Managing, curing and reducing Back pain and Sciatica through Yoga

Condition and Causes

Lower Back Pain is experienced by everyone at one point or other. It is the second most common reason for people to visit specialist doctors, topmost for chiropractors, middle age deformities and movement crisis before 50’s. The most common zone is ligaments, back muscles and joints in lumbar spine region and surrounding tissues and muscles. Back pain can be a symptom of different illness and conditions. In many cases, doctors can’t find a cause for the pain. Common explanations could be direct back injury like sprain and strain, long term chronic back overload condition like in obesity, bad posture and lifestyle, short term overload due to stress, lifting heavy loads and pregnancy. Diseases and injury to the spinal vertebrae due to accidents can also be a cause of back pain conditions. Osteoporosis, degenerative arthritis is few other common causes for acute back problems. Psycho emotional imbalances are also a major contributing factor which mostly triggers back pains in more than 70 percent of cases.

Seemingly trivial events like a sneezing or lifting a weight or bending down to pick something or getting out of the chair can start a bout of the back pain which only gets worst with time if left untreated. Generally more severe condition is Sciatica pain, condition most commonly caused by the bulged disk between two vertebrates which acts as the shock absorbers. The bulged disk exits out and compresses the spinal nerve root, causing pain which travels down to the hips and sometimes to the feet. Sciatica pain can be with or without back pain though.

How Yoga helps treating the back pain problems

Normally Physicians work with a one fit common approach of treating back pain conditions which doesn’t work in most of the cases. From a Yogic perspective, there are many causes of back pains starting from degenerative arthritis, osteoporosis, fractures, bad posture, scoliosis, injuries to the back in past or poorly aligned ribs and vertebrae causing muscle spasms and strains. Whatever is the cause the same approach or surgery will certainly not cure the same condition arising out of different causes. It is one of the conditions that modern medicine has failed to treat completely mostly due to ineffectiveness in determining the cause in the first place. Surgeries of back have given more back problems in most cases and almost in 90 percent of cases they recurred and could have completely avoided. Even the herniated disks, majority of people recover without surgeries in six to eight weeks through holistic Yoga therapy. It’s better to consult your Yoga therapist before lying down on the surgeon’s table. Yoga therapist would examine all the underlying causes like posture, stress level, emotional mental state, work condition and environment. Failure to address these issues would only lead to failure of treatment due to mind and body connection.

The role of stress has not been considered as a potential cause of the back conditions by the conventional physicians but it is considered to be the most common reason for back pains in holistic medicine and Yoga. The stress can create spasm which can cause pain in the back directly. Many healers, physicians and holistic doctors believe that it’s entirely psychological that it is directly related to the mental tension and if you can go to the root cause of stress and eliminate it, it can disappear within few days.

From the Yogic perspective, the other important factors are posture, muscle tightness and muscle weakness in the back region apart from stress and emotional imbalances. Lack of body awareness is also the most common reason in Yoga for most of the painful conditions.

Role of Posture

In Yoga, the overall state of the person’s health and fitness levels can be ascertained by just checking the posture in the standing and sitting positions. Posture is critical and mostly, we find bad posture and misalignment of neck shoulders with the spine forming a bad awkward curve instead of the healthy S curve. Spine is a dynamic structure of the body. When these healthy curves flatten or arch too much then they can compress the spinal disks and eventually spinal nerves giving rise to the painful condition.

Some people get back pain because of the excessive flexibility in their joints. Pain arises due to excessive arching of lumbar spine and increasing the normal lower spine curve. This condition is known as ‘Sway Back’.

How Asanas Cures

Asanas help in improving the blood circulation by mobilizing the stagnant impure blood out of the lumbar spinal region and replaces nutrient rich pure oxygenated blood. This helps in curing the strained and spasms existing in those areas. Disks don’t have their independent blood supply; they are dependent on the surrounding structures for receiving nutrients.

Role of Awareness and Breath

Awareness of breath while breathing means breathing fuller, deeper and slower. Breath awareness and quality of breath is directly linked with the quality of life. Deeper inhalations and exhalations using full abdominal breathing relax the back muscles by reducing the activity of the stress response system. It massages the spinal column and supply rich oxygenated blood full of nutrients. Good Yoga asana practice doesn’t just improve the functioning of the physical body but also engage the mind actively. They bring attention to what you are doing which is awareness. Healing happens with awareness not just with mechanical exercises or stretches or pills you consume.

