back pain remedy Archives

March 3, 2023 By Saba Mirza 4 Comments

5 Yoga Asanas to Strengthen the Back

If long working hours involving a lot of sitting time, incorrect posture and less exposure to sunlight sound similar to you, we’re sure you’ve at some point experienced back pain. Not just at work but traveling also takes a toll on your back muscles. You’ll be surprised to know that back injuries, simple back stiffness and back pain are quite prevalent even among the youth today. The only remedy here is to strengthen the back muscles!

Why Do You Need a Strong Back?

The back muscles are the backbone of the body. They help you maintain correct posture, improve balance and avoid injuries. If your back muscles aren’t strong enough, it can cause stiffness, minor aches and pains which can become problematic in the future, cramps, etc.

The most basic thing you can do to strengthen your back is to avoid long sitting hours, improve your calcium and Vitamin D intake. Improving flexibility is also crucial to prevent stiffness. When it comes to building flexibility and strength, nothing can beat yoga! Let’s look at a few asanas which are very effective in easing your back pain problems.

Asanas to Strengthen the Back

1. Tadasana (Mountain Pose):

Tadasana is a basic asana for various standing yoga poses! It is excellent for improving posture, maintaining the curvature of your back and strengthening the hips and thigh muscles.

Stand straight and keep a small gap between your feet
Keep your hands straight on the sides, stretching the wrist and fingers
Elongate and stretch your back, widen your collar bone and straighten your shoulder blade, relaxing them down the back
Stand on your toes while stretching the knees, thighs and hip muscles without tightening the belly muscles.
Stay in this pose for 20-30 seconds breathing easily.

2. Virabhadrasana (Warrior Pose):

Widely known as the warrior pose, Virabhadrasana strengthens the knees, thigh muscles, opens the hips and chest as well as stretches the back and leg muscles.

Stand in Tadasana pose and keep your feet around 4 feet apart
Turn your left foot out by 90 degrees and left foot in by 15 degrees
Bring both the hands above the head, join your palms and keep your eyes up at the thumbs
Rotate your torso to the left, bend the knees while keeping them above the ankle (avoid bending more than that). Exhale.
Stand in this posture for around 30 seconds.
Straighten the knee while you inhale and bring your hand down
Exhale and come back to the Tadasana pose.

3. Trikonasana (Triangle Pose):

As the name suggests, it’s a triangle posture which stretches the spine, opens up the chest and shoulder as well as reduces tension on the hip and thigh muscles. It helps in improving physical and mental equilibrium.

Stand in Tadasana pose and separate the feet wide apart, around four feet from each other
Turn your right foot out 90 degrees and left foot in by 15 degrees. Now align the center of your right heel with the center of your arch of the left foot
Inhale deeply and as you exhale, bend your body to the right, downward from the hips, keeping the waist straight, allowing your left hand to come up in the air while your right hand comes down towards the floor. Keep both arms in a straight line
Rest your right hand on your shin, ankle, or the floor outside your right foot, whatever is possible without distorting the sides of the waist. Stretch your left arm toward the ceiling, in line with the top of your shoulders. Keep your head in a neutral position or turn it to the left, eyes gazing softly at the left palm.
Ascertain that your body is bent sideways and not backward or forward. Pelvis and chest are wide open.
Stretch maximum and be steady. Keep taking in long, deep breaths. With each exhalation, relax the body more and more. Just be with the body and the breath.
As you inhale, come up, bring your arms down to your sides, and straighten your feet.
Repeat the same on the other side.

4. Matsyendrasana (Lord of the Fishes Pose):

One of the best asanas to improve spinal health. It provides excellent compression and extension to the nerves and muscles supporting the back, increases elasticity of the spine, tones the spinal nerves and reduces the stiffness in the spinal muscles.

Sit on the floor with legs straight in front of you. Keep the back erect
Bend the left leg and place the heel of the left foot beside the right hip (optionally, you can keep the left leg straight)
Take the right leg over the left knee
Place the left hand on the right knee and the right hand behind you.
Twist the waist, shoulders and neck in this sequence to the right and look over the right shoulder.
Keep the spine erect.
Hold and continue with gentle long breaths in and out
Breathing out, release the right hand first (the hand behind you), release the waist, then the chest
Release the neck and repeat on the other side
Breathing out, come back to the front and relax

5. Salabhasana (Locust Pose or Grasshopper Pose)

Salabhasana prepares beginners for a deeper backbend, strengthening the muscles of the entire torso from the nape of the neck, spine, chest, and legs to the back of the heels. It is a part of Hatha Yoga which stimulates the functioning of abdominal organs and relieves stress.

Lie on your belly with your arms along the torso, palms up, forehead resting on the floor (use a yoga mat)
Turn your big toes towards each other inwardly rotating your thighs and firm your buttocks
Exhale and lift your head, upper torso, arms and legs away from the floor. You will be resting your entire weight on your lower ribs, belly and front pelvis
Raise your arms parallel to the floor and stretch back actively through your fingertips. Press your scapula firmly into your back
Keep the base of the skull lifted and back of the neck nicely long
Stay in this asana for 15-30 seconds then release slowly with exhalation.

Practice these asanas regularly to strengthen the back but before you begin, do Consult your Doctor, Physiotherapist or Coach. To practice yoga safely under expert guidance, book a GOQii Pro class through the GOQii App.

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August 17, 2022 By Akshay Karlawar 1 Comment

Tips To Alleviate & Avoid Back Pain

Back pain usually originates from the joints, bones, nerves or muscles. It is one of the most common complaints. Back pain may be felt as mild chronic pain going on for years or just for a few seconds or minutes. It can be felt as continuous dull ache, appearing at intervals as well. Constant, sharp pain is usually found in one place or it radiates to other areas like limbs. It can also present a weak, tingling sensation or numbness.

