I’m 24 going on 90. Or so it feels as I lurch through the house on a Saturday morning. I’ve had a slipped disc in my lower back since I was 19, that tends to flare up and disappear time and time again, usually once a year or so. My latest bout has persisted since September, in part because of my unwillingness to completely give up squash, likely a major irritant to my back (that’s how I hurt it this time).
I’ve popped robax as far as the recommended dosage on the bottle allows me. I’ve been to the sports medicine doctor, who’s as unhelpful as the rest of them. The chiropractor seems to make it feel better, but whatever gains I make are always temporary. Even taking nearly 4 weeks off from any substantive exercise didn’t do anything for it. I’m at my wits end.
So yeah, I got the idea for yoga from King of the Hill. Cartoons have never steered me wrong in the past; I have the skittlebrau to prove it. I mentioned this to one of my colleagues, who insisted that Tai Chi would be more beneficial.
Frankly, I’m willing to listen to any and all suggestions/anecdotes that would get me back to normal form in the near future. I’ve always dismissed Yoga and Tai Chi off the cuff as new age balderdash in the past, but I’m willing to entertain anything at this point. If your back was hurting in the past, what did you do get it moving right again?
This DVD has been around for a number of years. The exercises contained therein are just variations on yoga stretches. Nothing strenuous, all designed to increase flexibility and reduce chronic pain.
I don’t do yoga, but I have a herniated disc since last spring (between L4/5,S1) and the best thing has been physical therapy and exercises all designed to increase the core strength. The way it was explained to me is that the exercises would strengthen my lower abs and lower back muscles and will help stabilize my spine around the injury. So back extensions, “supermans”, curls (not sit-ups), various leg ad/abductions, “rowing” using a resistance band, etc. I recommend seeing a physical therapist - or in my case, an athletic therapist - to learn how to do these exercises correctly, but in general, I would think that yoga could help. While I still feel a very slight tightness in my back, I’m pretty much pain free and have regained the flexibility that the injury took away from me.
Yoga by itself, probably not. I take glucosamine/chondroitin for the disks, exercise my back muscles with simple routines, use a reclining table to stretch the back, yoga to loosen up muscles, and go to a chiropractor if it all goes to crap and a disc slips.
The worst thing to do is lay in bed which sucks because that’s exactly what feels good.
IANADoctor, nor do I have a slipped disc. I can say that consistent yoga has been transformational for me - it works your core muscles, your overall flexibility, your balance, your mind/body connection - all of which would seem to be helpful given what you describe.
Anecdotal for what it’s worth, but I notice signifigant improvements in my back issues when I’m good about keeping up with my wii fit exercises, and I do more of the yoga stuff than anything else. I imagine the core muscle strength in addition to the stretching and flexibility helps stabilize things.
I don’t think any sort of exercise routine is a magic solution to chronic pain. But being active is excellent for everyone’s health, strength training (even just bodyweight exercises like most yoga poses) and building muscle is excellent for everyone’s health. And many people I know who have chronic pain and degenerative conditions find that yoga in particular helps them immensely. I love yoga myself, work part-time in a yoga studio and will be training as a teacher shortly, FWIW.
If you’re interested in more anecdotal evidence, it fixed my mom’s back. She used to have her back go out on her every couple of months and would have to spend a couple of days in bed. She started doing yoga 30 years ago and hasn’t had a problem since.
I never had back problems but a nasty pinched nerve in my neck and occasional sciatica has gone away completely since I took up Bikram yoga five years ago.
Give it a try. Be sure to tell the instructor about your issues before class. There are a few different types of yoga so it may take a little while to find the kind that best suits you.
I have wii fit, but I did not like the yoga games. They seemed to keep dwelling on me balancing my weight on the board properly, and so I never feel that I got the motions going properly.
Thanks to all the people who responded! There’s an Iyengar Yoga gym near my house; I’m going to check it out tomorrow.
when my back went oddly and disastrously out, I went to my General Practitioner - who gave me muscle relaxers and suggested I find a chiropractor. My new-found chiropractor gave me yoga exercises to do as well as treating me. The yoga helped Immensely! and it was So Good to be able to do Something that helped! I still do the exercises when I feel stiff and creaky.
The chiropractor’s adjustments seem to help, but they are short term gains that go away as quickly as they come. I got mine from the GP too, coincidentally - I remembered that my grandma’s chiropractor kept pushing Reiki and homeopathic medicine, so I figured I’d be ok if he worked at my doctor’s clinic.
The non-yoga stretches he gave me to do, sadly, have had little help. Some actually make my back hurt worse!
It is best to do these exercises under the supervision of a certified yoga instructor,However, not all yoga poses relieve back pain, and some can in fact aggravate existing pain, so it is important to know which poses will be most helpful in relieving back pain.
if you encounter any problems with these poses, you should consult an expert.
If you go to a studio and tell the instructor about your problems, they will usually make an an effort to make the class more beneficial for you personally and/or modify poses that might not be helpful or comfortable for your injury. Much less likely to make things worse than experimenting yourself.
Iyengar yoga sounds perfect for you! I do Anusara which also makes proper alignment to avoid injuries a priority.
IME yoga an be valuable because it coaches you to try to mentally transcend pain. There are a LOT of audio yoga/meditation files I’ve saved on my computer and there are a variety of audios that are specifically marketed to help you rise above chronic pain. I don’t meditate often, but when I’m in a deep state of trance I don’t itch and I don’t hurt. So it’s at LEAST a nice way to escape from it for a little while.
As far as whether yoga stretches are going to fix your problem, nobody but a medical professional can say for sure. Stretching the wrong way could really hurt you. Doing it right could really help (stretching and the “right kind” of exercise is the definition of physical therapy). Talk to a physical therapist if you can get referred. They know their stuff.
You could do what a lot of people with chronic back issues do (like my mom) and just schedule chiropractor appointments every couple of weeks. I personally don’t see that there’s a lot of science behind chiropractice. I sincerely doubt it’s better than going to a professional masseuse. But my insurance doesn’t cover massages, and DOES cover chiro visits. So there you go.
This is a good point. Different types of yoga and different yoga instructors will have a different emphasis on meditation. Bikram yoga, for example, has next to no meditation in its practice. That’s one of the reasons that I like it. This is another factor that will play into your decision.
