Lower Back Pain out of the blue

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hi everyone, I’ll try to keep this short but I could really use your advice on this.

I was a ballet dancer for over 15 years and always had a very very flexible back. Backbends were never an issue for me, they were very easy and I never felt any pain from them. However, I’ve always had a slight sway back, meaning my butt stuck out a bit and so did my abdomen.

I’m no longer dancing but I’ve started doing yoga fairly intensely for the past 6 months. This has greatly improved my posture and my sway back is much less noticeable.

However, I seem to have lost a lot of my back flexibility and when I do go in a posture that includes any kind of backbend (sphinx for example) I feel a lot of pain in my lower back.

This is really frustrating to me because my back was always so flexible and I’d really like to get back to that point. I think it’s a shame that I’ve had to sacrifice my flexibility in order to better my posture.

Any recommendations on how to alleviate this problem?

Thank you :slight_smile:

#2

Pain in the lumbar spine comes from compression in that segment of the spine. It almost always means the doing or action(s) are not in the appropriate place.

Where exactly is your spine less flexible than before and what assessment tool(s) are you wielding to determine that, both now and in the past?

#3

Well, I’d have to say the flexibility is still there, but now when I do things that would’ve been very easy before, I now experience pain.

I’m trying to figure out what the cause for this is. I’m thinking it has something to do with the fact that I’ve “fixed” my sway back. Maybe it was easier for me before because my back was naturally curved? I’m not sure…

I don’t know if I should go easier on my back, or do more exercises to get it back to where it was.

#4

Okay so sticking to “pain in the lower back during backbends” …

When the spine is mobile in one area, like an excessive curvature in the lumbar spine, then most backbending will fall into that area and there will not be uniformity to the spine in its arc. In this case the poses may be “easy” to get into but they are not safe nor are they optimally effective, from the viewpoint of Yoga.

When the student discovers an appropriate distribution of curve in backbending postures then the action is taken out of the weak link (the more supple or hypermobile portion) and obviously the load is thus shared throughout.

This uniformity requires the thoracic spine (in this case) to move into the frontal body. That, in and of itself, will feel like more doing, less easy, and require a more mindful application of tapas.

You should not have pain in the lumbar spine during backbends, period. Your teacher can give you the lumbar adjustment in Bhujangasana to determine if that is helpful. If it is then it is the action of maintaining space in the lumbar spine that needs work by the student (you in this case). Avoid collapsing int he low back during backbends, spread the action into the rest of the spine, and have whomever you’ve selected as your guide to teach you the requisite lift in the pit of your abdomen to protect your lumbar spine.

Gordon

#5

Excellent advice. Impressive.

#6

Wonderful advice and a great explanation.

#7

First of all this is my first post here and I’m very glad to have found this forum. (I esp. appreciate that there is more here than just discussions on the asanas, but the spiritual practice of yoga, too.)

That said, the reason I joined to begin with is because I have problems with back pain, too.

The three poses that seem to do it are:

-The Plough Pose,
-Standing Forward Bend
-Standing Head to Knee

It’s more like a tightness kind of pain, (not deep tissue, like when you pull your back out), and it seems to be in different places… sometimes it’s in the middle of my back–sometimes in the lower back– and sometimes it goes down behind my right knee.

I’m not sure if there is a slightly pinched nerve, or perhaps I’m not warmed-up properly before doing those poses (even though Standing Forward Pose is a sun salutation).

I know how complex back issues can be, so any thoughts would be appreciated…

Thanks

#8

My intuition (since you’ve not been particularly revealing about your age, practice, fitness level, lifestyle, and diet) is that your hamstrings are needing some attention on a regular basis and you are engaging an asana practice that either does not provide proper preparations or you are in a class that is above your current level of practice.

#9

[QUOTE=InnerAthlete;72906]My intuition (since you’ve not been particularly revealing about your age, practice, fitness level, lifestyle, and diet) is that your hamstrings are needing some attention on a regular basis and you are engaging an asana practice that either does not provide proper preparations or you are in a class that is above your current level of practice.[/QUOTE]

I’m sorry Gordon… I didn’t want to bog down the post with loads of egocentric info! :slight_smile:

[B]Age[/B]: 42
[B]Yoga level[/B]: Beg/Intermediate ( I did Bikrham years ago and now I’ve been doing a Sivananda sequence (solo) for about 6 months.
[B]Fitness level[/B]: Average. 30 minutes of yoga a day is basically my only excercise…(and local walking)

I think you might be right. Can you recommend some asanas for hamstrings?

(Also since I can remember, I occasionally get this pain like a pinched-off blood vessel or nerve behind one of my knees. Perhaps this is also to do with hamstrings?)

#10

No apologies warranted. Proper intake for answering the question is neither bogging down nor egocentric. It is required.

Halasana should be done with appropriate propping under the shoulders and the feet should either be on a wall or the thighs should rest on a bench.

Uttanasana, for a student with tight hamstrings and back pain should be done with the knees bent.

The other listed pose I don’t recommend doing at all. It compromises alignment and brings too much risk. Instead supta padangusthasana. For students with some opening in the hamstrings they catch the big toe, for others a strap across the arch nearest the heel.

This is the best pose for opening hamstrings while protecting the back.