Poses to avoid with low back pain/hip/leg pain

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

I had low back pain 5 years ago that went away after a few months. It has now come back and has been bothering me on and off since the summer and has gotten progressively worse. I was running a lot and not stretching as much as I should have been.

Right now I can’t run anymore. The left side of my lower back is sore, and on my right side I have pain in my glute and hip and feel a painful stretching on the outside of my leg that goes down to my ankle. I walk with a limp. I have gone to the chiropractor, but it doesn’t seem to be helping. He said I have a forward tilted pelvis. Next week I go to the physiatrist, and I’m hoping he can help.

In the meantime, I know yoga is supposed to be good for lower back pain. I’m wondering if there are any poses you suggest that I stay away from that may aggravate my problem. Sometimes I feel like my muscles tense up more so after yoga. Anyone else have experience with this? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

#2

What, pray tell, was the diagnosis from the Chiro?
Did you have xrays?

“Low back pain” is a very general statement and can be several things. Each of those things, in the yoga therapy context, would have different protocols to support healing.

There are some things to avoid and there are also some yogas to avoid. More information will assist me in assisting you.

gordon

#3

[QUOTE=InnerAthlete;18986]What, pray tell, was the diagnosis from the Chiro?
Did you have xrays?

“Low back pain” is a very general statement and can be several things. Each of those things, in the yoga therapy context, would have different protocols to support healing.

There are some things to avoid and there are also some yogas to avoid. More information will assist me in assisting you.

gordon[/QUOTE]

Hi,

Yes I did have x-rays. The chiro just said I have a forward tilted pelvis that is making my spine curve more than it should and that is putting pressure on my lower back. He didn’t give me any other information. I am also experiencing some pain and tightness that runs down the sides of my legs and can’t walk without limping. I go to see a physiatrist next week, so I may have a better understanding of what is going on- hopefully.

I’m not sure if that really gives you any more information, but that is all I have at the moment.

Thank you for taking the time to respond.

#4

I’ve had lower back problems too, although my problem was a “humoungus” (the doctor’s word) herniated disk. My advice is to do nothing until you get instructions from a professional. Back problems are no joke. If you’re not careful, you can wind up incapacitated for months. I don’t know what a physiatrist is. I was treated by an orthopedist and a neurosurgeon.

#5

hello there

gary kraftsow has a wonderful DVD called viniyoga therapy for the low back, sacrum, and hips that you might find helpful :slight_smile:

#6

[QUOTE=Asuri;19005]I’ve had lower back problems too, although my problem was a “humoungus” (the doctor’s word) herniated disk. My advice is to do nothing until you get instructions from a professional. Back problems are no joke. If you’re not careful, you can wind up incapacitated for months. I don’t know what a physiatrist is. I was treated by an orthopedist and a neurosurgeon.[/QUOTE]

Hi Asuri,

I think you’re probably right about not doing anything until I get a professional opinion. Can I ask if you had to have surgery for your herniated disk and if you were able to return to your normal activities? I’m really worried I will never be able to run again. But I guess I won’t know until I talk to someone. Have you found that yoga has helped your back pain?

I didn’t know what a physiatrist was either. My doctor referred me, and I had to google the definition.

#7

[QUOTE=juliakalish;19014]hello there

gary kraftsow has a wonderful DVD called viniyoga therapy for the low back, sacrum, and hips that you might find helpful :)[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the advice. I may check it out once I find out what is really going on.

#8

[QUOTE=Octobergirl;19015]Hi Asuri,

I think you’re probably right about not doing anything until I get a professional opinion. Can I ask if you had to have surgery for your herniated disk and if you were able to return to your normal activities? I’m really worried I will never be able to run again. But I guess I won’t know until I talk to someone. Have you found that yoga has helped your back pain?

I didn’t know what a physiatrist was either. My doctor referred me, and I had to google the definition.[/QUOTE]

I did have surgery for my herniated disk (I think it was 2002). Unfortunately, I suffered some nerve damage and now have a “dropped foot”, for which I wear a brace. I would say that I’m about ninety-five percent normal most of the time.

When i was injured, I was really worried that I would never get back to normal, but I did. A lot depends on you. Once you find out the exact nature of your condition, and get some guidance on what and what not to do, by all means, do it. The worst thing is to become too sedentary.

