5 Yoga Poses Guaranteed to Reduce Lower Back Pain

 

Pick a second. Any second will do. At the moment, 10 percent of Americans – roughly 30 million people – were experiencing back pain.

 

No epidemic has touched as many lives as acute or chronic lower back pain. Each year, Americans spend more than $50 billion to assuage their discomfort. More than ever before, Americans hunch, lounge and recline while watching television, playing games, inputting data, eating dinner, writing mail. And when they do exercise, they make up for a 60-hour work week with one concentrated hour of jump-roping, jogging and weight lifting.

 

Why not do yoga?

 

Child’s Pose

Directions: Sit down on your heels. Bow towards your choice of deity. Keeping your spine more or less straight, place your hands above your head onto the floor. Do not strain! As always, breathe slowly. After 1-3 minutes, return to the sitting position.

 

Wall Plank

Directions: Find a wall. Any wall will do. Face it from approximately three feet away. Then bend forward, inspect the floor, and place your hands on the wall. Keeping your back straight, bend your body into a right angle at the hip. If you feel pain in your lower back, bend your knees ever so slightly. Hold for 1-2 minutes.

 

Hollywood

Directions: Put on your best beach model face. Sit down on the floor, and place your left palm on your right knee. Then slowly twist your body towards the right. Some people like to curl their opposite legs inside. Keep your spine straight, and suck in your stomach for the full stretch. Breathe slowly, and return to a sitting position in 30 seconds to 1 minute.

 

Downward Dog

Directions: This exercise is a favorite of the team at Health & Wellness Chiropractic of Utah. First, ease onto your hands and knees. Then keeping your hands and heels flat against the ground, lift your hindquarters towards the sky. Feel pain? Put your hands farther in front of you, and then repeat. Hold the position for 5-10 deep breaths.

 

Spine Straightener

Directions: Sit cross-legged. Intertwine your fingers and raise your hands, palm up, towards the ceiling until your arms almost lockout. Hold the position for at least 20 seconds and then repeat 3-5 times.

 

Pick one of these exercises. Any one will do. Perform it every day, perhaps when your brush your teeth in the morning, and your lower back will thank you. And get rid of that poufy mattress topper, too.

 

Categories: lower back pain, poses, reduce, yoga

I Need a GP ASAP: 10 Aches and Pains that Need Checking

Your body is a mysterious thing; sometimes you get pain or aches for no apparent reason, but your wellness is completely secure. However, sometimes there are pains which occur as a warning that something has gone seriously wrong, and you need immediate medical attention.

 

1. Jaw and Chest Aches – Sometimes, these aches, when accompanied by aching shoulders, can be a sign of a heart attack so stop what you are doing and seek medical attention immediately.

 

2. Lower Back Pain – Lower back pain is a sign of kidney troubles, such as a kidney stone, an infected kidney or even a severe UTI.

 

3. Severe Abdominal Pain – This can indicate a problem with your kidneys, uterus, pancreas, liver, lungs or worse, an appendicitis attack. There are so many possible causes that you should definitely get it checked.

 

4. Pain in the Calf Muscles – If you haven’t been working out, but experience this pain, you may have Deep Vein Thrombosis, or clots in veins that are putting pressure on proper blood circulation.

 

5. Burning in the Hands and Feet – If this occurs when you haven’t been sitting in a folded position, you might have peripheral neuropathy, or nerve damage. This can be caused by alcohol abuse, dehydration, diabetes or shingles, so it’s worth getting it checked out.

 

6. Vague, Unexplained Aches – Fibromyalgia heightens your sensitivity towards a pain or just a mere pressure, which means that you ache more often than before in your legs, head or back.

 

7. Testicular Pain – This could be hernia, cancer, testicular torsion or just an infection, but either way, you shouldn’t ignore it.

 

8. Severe Headaches – While headaches may not seem like a major health concern, those which descend suddenly and feel more like a thunderclap indicate that you may be having a Transient Ischemic Attack. If left untreated, this can result in a stroke.

 

9. Pelvic Pain – If you experience pelvic pains during intercourse, it may be a sign of pelvic inflammatory disease. This is a bacterial infection which causes inflammation in your uterus and fallopian tubes, and can occur due to uterine cancer.

 

10. Aching Joints – This seems like an inescapable part of life but the mysterious appearance of an ache could indicate that your well-being is at threat to osteoarthritis, hepatitis or rheumatoid arthritis.

Categories: aches, Aching Joints, lower back pain, medical attention, nbsp, Pain, Pelvic Pain, severe