Love Yoga, challenged by back pain

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

My journey out of chronic back pain has been a long one. After decades of running long distance, one day 4 years ago, with a sharp twist around, I felt the worst pain in my back, nerve pinching, muscles locking up…and after three years of physical therapies, spinal epidural pain killing shots and pain medicines, I gave lap swimming a try, after nine months, back started to improve, pain had moved to the Piriformis muscles, several cortizone shots to those muscles…more swimming, some running (after several months had to to stop running as pain worsened…have not ran since…stopped 5 months ago)back improved more…

Hence to my yoga practice and where I am now…Just finished three months of yoga, practice 3-4 days a week depending upon my back…Vinyasa-style yoga, heated and with humidity, sometimes I alternate a Hot yoga practice into my schedule.

My challenge is that I am locked into a schedule of alternating days for yoga. If I double as I did practicing both Saturday and Sunday of last weekend, I experience more soreness and today Tuesday, I practiced and now have a sore back…with muscles tightening (standing is better than sitting, or if sitting, sitting on one leg in the chair helps). If I go longer than one day between practices, my back starts to develop a pain nag…

I want to practice every day…I also dont want back pain…overall my back has dramatically improved with yoga. I can now twist without concern in all directions with my back…I have mostly painfree days…which to a back pain sufferer is “heaven on earth”…

Any suggestions for breaking this empasse…and moving on past the pain that still lingering?

#2

On alternate days try restorative yoga or just breathing exercises. Just as beneficial!

#3

In the words of the immortal Dory “Just keep swimming!” Or in this case just keep doing yoga. I, too, began yoga to get relief from back pain. 9 years later I’m still upright and pain free. The doctors told me I would be on painkillers forever and my back was in a downward degenerative spiral.

I think if you keep up with a couple of practices a week you will be fine. Sometimes there is a difference between a “pain” and the post yoga “ache”. For the first while I was always thinking that ache was my pain coming back. I think it was actually my muscles readjusting. Take it easy and rest well and drink a ton of water after practice.

#4

Thank you Anjali and Alix, good advice. I actually have wondered how currently when my back is sore might be are related to yoga induced muscle changes, versus chronic back pain and your comment Alix will help me to rethink what these pains are…Being a long time distance runner, I ran through all types of pain…until the back episode’’’ so maybe accepting that my body is going thru a major adjustment and for the foreseeable future I will have “growing pains” will help to mentally get thru this phase.
Anjali, I have not tried “restorative” yoga, but that may be a way to be able to practice yoga daily and even possibly promote healing faster. I will do some research on what this type of yoga is and try and find a local yoga facility that offers that style of practice.
Yoga has become a integral part of my life, I dont think there is a moment on any day that I don’t think about it. My body is going thru a metamorphosis, my energy has increased dramatically and my overall mood has been lifted. I never thought that any activity could replace my love for running, but yoga has.

#5

yoderconsult, restorative yoga is lovely, slow and gentle. I did it right after my gallbladder surgery. I do think though that you might want to do some research and adjust your practice only slightly. It already seems to be yielding the results you are looking for. As with any physical exertion the body has a cycle of recovery. Most physical therapists will suggest you do certain training only every other day (weights) and then do something different to “rest” those muscles for a day. Perhaps you could speak to your teacher about your issues and find different sequences for different days? One day doing poses that will strengthen your back (cobra, etc) and then the next day focus more on perhaps hips or chest? That would allow you to continue to practice daily but give your back a needed rest.

I’m not an instructor, not trained at all. I’m just a lady who listens to my body and this is what works for me. I know there are some here who will have some excellent suggestions for you. And since I forgot to say it earlier, Welcome! Its nice to meet you.

#6

During my 17 years of coaching I learned that some teachers tell students what they want to hear while others tell them what they need to hear. This is a bit risky, often unpopular, but can in many cases serve the student more so then behaving in a way to only be their “buddy”.

With this in mind I’m mindfully taking what may be a less popular path in reply :slight_smile:

From the living and teaching of yoga we learn that the practice is one that counters our nature in order to bring us toward balance on many levels. Unfortunately some still choose a practice which tosses onto the heap of their nature, adds to the nature, further deepens its etching in the consciousness and therefore the living.

One of the directors toward that balance is the call of the body and our willingness to listen to it and respond accordingly. I want to stress that each person’s “accordingly” may be different and it is NOT to me to say how another should respond. But the calls do come, the phone does ring, and it is to us to answer and listen to the communication from within.