Few Facts About Back Pain

The spine consists of bones, joints, spinal cord, nerves, tendons, ligaments and muscles. Back pain can originate from any of these or overlying muscles
In a majority of cases, back pain is self-limited. Most common back pain symptoms are due to inflammation or trauma which may be mild or severe
The two most common conditions that cause back pain are degenerative spinal disc disease and spinal disc herniation
Innocent causes of the back pain include ligament tear, muscle strain, ruptured or herniated spinal disks, and irritated joints. Environmental factors that cause or aggravate back pain include arthritis, posture at work, obesity, psychological and physical stress.
Some other causes include – lack of core strength that creates too much strain on the back, tight muscles which cause inflammation and tight hip flexors as they extend towards the lower back via the pelvic girdle due to improper posture.

Causes and Tips To Avoid Back Pain

Obesity: is a common cause of back pain. As a heavy body contributes to increased pressure on the spine, maintaining a healthy body weight can help reduce your back pain. If you’re seriously overweight, those extra pounds could be straining your spine. Lose some weight and you just might lose the pain. A weight-loss program that includes regular exercise is bound to make your whole body feel better. A nutritious diet, lifestyle modifications and healthy weight can prevent back pain.
Poor posture: is a common cause of back pain. Maintain correct postures while standing, sitting and while lifting things. While using a computer or laptop, try to take breaks frequently and practice stretches which will lower your chances of getting back pain. Take regular short breaks in between work. Just getting up from your chair can help break the cycle of clenched muscles.

Tips To Reduce The Pain

Applying a cold compress to the affected area can numb the pain temporarily by desensitizing the underlying nerves.
Heat application through a heating pad, warm bath or hot water bottle can stimulate blood circulation in the area and loosen the tight muscles.
Massage therapy could provide short-term relief from acute and chronic back pain.
Frequent massages may be costly, but getting a massage once a month can be effective and affordable as well. It is important to select the massage best suited to your problem.
Consume a healthy diet consisting of Vitamin D as deficiency and insufficiency can cause or worsen back pain. The correction of it plays an important role in the treatment of chronic back pain. Foods like Fatty fish, liver, egg yolk and mushrooms can improve Vitamin D levels.
Avoid high-inflammatory foods such as sugars, trans fats and processed foods to prevent back pain.
Train with proper form, regular rehab-strengthening of lower back with exercise such as back extension, superman holds can help strengthen rhomboids to improve posture.
Stretching itself can damage muscle fibers as you’re just tearing them by stretching them instead of contracting them. If you want to stop feeling sore, aggressive stretching is the last thing you’d want to do.

Quick Fix: A foam roller can help in releasing tight muscles. You may look a little weird if you’re the only person in your gym who doesn’t stretch before exercise and prefers to foam roll a sore muscle rather than stretch it out, but your muscles will thank you for it!

We hope this article helps you alleviate and avoid back pain. If any of the tips above helped you, do share your experience in the comments below! For more tips on improving health and fitness levels, check out Healthy Reads or ask a GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalised health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

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July 14, 2022 By Neha Goyal Leave a Comment

How To Correct Your Posture At Work

You must have heard that sitting is the new smoking. You might have also started experiencing this in your life since the pandemic, where you might have been inactive and sitting in front of the laptop for long hours. People are getting more backaches and cervical issues due to long sitting hours, majorly due to bad posture. While you may not be able to swap your job to lead an active lifestyle, there is one thing that you can start doing right now and that is correct your posture, especially while sitting.

How Can You Correct Your Posture?

Good posture is when your muscles and ligaments that support your back and neck have to bear the least amount of strain while sitting. Besides standing and walking as much as possible, and taking a few breaks from sitting at the desk, the next best thing one can do is to have an excellent sitting posture.

The very first step to find and correct your posture is to adjust your desk height for your eyes to look ahead on your computer screen without the need of flexing your neck to see your work.
Your ears should be in the same line as your shoulder which means no leaning forward.
Roll and pull back your shoulders to avoid protracting your shoulders.
Your feet should be flat on the floor. Neither tucked under the chair, nor stretched out too far away in front of you. Do not cross your legs either.
Your weight should be evenly spread over both of the hips & lower back. The buttocks should touch the back of the chair.
Natural back curve should be maintained all the time. One can also place a rolled-up towel or lumbar roll.
Your knees should be bent at a 90 degree angle or can be slightly higher than hip level. You can also place a low stool below your feet.

Some Additional Tips

While sitting in a chair that rolls or pivots, rather than twisting at the waist, turn the whole body to prevent any jerks.
When standing up from a chair, first move to the front of the chair and then stand up by straightening your legs.
Try to avoid sitting for longer hours at a stretch in the same position.
Keep frequently used objects within close reach.
Keep the keyboard in the right position so as to leave a gap of 4-6 inch between the edge of the keyboard and the table so your wrists can rest while you type something.

Long Term Approach

Knowing what’s right is definitely the first step if you want to improve your posture, but this is not a one time thing. It does take work and dedication on a regular basis along with some lifestyle changes to improve your posture in the long run.

When you walk, stand, sit or run, make sure you are practicing good posture. If you notice that you are slouching or returning to old bad posture, correct your alignment right away.
If you are carrying around some extra weight, try to shed that as having the right body weight for height can do a lot to improve your posture.
Practice stretching regularly to ease up stiffness in the muscles that develop due to staying in the same posture for a long time, whether it’s prolonged standing or sitting.
Make strengthening exercises a part of your routine as it will improve muscle power to fight gravity and keep you upright in proper posture.

We hope this article will help you correct your posture. Do let us know your thoughts in the comments below! For more tips, check out Healthy Reads or ask a GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalised health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

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