BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Yoga Yoga and back pain

I am about to undergo back surgery for a herniated L5 disk and am looking for a safe way to do yoga once I recover. Has anyone else been through the same thing and can give good advice? Thanks!

Wow I hope the surgery goes well for you! Good luck!

I am not a doctor but I would stay away from any of the twisting moves until you heal up. I would focus on moves that stretch the arms and legs gently, and maybe the straight-line moves like tree pose and stretching-to-the sky poses that move very slowly.

I agree with what Lisa is saying about twisting. Def ask your doctor for advice on that!

I bet there are DVDs that cover this kind of thing. You will really need to start gently. The plus side is yoga will strengthen your back as you heal!

Hi Beth,

I too have experienced herniated disks at L4-L5 and L5-S1 with severe sciatica down my right leg. Fortunately, I was able to use yoga to heal by back pain and avoid surgery. It was a slow process and one that will keep me doing yoga forever.

First, best of luck with your surgery. Of course, check with your Doctor before beginning any exercise program. Will you be doing Physical Therapy after the surgery? If so, your therapist may be able to offer suggestions too.

I have quite a lot of information on yoga for back pain on the bellaonline yoga site, including a review of a favorite DVD by Gary Kraftsow a respected yoga teacher and yoga therapist who designed the Yoga Program used in the groundbreaking National Institutes of Health Study that proved yoga's effectiveness with back pain. The exercises are a safe, and effective for helping to stretch and strengthen the back so it may be worth a closer look.

Yoga Therapy for Back Pain DVD Review

Warmly,
Martha

Thanks for the link, Martha. It's good to have a DVD review on these yoga exercises, as not all of them are appropriate for those with back problems.

I have tried to avoid surgery over the last two years, but unfortunately my back is not responding to conservative treatment, meaning medications (cortisone epidurals and NSAIDs), back exercises, or decompression therapy. I have reached a point where I can't sleep at night, can't sit in chairs for long at all, and I'm missing a lot of work. Because I'm getting worse with time, it would be a mistake to not get surgery, especially since my surgeon plans on doing a microdiscectomy, which is minimally invasive.

Beth,

Good luck with your back surgery. I definitely know how awful back pain can be.

There was a time that my sciatica was so bad I had severe numbness and tingling all the way down to my toes and I could only where clogs for nearly a year. I had to slither out of bed onto a heating pad before I could get going in the morning.

Yoga helped me but it wasn't a quick fix -- It was a gradual process that took well over a year and everyday I wake up pain free I count my blessings.