Is yoga suitable for patients with lumbar disc herniation?

In life, we are all familiar with the term lumbar disc herniation. It is more likely to occur in middle-aged people. Lumbar disc herniation greatly affects people's lives. They often experience lower back pain. In severe cases, they cannot even work normally or walk. Some people choose yoga to relieve lower back pain. At that time, yoga movements are relatively slow and gentle. So, is yoga suitable for people with lumbar disc herniation? Let’s find out together.

The most annoying symptom of lumbar disc herniation is lower back pain. Some people believe that yoga can exercise the body and strengthen muscles, and is suitable for daily exercise for patients with lumbar disc herniation. In fact, this is not the case. Yoga has various different movements, some of which can relieve low back pain, while others will damage the lumbar muscles.

There is no one-size-fits-all method for practicing yoga poses. It is necessary to focus on practicing the weaker side based on the strength of the patient's spinal flexors and extensors, the degree of lumbar lordosis, and the patient's symptoms (whether it is pain in forward bending or backward bending).

At the same time, special attention should be paid to the training of the waist and back muscles, which is one of the important exercises to maintain the stability of the lumbar spine. Strengthening the training of the waist and back muscles can help maintain and enhance the stability of the lumbar spine, thereby delaying the process of lumbar strain and degeneration, and can effectively prevent the occurrence of acute and chronic lumbar injuries and low back pain. This is especially important for people who have had acute or chronic lumbar muscle injuries, lumbar myofasciitis, lumbar muscle strain or lumbar disc herniation and are currently in remission to prevent recurrence of the disease. People who rest in bed or wear a waist belt for treatment due to low back and leg pain have inactive and unstressed waists, which can cause disuse atrophy and weakness of the lumbar muscles in the long run. Therefore, training of the lumbar and back muscles should also be strengthened.

During the acute phase, the patient should lie face down on a hard bed and rest in the crocodile position for a prolonged period of time to reduce disc strain and nerve damage, provide pain relief, and promote healing and recovery. Prone poses and fish poses can be used in the acute setting to relieve pain, followed by as much complete, quiet rest as possible.

The above is all about whether yoga is suitable for people with lumbar disc herniation. According to the above introduction, we know that lumbar disc herniation can be helped to recover through yoga, but due to the particularity of lumbar disc herniation, patients must adopt appropriate yoga movements and cannot choose them at will. Therefore, it is best to do it under the guidance of a professional yoga teacher, so that the effect will be better.