Natural Cures Not Medicine: back pain

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Showing posts with label back pain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label back pain. Show all posts

How to Heal Your Back Pain Naturally with Yoga

Julie Raderbreakingmuscle.com

Image: BP / Barcroft Media
In the United States lower back pain is one of most common complaints. The Mayo Clinic states that most people will experience low back pain at some point in their lives. Lower back pain is experienced by sedentary people as well as highly-trained athletes. If you look at a typical weekday of an average American who works a nine-to-five job, it is easy to see why lower back pain is an issue.

Upon awakening one may sit to have coffee or breakfast before sitting to drive to work. When arriving at work the corporate employee will often sit at a desk or in meetings until lunch. Lunch involves more sitting, before sitting at the desk to finish the workday. Then of course there is the commute home and another sit-down meal. Exhausted from a long day of sitting at the office one may choose to sit on the sofa to watch television to unwind. If we look at it from an anatomical standpoint we realize the hamstring muscles and the illiopsoas muscles are shortened from the many hours of sitting and this causes strain on the lower back.

Athletes on the other hand are not sedentary, so why the lower back pain? Any weight-bearing sport or exercise that involves running, jumping, or rapid dynamic movements produces tension on the lower back. When these activities are repeated over time without properly stretching and releasing these tight muscles overuse injuries may occur.

For the sedentary nine-to-five worker exercise is key for relieving lower back pain as well as reducing the risk of heart disease and diabetes. However, I’m assuming you are not in that category. If you are, then add some cardiovascular exercises along with the stretches suggested below. If you have a slipped disk in the lower back or sciatica, please avoid all deep forward bends as these can make your condition worse.

Lower Back Pain Relief Yoga Sequence

For lower back relief please do the following poses daily or at least after your workout. Breathe deeply in and out of the nose while doing these poses.

1. Supine Hamstring Stretch

back pain, low back pain, yoga for back pain, back pain relief, yoga for backLying on your back, bend your right knee into your chest and place a strap or rolled-up towel around the ball of your foot. Straighten your leg toward the ceiling. Press out through both heels. If the lower back feels strained, bend the left knee and place the foot on the ground. Hold for 3-5 minutes and then switch to the left let for 3-5 minutes.

2. Two-Knee Twist

back pain, low back pain, yoga for back pain, back pain relief, yoga for backLying on your back, bend your knees into your chest and bring your arms out at a T. As you exhale lower your knees to ground on the right. Keep both shoulders pressing down firmly. If the left shoulder lifts, lower your knees further away from the right arm. Hold for 1-2 minutes each side

3. Sphinx

back pain, low back pain, yoga for back pain, back pain relief, yoga for backLying on your stomach, prop yourself up on your forearms. Align your elbows directly under your shoulders. Press firmly through your palms and the tops of your feet. Press your pubic bone forward. You will feel sensations in your lower back, but breathe through it. You are allowing blood flow into the lower back for healing. Hold for 1-3 minutes.

4A. Pigeon

back pain, low back pain, yoga for back pain, back pain relief, yoga for backFrom all-fours, bring your right knee behind your right wrist with your lower leg at a diagonal toward your left hip. Square off your hips toward the ground. Bend forward. Widen the elbows and place one hand on top of the other as a pillow for your forehead. Hold 2-3 minutes and then switch to the left side for 2-3 minutes.

If pigeon pose bothers your knees, then do Thread the Needle.

4B. Thread the Needle

back pain, low back pain, yoga for back pain, back pain relief, yoga for backLying on your back, bend both knees with the feet flat on the ground. Bend the right knee like a figure four, with the outer left ankle to the right thigh. Lift the left foot into the air, bringing the left calf parallel to the ground. Thread your right hand between the opening of the legs and interlace your hands behind your left thigh. Hold 2-3 minutes and then repeat on the other side.

