead of about 4/5 of all asana practitioners, regardless of their suppleness, gymnastics, or mobility. Having a rooted approach trumps open hamstrings every day of the week. Your lesson is far more profound than physiology.

I would invite you to consider attending some workshops outside of your area. If you are locked in to video education then perhaps search for something targeting lower back issues. Stay away from frisky, fast, heated practices as their level of demand does not facilitate the mindfulness required in doing safely, especially in lieu of injury.

Warmly,

gordon

#6

Hi!!

Yes a yoga workshop is the best option. It’s so important to learn properly and then you can do your self practice without hurting yourself.

#7

Kyogagirl64,
The most contributor Yogis to this forum might had experience of healing their own or their client’s backache with Yoga methods specially asanas. They might have succeeded many or the most of times, but not all the times. Many or the most times they successed because their perception of cause of problems did matched the actual cause.
I strongly believe that correct diagnosis (process of identification of a disorder and its causes by noting down signs and symptoms and also by conducting various tests like x-rays, C.T. Scan, etc.) should be base of any intervention or treatment. Without diagnosis,…advising, learning and practicing a set asanas…would be like shooting an arrown in the darkness.
So, see a physician M.D. (Medicine or Orthopedics). Till you can apply ice, use a abdominal belt while driving a car, staring up and down, etc., and perform only minimum therapetic exercises (such as pelvic tilt (Ardha Setubandhasana, Pawanmuktasa and Markatasana, etc.) for first two weeks.

[QUOTE=kyogagirl64;77983]Im feeling a little down today. I started doing yoga around six weeks ago and I’m really enjoying it. I have always had back pain but now it’s much worse. Im doing yoga at home except for one class that I attended, and I sorta over did it. My back pain was already bad when I went. I have been pushing my body to do certain poses and Im sure thats part of the reason why Im in this shape now. Now I see the importance of having a good instructor to guide you.

I read the other thread on BP and its troubling. This is day two that I have not done yoga and Im already missing it and feel like my body is craving it. I have only been doing a few exercises that I learned in PT which is basically yoga, (cobra pose) and putting ice on my back. Its helping some. I think I will wait a few more days to let my back heal, but feel that everything I have worked toward will now be lost. I really don’t want to give this up because this is the best I have felt in a long time excluding the back pain of course. Any advice would be much appreciated.[/QUOTE]

#8

Thanks HealthAndYoga and I agree about shooting arrows in the darkness, sounds a lil kinky btw :slight_smile: In 2009 a radiologist said in my ct report that it appears that I have a disc herniation to the left at L5-S1. A different radiologist report, mri L-spine in 2010 suggest that I have a disk desiccation at L5-S1 w no evidence of herniation or stenosis. Its 2012 so maybe I need to get a new mri and a different dr. to see what it says about my back. Im sure it will be something entirely different.

I cant take this to serious or I will hang it up, get depressed and be miserable. Whatever is wrong I will make the best of it. Yoga has already helpedme in other areas a great deal. I found a you tube video for BP by Eshter at Ekhart.com and have been doing it. That alone with ice and lidocaine patches does give a little relief. Thanks again for your interest and I will work through this :slight_smile:

#9

Just an update - I went to the ER this morning after work. Had x-rays on my l-spine and test for uti which was negative. The dr. said the xrays showed disk narrowing, (already had) She concluded that I was having back pain because I had strained a muscle in my back. I was prescribed muscle relaxers and pain meds and told to not do anything for the next few days. If there is no improvement in two day Im supposed to follow up with my family physician.

I’m going to spend this time educating myself about yoga and will meditate. When I do start back doing yoga it will be with much caution :slight_smile: BTW the forums here are great!

#10

Go for subtle gentle exercises to re-oganise and retrain the muscles in your back and hips.

Try the Feldenkrais method - its more gentle and subtle then yoga and it really nails down subtle bio mechanic and muscular re-organisation.
Ive had wondrous results with the feldenkrais method.
check out - achievingexcellence . com

#11

Thanks fuzz. I am checking it out.

#12

I am on the same boat, kyogagirl64. I am coming into yoga with a lumbar sprain and always feel good after yoga, but by the end of the day the pain comes back. I’d like to know specific poses to do just to begin stretching it out without straining it, it feels like my spine needs to be extended more. Right now it just feels shortened, since I hadn’t exercised it until this week when I started yoga. Hmmm.

#13

Most problem is that if you have a week spine you should not do asanas like the trikoasana before strengthening your spine most studios however have them from start no matter if you are a beginner or not. And in west probably 95% dont have a good spine. So when doing trikoasna your spine does not support your posture as it is not aligned to start with.

Also next problem would be yoga styles doing in a fast manner and styles like those as the speed is fast its prone to backproblems. Yoga is not meant to do in a fast pace its meant to strengthening your body so that you are able to sit for meditation for longer durations of time.

And this is done by static postures. You can easily try for your self if you can sit for prolonged times without getting backache. Then you know if the yoga you are doing is making you able to sit for longer times or not. Thus preparing you for the other steps in ashtanga.

Maybe you feel better after doing yoga because you are warm and when your muscle cools down the irritation is still there.

You have spinal twists which will stretch lower part of your back. The plough will stretch your spine but dont do them without proper teaching first. But i guess you have been taught those already. Also all muscles are in conjunction with others so possible even leg need to be strengthen if you have one side dominant which is generally so.
So actually there is need for more than just working on your lower back. IF you have knowledge over how your body works you would be able to work this out for your self. If not then you need a teacher.

#14

Start the day out with some nice relaxation program. I am sure that you will slowlly lose the back pain…

#15

Thanks Mark. My spine feels like it back to normal, but I always have some pain. I just need to be careful. Im trying to do a little yoga today but have lots going on and can’t seem to get in to it. Im going to keep trying. Mind distractions can interefere.