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Yoga for Pain Relief

Kelly Mcgonigal's new book, Yoga for Pain Relief" has some great advice, including some good news for people suffering from chronic pain. 

"If you thought yoga was only for the extremely fit and limber, think again.

“If you can breathe, you can do yoga,” said Kelly McGonigal, PhD, author of a new book titled Yoga for Pain Relief. McGonigal has taught yoga through Stanford University’s Health Improvement Program to people with chronic pain from back injuries, shoulder injuries, hip pain, knee replacements and carpel tunnel syndrome for almost a decade.

It’s the benefits that she’s seen in her many students, like those in the regular Tuesday afternoon “stretch and strengthening class” on the Stanford campus at the Elliot Center, that motivated her to write the book."

McGonigal has discovered the benefits of yoga for chronic pain control through personal experience.

“I’ve had headaches every day of my life since I was about 8 years old,” McGonigal said. “I still have headaches every day, but it’s nothing like it used to be. Now there’s just this awareness of pain. It doesn’t really bother me anymore.”

 

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Postural Awareness For Pregnant Bodies

As we look around us we see very few people with good posture, and we also see an epidemic of low back pain.  Converting from all-fours to upright has been a challenge in the evolution of man/woman; pregnancy provides another challenge on top of that.  Gaining awareness of your posture takes time  but only by gaining awareness can we make changes.  Like all hard-won awareness, the benefits of staying the course are great.  Follow this link to the Sage blog to find a few suggestions for awareness in your everyday living.

• Brushing Teeth and Washing Face -  The majority of people bend over from the waist putting extra stress on the low back.  Try sinking down in your knees and resting one or two elbows on the sink.  You can also place one foot on a stool or inside the base of the sink cabinet to achieve a more neutral alignment.
• Vacuuming -  Best to avoid entirely but, if you’ve run out of excuses… J  Keep the vacuum cleaner close to you and work in one small area at a time rather than reaching out over long distances.
• Putting Your Shoes On -  Who would have ever thought this would be hard?  Ideally, you should sit on the edge of a hard chair.  Bring one leg up and cross it over the opposite leg, keeping your back straight.  This position has the added benefit of stretching your hip muscles and helping to prevent sciatica.
• Lifting – Lift with your legs, not your back.  Squat down to pick something up, keeping your back straight.  Don’t twist, turn your whole body towards to object.  Keep the object close to your body.  Finally, GET HELP to lift!  That’s what partners are for.

  For more ideas, go to Alicia M. Silva’s “Preventing and Managing Back Pain During Pregnancy”, from which the above article was abstracted.

The Big Three of Prenatal Exercise

We see a lot of low back pain in our prenatal practice here at Sage and, of course, we're always happy to help.  But, if you're willing to do a few home exercises yourself, you could provide an extra cushion against that pain that shows up in 80% of third trimester pregnancies.  The foundation of your self-help consists of 3 parts: strengthening, stretching and postural awareness.  In this post, I'll be discussing "The Big Three" of your strengthening program.  The Big Three are pelvic tilts, kegels and squats.

Pelvic Tilts

After about 20 weeks, you should avoid sit-ups or "crunches"; but, pelvic tilts are fine to do and are a great way to strengthen your abdomen.  You can start learning them well before 20 weeks by lying on your back with your knees bent and feet planted on the floor.  If you slide a hand under the small of your back, you'll notice a space.  Now contract your abdominal muscles and try to eliminate that space by bringing your back flat to the floor.  To help feel that the appropriate muscles are contracting, you can put your hands on your abdomen.  Think about bringing your pubic bones up towards the ceiling as your spine is pressing into the floor.  Do several sets and hold the tilt for a bit.  After 20 weeks, leave off lying on the back and do these on your hands and knees or even while standing in line at the grocery store.  A strong abdomen will assist in supporting that ever-increasing load on the low back.

Kegels

The pelvic floor is the muscular sling that supports your bladder and uterus and bowel.  Try pulling this muscle up and holding for a few seconds.  You won't be able to hold it long at first; but, it will get stronger over time.  This muscle can be hard to "find."  A good way to do it is try to stop the flow of urine while urinating.  Kegels can help make a strong pelvic floor to help you birth the baby and help prevent incontinence in late pregnancy when the baby is sitting low, as well as post-partum.  You don't have to be pregnant to benefit from kegels; older women can benefit too. Healthy pelvic floors for every woman!

Squats

Stand with your back about a foot from a wall. Lean back against the wall and do a pelvic tilt so that your low back is flat against the wall.  Now squat down so that your knees are approaching a 90 degree angle.  Hang out until your legs start to fatigue.  Come back up slowly.  Do several sets.  Squatting improves strength in legs and buttocks.  It will help conquer low back pain and give you strong legs for labor and delivery.

The Big Three are a great start to a fit pregnancy.  If you would like to know more, Here's a good book to consult

Susan