5. Legs Up the Wall

back pain, low back pain, yoga for back pain, back pain relief, yoga for backScoot your buttocks all the way into the wall and swing your feet up the wall. This pose is excellent for relaxing the muscles of the lower back and drains stagnant fluid from the feet and ankles. Do this pose after a challenging workout and always after traveling by plane. Hold for 5-10 minutes.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

Source: breakingmuscle.com

Sleep in this position and your body will love you

Natural Cures Not Medicine

We have all felt that neck or back pain after waking up instantly knowing exactly what happened: you slept wrong! After trying out this technique that Dr. Joseph Bogart talks about in the video posted below, I'll never go back and haven't had neck pain since.



Image: www.orientbethlehem.net

Banish Pain by Simply Changing Your Posture

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By Dr. Mercola

Image: Esther Gokhale
An important principle to embrace is that pain is typically a good thing as it can help us identify something in our lives that is not good for our long term health.

Back pain is one of the most common pains that people experience and some experts estimate that around 80 percent of us will experience back pain at some point in life. I was certainly in the 80 percent, largely as a result of the time I spent working at the computer. My exercise regimen was not enough to compensate for the damage I was doing while sitting.

I have recently learned that non-exercise movement and posture are two incredibly important yet sorely neglected baselines for health. The more I learn about them, the more convinced I am that posture and non-exercise movement are every bit as important as regular exercise in terms of importance.
Of course, you need both, and I’m not advocating giving up your fitness routine for postural exercises. But proper posture and properly using your body to work against gravity is the foundation upon which everything else related to your health is built.

We know about the importance of diet, exercise, and emotional health, but the fourth pillar, structural health, has for the longest time remained off the radar.

Esther Gokhale’s mission is to educate people on the importance of good posture, which is actually quite different from what is normally taught, such as “sit up straight,” “stand up straight,” and “tuck your pelvis.” According to Esther, virtually all the current guidelines are problematic.

Interview:


Back Pain Can Be Eliminated Through Simple Posture Training

An estimated 80 percent of the US population will experience back pain at some point in their life, and learning proper posture is crucial if you want to avoid this fate. Esther was herself a statistic, as she developed severe back pain during her pregnancy.

She ended up having back surgery in her 20s to remedy the problem, but soon thereafter the pain came back. Rather than opting for a second surgery, she began her quest to discover the root of her problem.
“The directions that made sense to me were looking for something in my own body. It had to be something about the way I was using my body, rather than looking for a patch, looking for something to alleviate the
symptoms alone. I wanted a solution that addresses the root cause,” Esther says.

Her journey has taken her around the world—to India, Brazil, and Europe—and incorporating her knowledge of yoga, pilates, Indian dance and Chinese Medicine, she eventually created the Gokhale Method.

Esther is no stranger to Mercola.com either. She tells me she’s been following the newsletter for a while now, and I’m delighted to have the opportunity to share her knowledge and wisdom with you as this is such a crucial component of staying healthy.

I’ve been a big fan of exercising my whole life, but the principles taught not only by Esther, Dr. Joan Vernikos and Dr. Eric Goodman, are crucial for optimal health. The interaction with gravity is crucial, and- exercise movements that act against gravity while maintaining proper posture are important for all of us.
Everyone wants to age gracefully and be flexible and pain-free, and I think applying what Esther teaches is a profoundly important tool to achieve that. As Esther states:

“The point is, if you have healthy posture, everything you do becomes exercise in some measure. Every step you take, if you’re doing it in a healthy way, becomes a rep for your glute strengthening and becomes a stretch for your calf, your soleus, and so on. Healthy posture makes everyday life into exercise—into therapy even.”

Rediscovering Your Primal Posture

Esther wisely sought answers among the most functional populations; people who do not suffer back pain and have a very low incidence of arthritis in their spines, for example. And that’s where she discovered most of her techniques. Experimenting on herself, she was able to avoid the second surgery, and she has been pain free for over 20 years.

“I’ve not had a back twinge or ache – nothing, zero. Now I get to teach other people how to be empowered in their bodies and how to get there quickly,” she says.

