Spinenevada patient education SerieS •acenter of excellence for neck &Back pain in the reno /tahoe region Start position Cobra position HOW YOGA CAN HELP REDUCE BACK & NECK PAIN Low Lunge Yoga can be appropriate for everyone, but depending on your medical condition, you may need to modify or avoid certain poses. Patients with advanced spinal stenosis should avoid extreme spine extension movements. Patients with cervical spine disease should avoid headstands and shoulder stands in yoga. Those who diagnose and treat themselves with home remedies and exercises do so at their own risk. ALWAYS discontinue any exercise that causes pain. Loss of control of the bowel or bladder or weakness in an arm or leg are emergency symptoms that need to be seen by a physician within 48 hours to avoid permanent damage. Artwork copyright © 2012 Prizm. Start from a standing position or downward-facing dog, exhale and bring your left foot forward between your hands, aligning the left knee over the heel. Then lower your right knee to the floor and, keeping the left knee fixed in place, slide the right leg back until you feel a comfortable stretch in the right front thigh and groin. Turn the top of your right foot to the floor. Inhale and lift your torso upward. Hold for 20 seconds. Exhale and return to starting position. Repeat with the right foot forward for same period of time. The “Cow” Start on all fours in the position shown below (Start position), keeping your back straight. Then create an arch in your low back by lowering your abdomen toward the ground, while at the same time raising your head. Hold for 10 seconds. Go back to starting position. Repeat exercise 20 times. Yoga is becoming an increasingly popular recre- ational activity for both men and women. Yoga involves holding various poses to develop core strength. Many moves can actually be helpful to a bad back as they involve extension and flexion of the back muscles. For example the “Cat” and “Cow” poses involve both flexion and extension of the spine. This can aid in circulation and provide a natural way to bring ox- ygenated blood and nutrients to the intervertebral discs. For disc herniation these movements may be helpful. It is important to note that some disc her- niation patients may find that spinal flexion worsens their symptoms, while extension movements offer relief. The opposite can be true with spinal stenosis patients who find flexion exercises to be more com- fortable and extension exercises to be less comfort- able. Ideally, if you have back or neck pain, you should consult a spine spe- cialized therapist to evalu- ate your back problem and customize an exercise program for your particular back problem. Thaïs Mollet, PT, DPT (shown above with patient) is a spine specialized physical therapist at Spine Nevada. In treating her patients, Thaïs draws upon techniques from Kaltenborn, Evjenth, Maitland, and Butler schools of thought. “My goal with each pa- tient is to identify the approach that will best de- crease pain and discomfort, and increase overall function,” Thaïs explains. Want to get started? Let the physical therapists at SpineNevada customize a home exercise pro- gram for you. “Our goal is to make the patient in- dependent of therapy within a short period of time,” Thaïs adds. Help your patients get back to activity this spring. Hand them this overview of quick tips that will help them on the way to a pain-free year. Call our physician liaison Karen Poindexter at 775.348.8800 and she’ll drop off 50 copies of this exercise sheet for your patients. Cobra Start by lying flat on your stomach, with your hands on the floor under your shoulders. As you inhale, begin to raise your upper body slowly, while keeping your pelvis flat to the floor. Try to create an arch in your low back. Go up as far as you can without experiencing discomfort. Work up to the position shown here, also known in yoga as the Cobra position. Hold the finish position for 15 seconds,breathing easily. Exhale as you release back to the floor. EXTENSION YOGA POSES Start position Finish position