Signs that You Need More than Yoga to Cure Back Pain

It is important to pay attention to signs that you need more than yoga to cure back pain. There are a number of ways for someone dealing with recurring back pain to treat themselves. A daily regimen of focused stretching and exercise is probably the most common self-care treatment. Performing daily back stretches is a convenient way to ease muscular tension, which often forms in the lower back, shoulders, and neck region. A popular self-care treatment is yoga. Yoga is a full-body stretching exercise that promotes muscle relaxation and gives the spine some added support. 

Yoga is an excellent practice to for keeping a healthy back. In a lot of cases where the back pain is not severe or recurring, a regular yoga practice is may be all you need for dealing with slight and limited symptoms.

But sometimes a diligent self-care routine is not enough. If you’re dealing with recurring back pain that persists (and may even worsen) despite maintaining a regular yoga practice, then you need to seek the opinion of a professional. Here are three signs that you need more than yoga to cure your back pain.

Your Lower Back is Still Inflamed

One of the areas that yoga usually does a world of good for is the lower back. Poses directed towards the hips and the core will often help put your body back into alignment. However, if you come home from a class with the same stinging sensation in the lower back, then you may have a more serious problem on your hands than just some muscle tension.

The Pain is Too Great to Perform Yoga Regularly

It is not recommended to continue with yoga if you experience back pain throughout the entire exercise. If this describes your situation, you are dealing with an issue (like a back strain) that is far too complex for yoga to solve. You do not want to continue if your pain becomes significantly worse after a class. In general terms on a scale from 1-10, let’s keep discomfort below a 6.

A Shooting Pain in the Foot

A sharp, hot, shooting pain pulsing through your leg is a symptom of sciatica. Sciatica is a relatively common type of back pain that has its origin in irritation to the sciatic nerve. This is the nerve in human anatomy that connects the lower back to each lower leg. Shooting hot pain is not a muscular issue, and as such, cannot be cured by yoga.

Conclusion

Keep these symptoms in mind the next time you feel back pain and think, “I can solve this by doing lots of yoga!” Unfortunately, when the symptoms are rooted in a nerve, ligament, or spine misalignment, yoga will not be of much use. See your chiropractor . It is worth having a complete assessment to see if there are any contraindication to doing yoga or any type of home therapy.