Would Pilates and/or Yoga make my back quit hurting?

In My Humble Opinion
1

About 5 years ago, I started waking up in the morning with a backache. It would happen a couple times, then stop for a while. As time went on, it got progressively worse. Nowadays, I wake up just about every morning with a backache. Lower central back. It hurts.

I suspect its because I sleep on my stomach a lot. I try not to, but when I’m asleep I just plop over. I try to sleep on my side, as my doctor recommended, but I just can’t guarantee that it happens all the time.

It’s NOT my bed. It happens with every single bed. I know this, because I’ve paid careful attention when I go out of town and sleep on different beds. My back hurts regardless of what bed I sleep on. Also, when this first started happening, Mr. Athena and I didn’t live together, and I spent 3-4 nights a week sleeping on his very hard bed. It happened there, too.

I’ve gone to a doctor, and ruled out any thing other than muscle pain. That is, I don’t have a ruptured disc or any other Big Bad Thing that causes my back to hurt.

I’m fairly active - run, bicycle, kayak when it’s warm. I work out on average 3 times a week, and sometimes much more. (OK, sometimes much less, but I said on average!) I could stand to lose a few pounds, but I’m not massively overweight or anything like that.

I’m just basically getting sick of waking up every morning feeling like I’m 80 years old. I do stretches, which help a little. The only thing that really helps is 3-4 ibuprofen.

I’m wondering if strengthening and/or stretching exercises, like Pilates or Yoga would help. Anyone have any experience with them? My local YMCA has both of them, but only once or twice a week. Is that enough, or do I need it more than that?

Also - I’m considering buying a Temper-pedic bed. Granted, I haven’t found any relief with any other type of bed, but them there Temper-pedics sure do look cozy…

2

I also sleep on my stomach and sometimes have lower back pain. I love Pilates and Yoga (I just went out and bought a tape that has combination workouts on it to do), and yes, it definately helps, to the point where I immediately feel better after doing the exercises, and if I go too long without doing them the back pain returns. Yoga and Pilates help strengthen your back and stomach muscles, which help support your back. They also improve posture, which takes stress off your back. I only need to do a 10-20 minute session to feel better. There are lots of Yoga positions and Pilates exercises specifically designed to strengthen and stretch the back, try different ones to see what targets the lower back the best.

So, yes, in my experience this definately helps. I don’t know about Temper-pedic beds, but we recently bought a good-quality feather bed and it seems to help, also make sure you have a good-quality pillow, one made for stomach sleepers. It’s no good for me to try not to sleep on my stomach either, I will wake up that way anyway.

3

Just wanted to add that I only do the tape 3-4 times a week at the most, sometimes less. Sometimes if my back hurts I just do a few exercises to stretch it. I got one of Denise Austin’s tapes, a Yoga and Pilates combination that does not require any equipment other than a mat. She’s kind of annoying, but the workout is good.

4

I checked on Amazon, and Denise Austin has several Pilates/Yoga videos. Which one do you have? I’ll check it out.

5

Yoga is the ONLY thing that has helped my back pain, which has been plaguing me for well nigh to five years and is a certified disc disorder. More than pills, heat, ice, traction, injections, MORE THAN MASSAGE…yoga makes me feel stretched and great, particularly in the morning.

J

6

I used to have CONSTANT backaches. I have not had a backache since I started doing yoga several years ago. (she knocks on wood) One of the things that was very helpful (this is not to diss the tapes) is that I had really bad posture. The instructor was very helpful in pointing this out to me and showing me how to stand (I know that sounds silly ‘how to stand’) but I feel much better.

It also helped me quit smoking.

7

I think that if the doctor says there isn’t anything wrong then either Yoga or Pilates might help your back pain. It will definately make your back stronger.

I did Pilates twice a week at the YMCA for ahwile and then at home with videos. It only took a few weeks to start to feel stronger.

I would suggest taking a few classes at the YMCA before you start using the videos. It is very important to do the moves properly and the instructor at the Y will be able to help you with that. Once you have the moves down you can do them on your own or with a video.

8

Well, I can’t get my link to Amazon to work, but it’s “Mat Workout Based on the Work of J.H. Pilates” (2000).

9

I remember Consumer Reports rated YOGA as the best for back pain.

One thing: How do you sit all day long? I used to sit on a stool and started to have back pain. Switched to a good chair and it went away.

Phil

(Who does yoga… but don’t tell anyone)

10

Rodney Yee, who is among other things very pleasing to the eye in his little yoga panties, has a Back Care Yoga tape which is very good. The tape does require a chair, a strap, and reccomends blocks, as I recall (actually you can buy a set with a decent mat, a strap, and blocks with Rodney’s cute widdle face on the box at Target) but it’s really quite good - I have a similar back problem and it really helped me a lot. It’s also a pretty good workout, it works all of your back as well as some ab work so you get the flexing and stretching and some muscle work to help on your posture and all. It’s pretty challenging, but I don’t feel pressured to be as good at it as Rodney is, and this might sound really, really silly but I honestly get the feeling he cares about me personally and wants me to have a good, back-pain-free life.

