Workouts/yoga for lower back pain?

Booster2442

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Hero from Georgia, USA
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I realized, mostly while doing yoga, I have a lot of lower back issues. It makes it kinda hard to sleep and or lay on the ground completely flat. I know its from weight, big stomachs can be a lot of pressure on the spine. Just wondering if yall had any favored workouts that could help stretch it out or maybe some yoga videos that focus on back pain in particular. (Bonus if I could try to do some during my office job)
 

Laura Rainbow Dragon

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"Striving to be the change."
I recommend the following:







IMPORTANT: Please be gentle in the forward folds. Unless you have super flexible hamstrings, please keep some bend in your knees. Gentle forward folds are great for stretching out the lower back. Straining in a forward fold position can do pretty serious damage.

I second @Heniek 's concerns re: yoga and backbending. If you are noticing the problem most during your yoga practice--especially if you experience discomfort during or after backbends, ease off on your backbending practice. Try bridge pose instead of wheel, low cobra instead of up-dog, and for locust lift only your legs or only your upper body, not both at once. Also, try to keep your hips neutral during backbends. Externally rotating the hips (allowing your knees to splay out) may help you to get a bigger bend--but this comes at the expense of overactivating muscles you don't want to be doing all of the work in backbends, turning off the muscles you do want to be using, and potentially causing unhealthy compression in your lower back. This article is a bit lengthy, but it has some good info in it re: backbends that looks to be solid to me. (It's written by a yoga teacher and physiotherapist.)

DISCLAIMER: I am a certified yoga teacher. I am NOT a medical professional. If your back pain worsens or continues long-term, or if you've been diagnosed with spondylolisthesis, spinal stenosis, osteoporosis, or any other pathology affecting your spine, or if you have concerns you may suffer from any of the above, please seek out professional medical advice before continuing with any backbending, forward bending, or spinal twisting practice. Yoga is a healthy practice for most people, but pretty much every pose comes with cautions and contraindications. If you're in pain, that's a sign something is wrong.
 

Booster2442

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Hero from Georgia, USA
Pronouns: They/Them
Posts: 67
"The Greatest Hero You Never Heard Of"
I recommend the following:







IMPORTANT: Please be gentle in the forward folds. Unless you have super flexible hamstrings, please keep some bend in your knees. Gentle forward folds are great for stretching out the lower back. Straining in a forward fold position can do pretty serious damage.

I second @Heniek 's concerns re: yoga and backbending. If you are noticing the problem most during your yoga practice--especially if you experience discomfort during or after backbends, ease off on your backbending practice. Try bridge pose instead of wheel, low cobra instead of up-dog, and for locust lift only your legs or only your upper body, not both at once. Also, try to keep your hips neutral during backbends. Externally rotating the hips (allowing your knees to splay out) may help you to get a bigger bend--but this comes at the expense of overactivating muscles you don't want to be doing all of the work in backbends, turning off the muscles you do want to be using, and potentially causing unhealthy compression in your lower back. This article is a bit lengthy, but it has some good info in it re: backbends that looks to be solid to me. (It's written by a yoga teacher and physiotherapist.)

DISCLAIMER: I am a certified yoga teacher. I am NOT a medical professional. If your back pain worsens or continues long-term, or if you've been diagnosed with spondylolisthesis, spinal stenosis, osteoporosis, or any other pathology affecting your spine, or if you have concerns you may suffer from any of the above, please seek out professional medical advice before continuing with any backbending, forward bending, or spinal twisting practice. Yoga is a healthy practice for most people, but pretty much every pose comes with cautions and contraindications. If you're in pain, that's a sign something is wrong.
Thank you! and thank you @Heniek
Im not doing any back bends or anything extreme that makes the back hurt, it just naturally hurts from doing something as simple as laying flat on the ground like corpse pose. My back hurts less when i walk since I started yoga im just trying to find some exercises that will help reduce the pain some more! Nothing fancy, just treating my body like its 100 years old lol.
 

hauwasalisu

New member
Hero Posts: 1
For yoga, I'd recommend checking out YouTube for videos specifically targeting lower back pain. There are loads of great instructors sharing routines that can provide relief.
As for workouts, focusing on core strength can help support your lower back. Planks, bridges, and gentle leg lifts while lying on your back are good options.
If you're interested in exploring alternative pain relief methods, you might want to read up on CBD. It's known for its potential to alleviate various types of discomfort. I found this source, releaf.co.uk, which has some informative articles to get you started.
 
Last edited:

Nevetharine

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Viking from The Depths
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Posts: 868
If your back hurts in savasana (corpse pose), it can help to bring up your knees, feet flat on the mat towards the edges, so your knees fall in to each other. And for me personally, sometimes tight hips contribute.

Maybe try a yoga practice for posture as well.

I know back pain is ... well... a pain. It's the reason I hate doing abdominal work. Of course, abdominal work also strengthens the back, which is the big irony of it all.
 
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