In the early stages after my surgery, someone suggested that I try swimming. That proved to be helpful. But please keep in mind that what was right for me might not be right for you. I think you should ask your doctor about physical therapy, if he doesn’t suggest it first.

Yoga has been absolutely essential in getting me through the back pain. When I was first diagnosed, my doctor gave me a book called “Treat Your Own Back” from the McKenzie Institute. (It’s available on Amazon). It turns out that the main exercise they use for my condition is a variation of Cobra. It’s been effective for me and I still use it all the time, but this is specifically for herniated discs and sciatica. Please check with your doctor first.

Also, check with Nicole, who is a moderator on this site. She’s a Yoga Therapist.

#9

I don’t mean to imply that Cobra is the only asana that’s been helpful to me. I’ve been able to progress gradually to a range of basic asanas that have helped to restore my flexibility and alleviate pain.

#10

A big thing would to prevent over arching into the lower back. Hold yourself back if you feel it happening. Not so much what postures to avoid but what postures to focus on.

  1. Foreword bends- helped my tilted pelvis a lot.
  2. Child’s pose- For individuals with a more exaggerated lower back curve I have seen this help by working gently against the curve.

Cultivate abdominal strength. Strong abs will help protect the lower back. But the really issue here from the sounds of it, is the tilted pelvis. I get a lot of people coming in and saying “I have lower back pain”. Doing a posture assessment, I start seeing issues wrong with the hips. So we can work on the back all they want but we wont get results until we target the structure with the imbalance.

Also, if you have access, I’d say visit with a sports massage therapist. It can work very complementary with yoga.

Stay positive. I’m sure you will be able to run again. Use this time to slow done and be gentle on yourself. :slight_smile:

#11

You’re considering running again? What is it you are running from?

It is an amazing pounding on joints and spine. Whatever would motivate you to return to it?

#12

Bridgette,

Out of curiosity, did you have pain running down your leg with your tilted pelvis? I’m thinking that, since the chiro’s treatment didn’t work, there could be something else going on. So I would want to have confirmation before doing anything based on that assessment.

#13

I do have hypertonic (grr…i’m having a block i hope thats the term) thigh muscles because of it. It is prouably somthing my body has done to compinsate for the tilted pelvis. As I have worked on the pelvis the muscles have lossened up a great deal. I had no clue about the tilted pelvis untill an instructor working with me on headstand noticed it. A chrio. confirmed it and I started thing a sport massage therapist.

It dose seem some what like a sciatic nerve issue. If that what you are thinking, Mine wasnt a shooting pain but rather a tense uncomfortable sensation that limited range of movment.

#14

I’ll echo Innerathlete- don’t run anymore- at least not until many moons separate you from this problem. The heart and lung exercise aerobics give you can be bettered by yoga. I know that from experience and yoga theory from , Anatomy of Hatha Yoga by H. David Coulter. Opening the chest gives the heart more room to relax,Inversions reverse Blood Pressures in the body improving both circulation and exercising the heart, full breath and pranayama exercise the lungs, other postures give the heart and lungs intense short duration exercise and some forms of yoga address these issues even more directly with viniyoga etc. I have a double herniated disk, so much better now than before yoga therapy though not a tilted pelvis which I know nothing about…I do know about herniated disks though and forward bends are approached with conservative care, tight butts and bending strictly at the hips… stay away from really deep forward bends like the turtle etc. I loved Basketball more than anything almost, played a lot…I gave that up and tranferred those feeling…for the most part…to yoga and my life is better for it. Running forever will wear away at your bones and joints and unless done moderately, will also impair your immune system from the recovery period of the high exertion. Namaste

#15

Sorry to hear about your problem, i like to share about me, i have a condition called Ankylosing Spondylitis, and it causes severe lower back pain where the Sacroliac joint is, it almost paralyzed me, cause the pain eventually goes up to all of my spine joint, i use to always walked with a cane, but when i found Yoga, especially Iyengar Yoga with the help of a good teacher, i started doing basic Yoga poses, and after 2 months i started to feel the benefit of Yoga, not only my lower back problem for 7 years was getting better and better, but i also feel that i have the control of my body again,

i think with the help and assistant of a good teacher you can have the benefit of Yoga too, but i insist you to find a good teacher and not do any asanas by your self, a teacher can help you determine what poses or what stretching needed for your condition.