I think the company that puts the videos out is Living Arts - Rodney has, I believe, tapes for the lower body, upper body, back, abs, and an AM and a PM tape. There are DVDs available that are compilations of the tapes. I think they’re really worthwhile - I don’t feel stupid if I can’t do it as well as he can, and I feel like I’m still getting some benefit out of it.

That being said, if you have the opportunity to take a class I highly reccomend it - it’s hard to replace the actual experience of being in the room with a teacher. Perhaps it would be good for you to combine classes and videos?

11

Also, this tape takes the time to explain the importance of doing the moves correctly and she shows you step-by-step how to do them in a whole intro segment before the workouts start. I had never done pilates before and found her explanations simple and straightforward.

12

I’m glad to hear this since I just bought this tape last week, but I haven’t tried it yet. I only have one block, though, so I may need to buy another one.

My herniated disk is causing lots of problems for me lately - it just doesn’t travel well. I started a new job a couple of months ago with a substantial car commute. I actually had an epidural steroid injection last week, but it doesn’t seem to be helping the way it has in the past, so it’s time for another MRI.

I actually started Yoga a few weeks ago - they have a class at one of the building on-site. I found that the first few sessions didn’t help, and in fact sometimes I felt worse after the class. But I stuck with it and roundabout session 4, something kicked in, my body adjusted, and I started feeling better after class. So I guess my point is to stick with it for a while.

On thing I would highly recommend is Resist-a-Ball training (aka Yoga ball). I actually was first introduced to this in physical therapy a couple of years ago, and a PT at my health club offered classes which I took for about 9 months. It’s been very very helpful in strengthening back, abs, and teaching proper posture. I really can’t recommend it strongly enough for anyone with back pain.

Good Luck to everyone on managing your back pain.

13

I also sleep on my stomach. No pillow, though. Very hard beds are pure agony for me & my lower back, it throws my alignment entirely out of whack. I once learned to sleep on my side, but it took months to learn how and it was never really comfortable, and I stopped and now can’t do that. Sleeping on my back is entirely out of the question. I have a SleepComfort mattress, which I love, and I can adjust the hardness to give me the exact amount of support I need, (too much or too little, and it will hurt the next morning.)

Anyway, pilates & yoga will both strengthen your lower back muscles and abs and will help get them into proper alignment (which running and biking definitely do not do). So they might help - definitely worth a try. I’ve heard true yoga people swear that you need it every day, but I can definitely tell a difference in overall flexibility & strength if I go twice a week (two yoga, two pilates or one of each, I’m not the queen of discipline).

14

The other LOVELY thing about yoga is that you basically can do it for free. I mean, you should take a couple classes or buy a tape, but after that you can just build a practice at home, change it up, do it whenever it’s convenient. GOD I LOVE YOGA. I don’t want to sound like Ron Popiel, but it’s just so fantastic I can’t say enough.

J

15

OK, one trip to Target and I now have:

Denise Austin’s Mat Workout based on Pilates
A two-tape set of Rodney’s Yee’s Yoga workout
A DVD of Rodney Yee and a couple other people’s Yoga workouts
a brick
a strap

I’m gonna go do one of 'em now. I’ll let you know how it goes.

16

I’d second (or third) the suggestion that you try at least a few classes. In addition to teaching the right form, a good instructor helps keep me focused and motivated, and just makes it a more enjoyable experience.

17

What do you know? You’re just a dumb guy.

Sorry, I couldn’t resist…

Back to the subject at hand, I will probably go to a few classes. I think my Y does Yoga on Mondays, so I’ll have to wait until then.

In the meantime, I just did the first workout on the Denise Austin tape. I think this is going to be a very, very good thing. I got up from the workout with the realization that whatever I’ve been doing (biking, running, sitting at my desk too long) has made me MUCH stiffer and less limber than I used to be. I used to be able to do all those things she did on tape without hurting. Now, it feels like someone put rebar through my joints. I have a feeling this is going to work!

Thanks to all for the suggestions!

18

Just adding my 2 cents:
I used to go to a chiropractor 3 or 4 times a week for back pain. Since I started doing Yoga (2 years ago) I haven’t needed the chiropractor.

There is a specific yoga discipline, Svaroopa, that focuses completely on the back. However I mostly do either Hatha or Kripalu, both very gentle yoga practices that focus on breathing and holding postures.

Good luck!

19

I’m going to echo here, try taking a class. A lot of studios offer a free introductory class, that way you learn the moves properly, some are a little subtle and can be easy to do wrong.

:slight_smile:

I love pilates and Yoga is growing on me.

Good luck.

20

I’m not sure what you mean by that. I’ll get back to you after my girlfriend explains it to me.