Stinging pain

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

I am 27 and have been suffering from lower back pain for almost 5 yrs. If I stand for even 30-45 min my back hurts. As a child I played very little sports and have been pretty inactive (physically). I used to be a software engg before I delivered my baby, so you can guess my lifestyle. I am a housewife currently. When my baby was around 2months old I developed a stinging kind of the pain in my right lower back muscle. When I contract that muscle by bending on the right side it stings. Its been almost a year and I still continue to feel the pain.

I’ve read about muscle imbalances and maybe I have some . My abs are not toned. I sometimes feel the pelvic bone on my right is sticking out a little more than the left. I dont know if its just psycology or what. So could this be a case of the “swing door” as they refer in kinesiology. I cant figure out what exactly it is and how to correct them and honestly feel helpless. I have been doing some yogic stretches now for a month but dont seem to find any releif. Now I’ve begun to feel that my exercises are just worsening the pain.

Can anyone with knowledge on the above condition please suggest what is wrong and if any particular yoga poses can help me find relief?

Thanks in advance
Nishita

#2

As someone who’s had some serious back problems, I can tell you that persistent lower back pain should not be taken lightly. It’s important to see your doctor and find out what’s causing your pain before you try any kind of exercise to correct it.

#3

Thanks for the response. I have consulted an orthopaedic doc and he said “there’s nothing wrong, it could be because of bad posture” and gave me a set of generic back exercises which havent really helped.

I want to address the same question to Mr.Gordon Kaplan. Mr Kaplan, can you please take sometime to review my assessment and tell me what you think?

Thanks in advance,
Nishita

#4

Hello Nishita.

There are many very qualified teachers associated with this forum and I’m certain you’ll get pointed, helpful feedback from various sources.

I’ll re-emphasize two points here. The first is that therapeutic issues like back pain, spinal curves, pelvic orientation, and many others require a therapeutic response. Therefore a “prescription” of this pose or that pose AND the expectation your five year old will “go away” completely is not a reasonable union.

Second is that even the slightest guidance (over the internet) depends fully on the information provided by the person doing the asking. Background on things like age, gender, physical condition, diet, sleep the sort of yoga practice …all these are important elements. Also more specific feedback on the issue itself - what makes it worse/better, etcetera.

I can tell you that “toned abs” likely have little to do with it.

#5

Thanks for the response. I aimed the question at you because I read a couple of your posts on back pain, otherwise am very new to this forum. As for background on age, gender, physical activity and what increases the pain - these details have been given a mention in my initial post.

I do not have any sleep problems. Am a non-vegetarian and eat junk food occasionally (like once in 10 days)

The exercises I tried are: pelvic tilt, leg raises, bhujangasana, dhanurasana, halasana, forward (paschimottasana)& sideward bends and neck stretches.

I mostly get pain during the side bend(to the right). Paschimottasana also sometimes causes pain.

I fully undersatand that there is no miracle cure for back pain. I was just looking to see if there are any specific poses which would give me some releif. Do you think visiting a chiropractor is the only option for me?

Regards,
Nishita

#6

Hi Nishita.

What I was alluding to was the fact that a therapeutic issue - back pain for five plus years - requires a slew of questions in order to narrow down the focus AND get a complete picture. This is one of the reasons that a person who wishes to pursue a holistic remedy for their issue(s) should be working directly with a skilled practitioner.

But let’s move on…

Please do not do any side bending of any sort. Bending the spine to the side shortens one side while lengthening the other. This impinges on nerves on the short side and would more likely aggravate your issue.

Additionally, please do not do forward bends until such a time as it is determined that a) forward bends can be done with a forward tipping of the pelvis thereby reducing the bending of the spine and b) that such a thing is appropriate for what you have going on in your lower back.

Leg lifts place a tremendous amount of torque on the sacrum which is exacerbated when the abdominal muscles are unable to fully support such maneuvers. Again, since I am not by your side it cannot be determined (for you).

Halasana is not therapeutic for any lower back issue I am aware of.

Bhujangasana can be helpful for some students with some issues however even many of the intermediate students I see are doing the pose in their lumbar spine thereby compressing it and inviting issues rather than combatting them. It is an example of doing the right thing in the wrong way.

The pelvis titling is okay assuming you are doing it from a supine position.
Again, generally speaking it is not in my first ten thoughts about therapeutics for lower back issues.

If you PM me I’ll try and give you some basic, gentle things to do.

gordon