Yoga is often thought of as a restorative practice, since many poses are gentle and focus on stretching and flexibility. And plenty of people, including some athletes, even use it to help them recover from an injury, as the slower pace of yoga helps them ease back into movement. The flip side: Yoga also has the potential to cause injuries or worsen them—especially if you already have back problems.
“If you have impingement issues or any kind of structural imbalance, you’ll want to let your instructor know ahead of time,” says Angel DeSantis, instructor at CorePower Yoga in Austin, TX. While people with back pain can certainly practice yoga, there are several poses they ought to avoid or modify to make them safer. Here are six to watch out for.
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by Jeffrey R. Carlson, MD
Exercise is the best thing you can do for your physical and emotional well-being, bar none. Every day, I see folks who “ride the couch” for 6 hours a day who complain of pain and stiffness in their backs. When these folks decide to start exercising, often times that back pain goes away and they start feeling better physically and mentally. Yoga is often suggested to build strength and flexibility, because anyone can do it, no matter their age. It is one of the most recommended forms of exercise on the planet, especially for those who have arthritis or other musculoskeletal conditions. So, what happens when doing yoga causes back pain?
You might be surprised to hear this, but a 2014 study found that back pain is the most often reported medical complaint among those who practice yoga. Why? There are several reasons:
1) Yoga (or any exercise) can cause tiny micro-tears in your muscles which will cause soreness, particularly if you are out of condition. Overdoing it and overstretching are the main culprits.
2) While yoga is recommended for those who want gentle, effective exercise, it can often bring to light an existing neck or back problem. People who have undiagnosed spinal issues may see an increase in pain because of the intense stretching involved.
3) Rounding the back or using bad form during postures, such as cobra or upward dog, can cause pain. Forward bending poses, such as downward dog, can also cause pain.
The Fix:
Use ice, Aleve or ibuprofen, heating pad or a hot bath/shower to alleviate soreness for 24-48 hours. This is common after many types of exercise, but the body needs a period of rest to heal and regenerate. If you do not feel better after a few days, see a physician, especially if you feel numbness, tingling or weakness in your limbs.
Let your body guide you. You should feel a gentle stretch, not a hard strain during the poses. Take a class with a certified instructor to make sure you are using correct form. Ask your instructor for beginner versions of the poses done in class while you build strength and flexibility. Certain poses help to build strength in the back and core, such as bridge pose, side plank and plank. The knee hug helps to release tension in the back and is even more soothing when a gentle rocking motion from side-to-side is added. Keep with it!
Finally, if you are doing all of the above and are still having pain, you should consult a fellowship-trained orthopaedic spine specialist who can determine if you have a spine-related issue that is causing the pain, instead of simple muscle soreness commonly felt after exercise.
Dr. Jeffrey Carlson is available for consultation and appointments.
You may be wondering if doing yoga is good for your back pain? The answer is Yes and No…
I’ll tell you my take on this question down below, but first let’s look at some research.
There is lots of research supporting the use of Yoga as an exercise program for back pain. This study states that yoga proved to be a great supplement to managing one’s low back pain.
Another study states:
“The main Finding of this study suggests that the practice of yoga can decrease pain and increase functional ability in patients with chronic low back pain. Given these findings, yoga maybe considered an effective treatment for individuals with chronic low back pain that are seeking non-surgical intervention. In addition to stretching and strengthening the muscles of the back and lower extremities through physical postures, yoga may have the additional benefit of reducing stress through meditation and breathing exercises, contributing to an overall reduction in symptoms for individuals with low back pain.”
On the flip side, Yoga can also make things worse. In this study, out of the 87 people who did Yoga, 13 reported mild-moderate adverse effects in the form of increased back pain.
What do we think about Yoga here at Back Intelligence?
I, Leon Turetsky (Founder of Back Intelligence), as well as Dr. Shaina McQuilkie, DC and Dr. Joshua Yerkes, DPT mostly agree that Yoga can be good for back pain, however if done improperly, it can make things worse. Also, depending on your condition you may need to modify/avoid certain poses.
Here are our pros and cons on this:
The Pros of doing Yoga for back pain:
• Helps to restore flexibility and mobility.
• Can help improve your strength and endurance.
• Can improve balance and stability.
• Helps to improve overall posture and body alignment.
• Promotes muscle relaxation and flexibility throughout the body.
