What to do for back pain? A tried and tested remedy

A tried and tested remedy for back pain

One of the most common reasons why people visit their doctor is chronic back pain.

It is astonishing when patients with back pain visit wellness clinics even though they are already taking an arsenal of pharmaceutical products that they have been prescribed. The drugs in question include highly addictive opiates such as Vicodin, Percocet and OxyContin. In addition, pointless and potentially dangerous surgeries are often pushed.

The latest and extremely profitable trend in back pain is a procedure called " spinal fusion", in which two vertebrae are literally welded together.

Many of these operations are unnecessary and risky. Some of them result in serious damage: paralysis, life-threatening complications, even death - and many should not have been performed in the first place.

The truth is that many illnesses and physical problems can be successfully treated without the patient having to accept high risks and high costs. 

The example of yoga

Patients with back pain are advised to turn to this time-honored therapy; yoga can help reduce stress and improve their physical fitness, flexibility and breathing habits.

For several thousand years, yoga has been successful in achieving all of this. And unlike other fitness programs, it avoids the common "no pain, no gain" nonsense.

It's about doing only what feels comfortable and natural so that you can gently gain more strength and flexibility at your own pace.

This will make those affected happier, calmer, more focused and more efficient. This is how yoga can relieve back pain in the long term. 

The health benefits of yoga are also well documented: For example, in controlling mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, attention deficit disorder (ADHD), schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Or for people with high blood pressure, high triglyceride levels, high blood sugar or a problematic ratio of LDL ("bad cholesterol") and HDL ("good cholesterol"). Yoga can also reduce inflammation and symptoms of fatigue in cancer patients. 

Studies also suggest that yoga helps to reduce levels of cortisol, a critical biomarker for stress. This is because stress in conjunction with cortisol is known to shorten telomeres.

"Telomeres" are the protective caps at the ends of the chromosomes in our cells that prevent the chromosomes from losing their structure. Every time a cell divides, the telomeres become a little shorter. This is how we age.

Conversely, this means that the longer our telomeres are, the longer we are likely to live and the younger we will feel. 

Yoga is a better treatment for chronic back pain than many standard remedies. According to a recent study, it is more successful than acupuncture, bed rest, painkillers, spinal surgery and fitness programs.

If you have serious back pain, it is advisable to consult a qualified and appropriately trained yoga therapist. Yoga therapists often started out as physiotherapists before completing yoga training. Others started out as yoga teachers and then completed additional training in which they learned, among other things, how to deal with a stressed or injured back. In serious cases, you should definitely arrange private lessons. The therapist can tailor the exercises precisely to the patient's abilities and needs. 

Incidentally, you can counteract moderate or minor back pain with a special yoga technique that has been used for tens of thousands of years - the good old-fashioned foot massage. 

Many yoga teachers will tell you that your feet are the foundations of your body. If your feet are out of balance, so to speak, so are your ankles. If your ankles are badly balanced, this affects your knees ... And this chain reaction continues along your spine to your shoulders and neck. 

A therapy plan for a pain-free back:

To begin with, sit down comfortably so that you can reach your feet.

There are actually no precise rules for this exercise, but the general procedure is as follows: 

• Pull your right foot towards you and hold the outside of it in your left hand or on your left knee.
• Now use your right thumb and run it gently along the edge of the inside of the foot, from the ball of the foot to just before the heel. The energy emanating from the bones and muscles along this line normally reflects the condition of your spine.
• Now apply a little more pressure and run your thumb along the same line. Where you find a sensitive or swollen area, massage it in a circular motion for about a minute.
• Now look for the next sensitive area and perform the same massage. Follow the line described two to three times until you can no longer find any sensitive or painful areas.
• Now follow the arc between your heel and the sole of your foot with your thumb. This area indicates possible problems with your sciatic nerve. Look for sensitive areas again and massage them.
• Now do the same on the sole along the arch, just below your toe joints.
• Finally, use your fingers to gently massage the instep, along the bony arch under the toes. These areas indicate difficulties with the shoulders and upper back. 

Now repeat the whole thing with your left foot ... you can feel how this ancient magic miraculously dispels stress and back pain.

Stay healthy!