Sequence of the Poses for Sciatica and Lower Back Pain

– Urdhva Tadaasana (Palm Tree Pose) – 3 times for 5 breaths each in the final raised position
– Triyaka Tadasana (Swaying Palm Tree Pose) – 3 times on each side
– Kati chakrasana (Waist Rotating Pose)- 3 reps on each side with full exhalation and inhalation on subsequent twists
– Trikonasana (Triangle Pose)- 5 Breaths on each side
– Virbhadrasana 1 (Warrior 1) – 3 to 5 breaths on each side
– Prasirita Padoottansana (Intense wide leg stretch) – 3 to 5 breaths
– Vrukshasana (The tree Pose) – 3 to 5 breaths each leg
– Balasana (Child’s Pose) – 5 to 10 breaths (relaxation)
– Supported Paschimottasana ( Supported Posterior stretch)- 3 to 5 breaths supporting on cushions in the front resting the forehead gently without straining and stretching too much from lower back or wasit
– Urdhva Mukha Janursirshasana (Head to knee Variation) – 3 to 5 breaths without arching the spine
– Shashankasana (Rabbit’s Pose) – 5 to 7 breaths . Take a support for the forehead and don’t try to force your nose or forehead touching on the floor n the front.
– Bidalasana (Cat and Cow stretch Pose)- 10 to twenty times slowly and gently with breath
Awareness)
– Bhujangasana Variation (cobra variation) ( Sarpasana ): Arms tied just above the hips at the back with gentle upward arch of the back
Supine Hip rotator Pose, 3 times to each side
– Marichyasana C – 3 to 5 breaths on both sides without overstretching neck and lower abdomen
– Viparita Danadasana ( 3 to 5 breaths with supported chair for the head )
– Supine Pose – Knees bent and the soles of the feet against the wall, press the feets on the wall as you exhale and release the pressure from the feet as you inhale. Repeat several times.
– Final relaxation: Shavasana (10 min)
– Mindful Meditation ( 10 Min morning and evening)
– Yoga Nidra (In case of insomnia and disturbed sleep due to stress and anxiety)
– Pranayama (Breathing Exercises)
– Full Yogic Breath (Clavicular, Thoracic and abdominal breathing)
– Nadi shodhana (Alternate Nostril Breathing- Without retention or with short retention)
5 to 10 rounds very slowly with focus and awareness on breath)
– Ujjayi (Victorious Breath) – slow 10 to 15 breaths

Contra indications and Special Considerations

Above sequence of poses are designed for back problems but sequence would change as per the condition of the patient. Only a competent Yoga teacher and Therapist can decide which variations are useful for a specific case after examining emotional stress response, condition, environment and mental situation of the patient.

Forward bends especially seated forward bends are usually not recommended for mild to severe cases of sciatica and lower back pain conditions. It can compress the nerve roots more and aggravate sciatica. Seated forward bends are more challenging than standing forward bends as bending forward when hips are tipped on the floor is harder than while standing as gravity helps. The safest back bends are lying on the back and bringing legs on the top or close to the chest like in supported boat pose if done dynamically or Supine Hip Rotators Pose. The best approach is to have an experienced teacher or therapist look at you and decide for you rather you. The Key is slow and patient approach and avoiding any sudden transitions as it might take 6 to 9 weeks for full recovery based on the gravity and extent of one’s condition.

Source: Blogs Of Yogi Pratik

Hatha Yoga Therapy Asanas

Back Bending Asanas allows us to face the outside world and open our heart and body to embrace others. They are extroverting and invigorating for the body, mind and our consciousness. They expand the chest and encourage inhalation. They are dynamic asanas which moves our body opposite to gravity thereby requires more energy and strength to perform.

The back bending asanas tones the spinal and abdominal muscles thus creates a dynamic equilibrium between the two groups of muscles while twisting, extension and bending. The abdominal and back muscles are toned and strengthened and provides more flexibility to the spine and lower portions of the body like pelvis and hip joints. The spinal nerves are decompressed. As the spinal nerves provide functional ability to all other nerves reaching the major organs and muscles of the body, it speaks a lot about why healthy spine is so crucial for our overall state of physical and mental health.

The spinal column is a stacked pile of vertebrae and discs. Maintenance of the spine in a straight line and in an aligned position depends entirely on the supportive contraction and tone of the muscles working in balance and integration with each other. The muscles themselves controlled unconsciously through the posture. Tension and strain in the activity of the back muscles results in 90% of the back problems which is nothing but the imbalance in the activity of the back muscles. If these imbalances are prolonged and left untreated then these imbalances can result in misaligned vertebral column. It results in straining ligaments and symptoms of spondylitis, slipped disc, sciatica, and osteoarthritis manifest with time.

The practice of balanced sequences of backward bending and forward bending asanas can correct postural defects and neuro muscular imbalances of the vertebral column. It’s very important to perform all these asanas with proper control and synchronization with the breath and body movements to achieve desired and uniform contractions as anything more or less would result in injuries.

Normally, impure blood stagnates in the lower back region due to sluggish circulation in that region and more often due to continuous upright position people keep while sitting in office or working on the desk on computer. These back bending asanas help in maintaining the circulation and remove the stagnant impure blood from that region, replacing it with new fresh oxygenated blood which not only tones the back muscles but also improves their normal function. They create a negative pressure in the abdomen and pelvis, helping to massage and tone all the related organs.

People with excessive lower back ache and Lumbar curve (Lumbar lordosis) should not practice these asanas except saral bhujangasana, easier variation of Gomukhasana and ardha shalambhasana. The intense backbends like ustrasana, dhanurasana and urdhva dhanurasana should be completely avoided initially. They can be performed only by people with healthy and flexible spine as it requires much energy, strength and muscle coordination to perform them. These asanas are not recommended during pregnancy as they are weight bearing asanas on the abdomen.

Finally the back bending asanas must be a part of your daily Yoga Asanas regime and schedule. Ignoring back bending asanas and focusing too much on forward bendings, inversions and standing asanas would not be a good balanced holistic approach. Most importantly, forward bending asanas should either precede or follow the back bending asanas to maintain the dynamic equilibrium of the spine.

Only with healthy spine, the healthy body can exist.

Source: School Of Holistic Yoga And Ayurveda Goa