It’s a beautiful, sunny afternoon, and you’ve decided to clean out the shed. You open the shed door and take a look around on where to start. Ahh, I’ll start with the mulch bags I got last autumn and move them out to the flower beds. They are in a corner, and you have to put your body in an awkward position to face them. You also notice they are wet from condensation and seem to be a little heavy. No problem though, I’m young and strong enough to lift them without any issue. At first, you move a couple of bags, and then as you bend over and lift another mulch bag, Bam! You feel a sharp shooting sensation race all across your back. You drop the mulch, wince in the face and grab your lower bag from the pain. The next scene is finding yourself lying on the couch, a heating pad at the lower back, and taking two ibuprofen to ease the pain. So much for cleaning the shed today.
We all can experience back pain from time to time, but how is it caused, and how we can prevent it from happening again. The scene above explains what is more commonly known as a muscle strain/ligament strain. Back stress is caused by repeated heavy lifting or a sudden awkward movement that can strain the back muscles and spinal ligaments. A muscle strain is one of four causes of back pain, and below are three other known causes.
Bulging or ruptured disks. Disks act as cushions between the bones (vertebrae) in your spine. The soft material inside a disk can bulge or rupture and press on a nerve.
Arthritis. Osteoarthritis can become a concern for the lower back. Once in the spine, arthritis can lead to a narrowing of the space around the spinal cord. The term of this condition is known as spinal stenosis.
Osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is when painful fractures can emerge in the vertebrae making your bones brittle.
All four conditions can be excruciating and can put our lives on hold. The good news is that we can avoid back pain or prevent its recurrence by improving our physical condition. We can enhance our well-being by not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, and do low-impact exercises such as swimming or walking.
Another great way to build strength and flexibility in the back is by doing yoga. Studies have shown that yoga will help to strengthen and add flexibility to your back muscles. Other benefits also include helping reduce muscular tension and add overall bone strength too.
Here are ten yoga poses to do to incorporate into your life to decrease the chance of back pain.
Modified Core Crunch
Bridge
Cobra
Modified Downward Facing Boat
Cow
Cat
Threading the Needle
Lateral Child’s Pose
Seated Forward Fold
Seated Spinal Twist