#16

[QUOTE=yogivid;20721]Sorry to hear about your problem, i like to share about me, i have a condition called Ankylosing Spondylitis,…[/QUOTE]

My uncle was recently diagnosed with this. Unfortunately there are no Iyengar teachers or even therapists anywhere near our rural area to help him on the level he needs, and he would never travel to find one. I will be giving him some very gentle postures and breathing to stabilize his health with all of this stress, and maybe even to make walking a little easier. Is there any other advice you could give me for him? Not only in the realm of yogic practices, but diet and nutrition or other-exercise related information that I could share with him would be very helpful.

Thanks!

#17

[QUOTE=suryadaya;20722]My uncle was recently diagnosed with this. Unfortunately there are no Iyengar teachers or even therapists anywhere near our rural area to help him on the level he needs, and he would never travel to find one. I will be giving him some basic postures and breathing to stabilize his health with all of this stress, and hopefully to give him some better mobility and ward off further disease progression at least a little. Is there any other advice you could give me for him? Not only in the realm of yogic practices, but diet and nutrition or other-exercise related information that I could share with him would be very helpful.

Thanks![/QUOTE]

hello suryadaya, sorry to hear about your uncle, i’ll try to share about my training and my diet on dealing with my AS.

first on my training, the first time i followed Yoga class, because of my limitation on spine movement, i can only do several asanas, but my teacher suggest me to practice at home only a few asanas, which is, adho mukha svanasana, adho mukha virasana, uttanasana, and trikonasana, i continue on practicing those asanas every day for 2 months, and eventually with those foundation i can proceed on doing the other more challenging asanas, and also within the time my spine and lower back was getting more flexible and of course my pain gradually become better and better.

on my diet, i found that when i ate red meat, i don’t know that if it is only in my mind but after ward i will feel a bit stiffer the next morning or several hours after meal, so i now don’t eat any red meat at all, i also eat alot of vege, only eat white meat, and take only vit c supps, before i take alot off Glucosamine supps, which i found not helping at all.

i didn’t do any other exercise, now i only do 5-10 rounds of surya namaskar including practicing on several asanas that i want to, dr also told me to swim, but the way that i feel, cold water use to make my AS worsen but that is before i do Yoga, and after all i feel all the benefit in Yoga so i will stick to it for now.

I think the other one of my experience that impact most of my health, is that we have to have a strong will and determination also a faith in our self and that Yoga can help trough it’s asanas, cause if we look on the exercise for AS person, it is much the same as Yoga, and also i read it in Light On Yoga By BKS Iyengar that Yoga can help AS, as long as the AS haven’t developed much further.

I hope that i can help although just a bit, feel free to ask me anytime on AS by message inbox.

Namaste.

#18

For back pain you can try Surya Namaskar but it would be good if you can do it under a professional yoga instructor. Surya Namaskar is a complete yoga exercise that your body needs.

All the best. Wish that you get well soon.

Cheers,
Kapil
artoflivingvikaspuri.org

#19

i had this problem. i tried the g2 fitness back stretch mats and it really helped to get a good stretch for my back cuz i saw something about them in the new york times…they also have ones for yoga and pilates that i like to use. they’re really easy to use because they have illustrations of the stretches/poses imprinted on the face of the mats :slight_smile:

#20

I am an optimist. I couldn’t walk and was in bed for a long time. I was in bad shape last year. My back and stomach muscles were in extremely bad shape.

Nutrition is a big factor in healing the body of almost anything. I also have a positive attitude that the body can heal itself.

I started yoga slowly.

I ate alot of Aduki Beans which help with muscle strain and alot of raw veggies.

I ate alot of fish high in omega fatty acids.

Tomatos and other night shade veggies will irritate any soarness you have.

My hip was out of alignment. I found a great hip alignment exercise on line.

It worked.

Things take time. Never lose that optimistic attitude …

just feel your body out and do all exercises that you feel you are able to do…

I now did a front limber on my yard…gymnastics…and round offs…my back is amazingly better…be hopeful! I was hunching over at my job alot and that is how this back problem happened. It is is solved. I also bike ride alot and walk…etc…

Marissa Lize Etienne.