This is a loaded question, because yoga has physical benefits that can be good for some, but not all patients with back pain. A more accurate question would be is yoga right for your body right now? A physical therapist can go over the benefits of yoga to help show you how a “benefit” may actually be causing more harm than good.

1. Improves Muscle Flexibility. 

With prolonged stretches or poses.

2. Improves Muscle Strength and Tone.

Holding positions for prolonged periods works your muscles isometrically (strengthening when the muscle does not change in length). This is especially true if you “keep strong” while you hold your poses, rather than relaxing completely to try and increase your range of motion.

3. Improves Your Balance. 

Some of these poses are quite challenging to maintain for multiple breath counts.

Not in some cases. of normal flexibility. Then, once you have achieved the apparent “end” of your limits, Many yoga poses challenge the limits you are invited to stay there and breathe for multiple counts, inviting you to extend those limits even further.

All of our joints have a natural stopping point. The purpose of these natural end points include:

1. Protection of Essential Life Structures. 

Example: The Neck. We cannot turn our heads around 360 degrees like owls in order to protect the arteries that supply blood to our brain.

2. Impact of Bone-on-Bone. 

Example: When you reach the end of elbow extension, that means the ulna (one of the forearm bones) has met the humerus (the upper arm bone). Trying to stretch this point further would degrade the bone. Over time (typically years), this would cause significant arthritis.

3. End of Ligament (Passive Structure) Length. 

Ligaments are supportive structures that connect one bone to another bone. They are never meant to stretch. If you over-stretch a ligament you will sprain it or if taken too far, you will tear it. The ligaments typically make their complaints heard by achy pain.

For example: When you sit with bad posture for too long and your low back starts to ache, this is typically the ligaments indicating they’ve been asked to support you for long enough and they would like a break from the stress.

If you are suffering from a type of low back pain that is due to too much movement, practicing yoga that increases movement further will only lead to increased pain. Full range of motion (ROM) is good; additional ROM is not necessarily better.

Not always, because the body’s symptoms can be deceiving. When something in the body is moving too much (e.g. the low back or the sacroiliac joint), the body starts to protect itself. It does this by making the muscles in the region tighter.

It’s as if the body is saying, “I have been telling you that this body part is hurting by giving you some pain. You didn’t listen. You’re still allowing that body part to move too much. If you won’t listen, I’ll just make everything super tight in that area and force you to not move it as much.” The real solution is to actually stabilize the body part that is hurting through strengthening exercises. ANY stretching could actually make you feel worse. If you would like to learn if Practicing Yoga with and for Low Back Pain is safe for you follow our blog, or schedule with one of our therapists today.

Strengthen and stabilize. Especially gluteal strengthening and core stabilization. If you are cleared for yoga, follow our blog to be updated when we launch 5 Physical Therapy Tips for Practicing Yoga to Help Your Low Back Pain.

How do I know if yoga is good for me right now? A physical therapist could determine this for you in a consultation, but the answer will not be the same for everyone. If you want to practice yoga, you should see a physical therapist to determine which poses would improve your life and which would not.

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