• Reduces stress and improves mood.
The Cons of doing Yoga For Back Pain:
• Has the potential to worsen back pain if certain poses are performed, or if poses are performed incorrectly; it’s essential that you find an instructor that can modify poses as necessary for any back issues that you have (i.e. disc herniation, impingement, etc.)
• Has the potential to cause injury with a lifetime prevalence rate of 21.3% with most injuries being to the musculoskeletal system in the form of sprains/strains.
• A lot of poses require flexion of the spine (forward bending) and this could be problematic for people with disc problems.
• Sometimes it’s not specific enough for your back condition/posture dysfunction.
• Physical Therapist Dr. Joshua Yerkes also states that Yoga “Could cause Ligamentous stress and possible tendonitis due to repeated motions”.
Now let me tell you my (Leon Turetsky, Founder of this site) personal opinion on Yoga for back pain relief.
The Biggest thing to keep in mind:
In general, I (Leon) do like Yoga and several of the exercises we recommend here on this website are also used in Yoga!
From a back pain perspective though, the biggest con in my opinion is that Yoga alone may not be the best modality if you’re trying to treat a very specific back pain issue, or postural dysfunction.
For example, if you have rounded shoulders then no amount of hamstring stretches and planks is going to help you correct your hunchback.
Or if you suffer from a Sciatica Pain, any forward spine bending may trigger your pain faster than you can say “pain!”.
My recommendation is that if you want to do Yoga, do it carefully and methodically.
Be sure to educate yourself on which yoga poses/exercises are not suited for your specific back condition – So you can avoid them or modify them.
For example, if you know that the cobra pose helps alleviate your low back pain, then by all means do it in your yoga class.
However, for people suffering from spinal stenosis, spine extension exercises (Like Cobra) may make their symptoms worse.
Technique Matters
Another really important thing to consider is How are you performing these yoga poses?
For example, if you have to touch your toes with your hands, are you rounding your spine excessively to get that done?
This can cause more back pain…
* Tip – Try to bend down from your hips, while keeping your spine in a neutral position (Avoiding flexion).
The technique you use in your Yoga poses can make the difference between helping your pain versus aggravating it.
For example, doing the Cobra pose while shrugging your shoulders is not ideal. It will actually activate your Upper Trapezius muscle which is already overactive on most people, and can contribute to poor posture and shoulder pain.
Lastly, Do more than just Yoga
In addition, besides doing yoga, I recommend you do posture-specific exercises and stretches that will help you correct your posture and help your specific back issue, like our premium courses.
The Complete Posture Fix (With Dr. Oliver, DC)
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Recommended Program:Correct your Posture and Ergonomics, Ease Back & Neck pain and Increase your mobility.
Another example:
If your “core” muscles are particularly weak, doing general Yoga alone may not be enough.
* Tip – You can try to find specific Core yoga classes to address this – But be careful as some of the Yoga teachers can recommend Core/Abdominal exercises that aren’t good for you spine and back – Causing more discomfort and pain.
Related: Are Crunches & Sit Ups Bad for your back?
In Conclusion
I love Yoga and I do it myself but I also modify it to suit my needs, and do posture specific exercises in addition.
Yoga can be both good and bad for back pain relief. The important thing is that you need to understand your specific back pain condition/posture dysfunction and then ask yourself if the yoga poses you are doing helping it or making it worse.
Watch Video version of this article:
Related:
Lower Back pain from sitting
6 Core Exercises
Posterior Pelvic Tilt Exercises
Are crunches bad for you?
Anterior Pelvic Tilt Exercises
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4878447/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3805350/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5372262/
https://www.omicsonline.org/impact-of-yoga-on-low-back-pain-and-function-a-systematic-review-and-meta-analysis-2157-7595.1000120.php?aid=7761
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256096645_Impact_of_Yoga_on_Low_Back_Pain_and_Function_A_Systematic_Review_and_Meta-Analysis
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9866/a6d8761f057991875b2a1c6324ff5bd1a2a6.pdf
Corrective Exercise Specialist (NASM-CES), Certified Personal Trainer (NASM-CPT), Professional Dancer
As a long time back sufferer Leon found unique methods to alleviate his pain using natural methods including self massage, exercise/stretching and postural habits. He founded Backintelligence.com to empower others to fix their postures and ease their back pain from home.
