Joy Anderson on Yoga for Back Pain London
Joy Anderson on Yoga for Back Pain
2008 Author: Joy Anderson
Joy Anderson shares her experience of yoga.
The government has recently begun promoting the concept of wellness and activity as a way of getting people back to work. Gordon Brown has made bold statements about government health strategies, pledging that
| “The NHS of the future will do more than just treat patients who are ill – it will be an NHS offering prevention as well”. |
Secretary of State for Health Alan Johnson, in his speech to the British Heart Foundation on 20 February 2008, cited government figures showing that back pain costs employers £600m a year, with sufferers of persistent back problems on average taking 17 days sick leave per year. Return to work figures show that, of those who are signed off for up to six months, only 50% return to work. That figure decreases to 25% for those signed off between six months and one year.
The Department of Health (1998) reported that:
- 40% of adults had suffered from back pain for more than one day in the last 12 months
- 15% were in pain throughout the year
- 13% of back pain sufferers aged 16-64 had been unemployed in the previous month due to back pain.
Chronic back pain sufferers would probably give anything to ease the pain and discomfort, and return to an active pain free life.
As someone who has suffered debilitating back pain, I’ve tried a multitude of treatments and ‘gizmos.’ Mostly the impact was negligible, very short lived or expensive (my bank balance plummeted with the cost of it all!). My GP could only suggest surgery, bedrest, painkillers and resigning myself to the futility of it all. Twenty years later I’m not only fully recovered but also fitter than ever. During the same time period the medical profession has rejected prolonged bed rest. However, the treatments offered tend to be the same: anti-inflammatory drugs, pain relief, surgery and limited physiotherapy.
One can see why returning to work is so difficult. The constant pain, discomfort and loss of mobility can be overwhelming. Back pain sufferers often give up exercise because it is too painful, so they become overweight, which exacerbates the condition. This cyclical process of depression and loss of self-esteem can be extremely detrimental and is often compounded by long periods of unemployment.
As a yoga teacher with 20 years experience, I am convinced that the best treatment for back pain is yoga, in particularly yoga that is influenced by Vanda Scaravelli, author of 'Awakening the Spine'. Although there are many wonderful schools of yoga, some approaches would be too rigorous for someone with a back injury. The late Vanda Scaravelli was a famous Italian teacher. After many years of studying with BKS Iyengar, she developed an approach to yoga that uses the breath to stretch out the body and facilitate soft, flexible but strong postures. She found a way of using the body&rsq...