A testament to the effectiveness of her techniques is how quickly you can get lasting results. Her course is just six lessons long, each lesson lasting about 1.5 hours if done in a group, or 45 minutes when you do one-on-one sessions. Part of the beauty of her method is that she teaches you everything you need to make you completely independent. You don’t have to see a chiropractor on a regular basis or hire a Pilates trainer for the rest of your life to keep your pain under control.

By understanding the functional biomechanics of your body and working with gravity instead of against it, you learn to optimize the way you move about your life all the time. And, it works! I’m integrating her method with a few other things, such as Foundation Training and standing up at regular 10-minute intervals as advised by Dr. Joan Vernikos, author of Sitting Kills, Moving Heals. They do make a difference. I recently went hiking in Yosemite National Park for five days and remained completely free of low back pain. In the past, it was hard to do one hike without back pain.

The Difference Between Flexibility and Laxity

Esther was a yoga teacher before her back pain set in, over 20 years ago, and there’s a lot of wisdom in any discipline that’s been around as long as yoga has. However, she points out that yoga is often misunderstood in the modern context.

“People are going for touching their toes rather than the principle of extending your limits and while keeping your baseline sound,” she says. “You want the integrity of your structure to remain intact. For example, your spine, it has a certain baseline shape that’s healthy. You don’t want to round your back just to make sure you touch the floor or your toes.”

There’s a big difference between developing flexibility, which would be in your muscles, and laxity, which occurs when your ligaments are no longer intact. As Esther points out, the danger of repeatedly rounding your back in one spot is that it creates ligament laxity. You really do not want your back to be curved. You want to maintain a straight spine with strong ligaments.

Most people reading this either have a desk job or are sitting down most of the day. This is absolutely true for me. I’m in a chair for at least 12 hours a day. I noticed that my health was starting to decline – not my biological health, but my structural or musculoskeletal health – even though I was exercising; doing a lot of strength training, and what I thought was flexibility training. Now I know why. I simply didn’t know how to maintain proper posture. Improper posture not only affects you while sitting, but it can also make you more prone to exercise injuries and/or pains resulting from exercise.

Full Article at Mercola.com

Source: RealFarmacy.com/

Beat The Backache Naturally!


Back and Neck Pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide. It is estimated that over 6 million people suffer with lower back pain, and over 3 million with neck pain around the world.


Most people use medication to get relief from back and neck pain. However, in recent years more have been turning to natural remedies to alleviate symptoms and even cure them.

Some of the most popular natural remedies for muscle related back pain include Yoga, exercise and acupressure. There are also a few herbs and spices that can aid with pain relief or simply improve bone and muscle strength to aid in recovery and help prevent against future problems. Listed below are the best ways to improve or treat back and neck pain.
  • Yoga helps by improving strength to targeted muscles and muscle groups. As it is designed to be relaxing, yoga can be ideal and is considered a gentle form of exercise, using concentration of the mind to work the muscle groups.
  • Acupressure can help relieve symptoms of back and neck pain. It has been used for thousands of years and studies have shown that many people who have used this form of treatment can be relieved of their pain for up to six months or more.
  • Gentle Massage is great way to relax the muscles in the back. It can be even better if you have a friend or loved one who is willing to help out. 
  • Exercising the stomach muscles can actually aid support to back muscles, especially the lower back, Improved muscle tone to the lower abdominal region can be particularly beneficial.
  • Valerian Root is a wonderful herb to help ease back pain. It works by helping to relax the muscles and is known for it's sedative effect which can help encourage a better night's sleep when suffering from back pain.
  • Cramp Bark helps alleviate back pain caused by muscle spasms or cramps as the name suggests. It has also been successfully used to relieve period cramps, which have also been linked to back pain. 
  • Turmeric is known for its anti-inflammatory properties thus aiding in the reduction of back pain caused by muscular issues.
  • Devil's Claw is an African herb which has been reported to ease back pain as efficiently as prescription drugs. It works by relieving pain caused by inflammation.

Disclaimer:

Before trying anything you find on the internet you should fully investigate your options and get further advice from professionals.

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