Yoga and Back Care—Pain Management: GUWellness: Mind, Body, Soul

People who suffer from ongoing or recurrent bouts of back pain often have to try a number of different forms of exercise to find the most appropriate therapy to manage their pain. For many, yoga has proven to be a safe and effective way to finally alleviate many forms of back pain or neck pain and help prevent ongoing problems.

Yoga can provide...
many healing benefits for people with various types of back pain. For example, yoga may help by:

• Healing injured back muscles
• Speeding time to recover from an injury
• Preventing re-injury
• Helping maintain a regular level of daily activities and avoid disability
• Relieving pain
• Increasing strength and flexibility
• Teaching relaxation and acceptance

Although no one treatment works for everyone, many aspects of yoga make it ideal for treating back pain and neck pain. For example, studies have shown that those who practice yoga for as little as twice a week for 8 weeks make significant gains in strength, flexibility, and endurance, which is a basic goal of most rehabilitation programs for back pain or neck pain.

Remember, before starting an exercise program talk with your physician to ensure that you are starting a program that is right for you and your health needs.

Reference: http://www.spine-health.com/topics/conserv/yogaheal/yogaheal01.html