Posted on 02/25/2024 8:50:51 PM PST by ConservativeMind
New research suggests that the physical postures, breathing exercises, and mindfulness practices of yoga may benefit individuals with back pain.
In the study, 10 women with and 11 without chronic low back pain underwent an 8‐session yoga program over 4 weeks, with the first session conducted in a clinic and the rest delivered with a tele‐approach. Women with chronic low back pain experienced a significant decrease in pain intensity, as assessed through a 10-point visual analog scale (an average pain of 6.80 at the start, dropped to 3.30 after the sessions) and through a spine-related measure called the flexion–relaxation phenomenon, which is often absent or disrupted in people with low back pain (5.12 at the start versus 9.49 after the sessions).
The findings suggest yoga can positively impact the neuromuscular response during trunk flexion and pain perception in individuals with chronic low back pain.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
The drop in pain was around half.
A chiropractor in other words....
At the beginning of what is now an eight year odyssey through disabling low back pain, I was sent to a “rehab” facility that had me doing yoga. Did absolutely nothing. Likewise chiropractic. I hate to see stories like this show up in the media, because they are merely marketing for quacks.
Research?? Research??
I will take half of whatever this ‘research’ cost and come up with the same, well-known result. Almost any condition and/or injury will improve with proper stretching. There are days, or sometimes weeks, where you could easily do too much, but overall, moving (stretching, etc) is essential.
Before my several back injuries and whiplash car accidents, I reached 100 miles a day bicycling. I can no longer climb mountains on the bike, but I get up every day, stretch, move my body, and stretch some more. Call it yoga, call it whatever. The only people who do not feel pain and discomfort are dead.
Far better than a chiropractor.
I had chronic lower back and neck pain for 28 years. The pain was 24/7 the entire time.
About six years into it, after getting nothing from chiropractors (two with different methods), nothing from conventional docs (wasn’t going to go the drug route) and nothing from anything else I tried I finally tried yoga which I learned from a book.
It didn’t cure the pain but it took it from a level 7-8 to a level of 5-6. It also improved my balance and flexibility beyond where I was as a kid and even though I only did the yoga for about a year those benefits persist to this day.
I never figured out what caused the problem and in 2014 it disappeared also without any apparent cause. The yoga was the only thing that ever improved it while it was present.
I have had this problem for years.
One thing I learned was that pot, which many claim is a magic medicine for reducing pain, did nothing other than making me more aware of the pain. Medical marijuana is quackery, IMHO.
I did learn one technique from a book that did seem to help me.
This involves lying on your back on the floor (preferably with a mat), grabbing your legs behind the knees so your back is arched, then rocking back and forth for a while.
One minor change eliminated about 90% of my sciatica issues. I no longer Cary ANYTHING in my back pockets, not even a business card. Most men carry a wallet or cell phone or pocket knife in their back pocket. This causes the pelvis to tilt when you’re seated. Not good
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