The pain will not go fully into the night until that which is behind it is heeded. The body is asking for something and its is being ignored. It is being feed a consistent “diet” of behavior to which it is rebelling. Only when that behavior shifts to one of countering the ingrained nature will the body move toward health.

Furthermore, the system in the body responsible for healing, the immune system, is most effective when the central nervous system is parasympathetic. When the nervous system is bombarded by stimuli around the clock then healing is impaired, not facilitated.

So my suggestion for breaking the impasse is to cease looking at it as an impasse and begin looking at it as a re-direction. Then, rather than resisting that redirect, embrace it and find a practice that is not stoking the fires that are already aflame.

gordon

#7

Yoderconsult,
I started to do yoga in 2000 because I had very bad back pain, even could not get up from my bed without an painkiller injection. So, I started yoga and … the pain worsened … but I kept practiced, because I was full of faith that yoga can help me and my teacher told me that old injuries and old pains can come up on the surface in the beginning. I even had not noticed the time of magic transformation from sick teen into what I am now.

#8

i have back pain problem from last 2 years iam a software enginner so my duty is sit 10 hours daily so when iam sitting iam getting back pain i gone to diffrent ortho suregens they are given me diffrent medicine,still iam having so much backpain so how can its solved by yoga

#9

As I eluded to in my post above…

if you continue to sit in a chair for 50 hours each week AND that sitting is either the cause of or an aggravator of the lower back pain, there is no magic pill.

Try a different chair. Try taking breaks. Try incorporating a daily asana practice aimed specifically at opening the hip flexors (rectus femorus, iliacus, psoas).

#10

Can anyone give advice? I do yoga at the gym, so it’s kinda in the rush. We only have around 45 minutes to finish the practice. I follow the instructor count for every moves, but after several months training, I started to feel like my back is hurting. And it’s not just me, some of my friends experienced it too, especially after we do the moon salutation. But then when I do the exercise at home, I do the count slower and find out that my back isn’t hurting after the training. Is my theory right? And how come the instructor then have the wrong count? I suppose that they have to be professionals.

#11

Three thoughts. These are only things I have found in my own practice or from talking with others.

  1. Lengthening and strengthening the Psoas muscles has been shown to help alleviate some kinds of back pain.

  2. Obviously strengthening the core overall is beneficial. Any number of yoga for back pain courses out there or, dare I say it in this forum, a regular basic floor Pilates practice (usually 20 minutes) in addition to your yoga practice will help.

Not sure what kind of Hot yoga you are doing but I know I have to be very very careful with the back-bend part of Half-moon in the Bikram series. It seems to be a little too easy to bend too much from the lower back, which regardless of any of the benefits the pose provides is almost always a big no-no.

#12

@ Aleipo
There is a relationship or ratio between speed of movement and mindfulness or feeling. As speed increases mindfulness drops, usually exponentially. Therefore the faster you go the less opportunity there is for feeling. Feeling is the feedback which allows for discerned choosing. Without the feedback of feeling there would be little way to know where to go, especially on a journey with thousands of paths.

Why your particular teacher goes at the pace they go, only they could say. I have no idea why human beings do some of the thing they (we) do.

I have a slightly different perspective on the Psoas. In most people it is best not to strengthen the Psoas. It is already one of the most powerful muscles in the human body and when it is short and not contracted or in spasm then it negatively affects the orientation of the pelvis.

Lengthening the Psoas, releasing it, working it in eccentric contraction can be very helpful.

It is simply a well marketed fallacy that universally strengthening muscles located in the lower abdomen is helpful for lower back pain. For some people this is the case. For many it is the exact opposite.

#13

Hi InnerAthlete -as an apparently very experienced teacher, you have a more learned point of view than I do. I was merely speaking from my own experience, and from the point of view of people I know who have varying degrees of first hand knowledge or knowledge as teachers.

Back pain seems to be one of those things that is different for everyone and certainly has different causes. The things I wrote about as a novice are things that have helped me. I have noticed less lower back pain with the things I mentioned. With regard to the Psoas, it may be that my teacher has me “lengthening, releasing, and working it in eccentric contraction” and I just ignorantly refer to it as “lengthening and strengthening.” I am taking his class tonight so I will ask!

#14

Hmm… I think that everyone has different flexibilities too. Maybe my teachers has more flexibilities already than me after doing years practise. That’s why they easily do the back bend without feeling anything painful at the back, while I myself have to do it slowly along with tightening my core to prevent the pain at my lower back until the move is done. Well yes, it is relatedr with this feeling. Going faster is like forcing my muscles, and ignoring the feeling, that’s why it hurts. And yes, maybe I need some more pilates training at the warm up. Thanks.

#15

@ DoestheDog?
It’s just a different perspective my friend. None more valid (or less) than another. I intended no disrespect and appreciate the perspective lent. And at the same instance felt there needed to be more developed in the thread since we have many lurkers reading these over many years.

@ Aleipo
Likely the teacher has more something than you - perhaps it’s flexibility. Of course asana is not about flexibility but instead about moving some things while stabilizing other things. Teachers are charged with teaching students rather than poses so you as a student need to be taught to. And if you are experiencing pain in the doing (not discomfort but pain) then the teaching needs fine tuning if the student is to leave unharmed.

#16

[QUOTE=InnerAthlete;26414]@ Aleipo

I have a slightly different perspective on the Psoas. In most people it is best not to strengthen the Psoas. It is already one of the most powerful muscles in the human body and when it is short and not contracted or in spasm then it negatively affects the orientation of the pelvis.

Lengthening the Psoas, releasing it, working it in eccentric contraction can be very helpful.

[/QUOTE]

I have found this to be so true. 25 years of weightlifting, squatting in particular, without corresponding muscle lengthening exercises definitely affected my pelvis negatively.

The various psoas releasing exercises in my new yoga program have been a godsend. My flexibility and balance have improved dramatically.

InnerAthlete is correct in the assertion that we have to listen to our bodies. When they need rest we should rest. It is easy to get caught up in the thought that we need to push ourselves but by resting properly we ultimately enable ourselves to accomplish more.

#17

Hi Again InnerAthelete - I took no offense at all - I just wanted to clarify my thoughts. One thing that I am acutely aware of, thanks to yoga, is that I have much more to learn than I have already learned so I wanted to tone down any “advice” I was giving with some humility. (which, if you knew me personally you would understand, is no small effort on my part!)

#18

is is something I just posted in the general topic, but I think it applies here in this situation.

I’ve practiced yoga for about 15 years on and off. In the past few years, however I have been developing pain in my lower back. In the past stretching and Yoga has always helped but recently even just doing my daily routine it’s unbearable. It’s like someone is sticking a knife in my spine. I’ve gone to chiropractors, acupuncturists, and switched my Yoga teachers several times. Recently I’ve even been thinking of back surgery because my doctor is recommending it, but I have also been reading of a lot of stories where people have expensive surgery but it doesn’t help or even makes it worse.

And Then I found this website. It has some information I thought was interesting dealing with the human skeleton and how bones are supposed to be aligned. In short it’s about posture (something that I always knew was important but had some VERY wrong misconceptions about).

I will try to do a brief description of it but I highly recommend visiting the site itself. It makes perfect common sense but is totally overlooked and ignored by the Medical community and (as I found out while trying to explain this to my current teacher) the Yoga community as well.

Here’s the link if anyone wants it. naturalalignment.com

The basic concept is this. Babies, while learning how to walk, naturally figure out how to balance a large weight (their head) on top of their body. By the time we reach adulthood we have completely forgotten how to do this. Our heads are no longer being balanced on top of our skeleton but HELD UP BY MUSCLES in our neck and back. This creates a HUGE list of problems ranging from physical pain to poor circulation, the pinching of nerves and even things like incontinence.

The idea of standing up straight (or at least what we think of as good posture) is actually JUST AS BAD if not worse than slouching. They are simply polar extremes and very few people live their life in the balanced in between. It is something kind of hard to explain and I might be doing a poor job of it but I feel that it is important knowledge that everyone should know, as it helped me a great deal with my back pain and teaching me how to do Yoga from a place where I’m not straining or injuring myself. Quite the opposite, I now reap all the benefits of Yoga. Check it out.

#19

I checked it out.
Very interesting information.
Alignment-based asana (properly taught) follows some of the same principles - if not all of them.

gordon

#20

I checked out naturalalignment.com, too. What they propose certainly looks extremely sensible (and pretty much identical to the anatomical diagrams in Leslie Kaminoff’s Yoga Anatomy and Judith Hanson Lasater’s Yogabody). But now comes the big challenge: How do we teach a grown-up person who was taught to tuck their tail when young to use their body like this? They will very likely not feel comfortable when standing at ease as shown, because their muscle patterns are wired differently after decades of different posture. I am not asking this to criticize naturalalignment.com, much the opposite. I am looking for a way to present what should be an easeful posture to students (including myself!) who have spent years, nay, decades attempting to take the little curve out of their lumbar spine to avoid the dreaded hollow back, thus throwing their whole spine out of whack (while assuming they were doing the opposite). Maybe Gordon or erichdreamer have some practical suggestions?