Yoga for Pain Control
Yoga is an
ancient Indian Practice combining stretching,
breathing exercises, maintaining certain postures
and meditations. Yoga therapy aims at a holistic
treatment of various physical and psychological
ailments such as back problems and emotional
distress.
Yoga for Chronic Pain
Chronic pain is a life changing
event. With arthritis, back pain, and joint pain
wrecking millions of people, pain relieving
medication shelves are kept in a constant cycle of
removing and re-shelving. Simple finger joint pain
can leave a person with their strength depleted
along with a lack of energy, anxiety, and other
mental issues. By using yoga techniques for pain
relief, medication can be decreased and a
healthy, optimistic outlook resumed.
Relaxation and Meditation Exercises
One of the most popular ways of managing
chronic pain with yoga is relaxation and meditation
exercises.
These activities serve three purposes:
-
to release thoughts of
pain
-
to reducing the tension
that comes in reaction to pain
-
to adapt to the pain and
redirect your attention towards ignoring it
rather than resisting it.
Scientific Evidence of Yoga Benefit
With scientific evidence, yoga has been proven
to relieve chronic pain because it plays a role
in expediting the body's ability to release
natural painkillers throughout the body.
Every yoga exhale helps to relax and muscles which
reduces tension. By doing controlled breathing
exercises, you are helping to keep tension off the
muscles – a natural response to pressurized lungs,
at least temporarily.
Yoga Helps Prevent Chronic Pain
Yoga can also help chronic pain by
preventing it in the first place. One
debilitating condition, back pain, can be
helped with yoga which boosts strength to the
back's major muscle groups. With constant
repetition of these positions, it can work your
abdominal muscles as well. When abdominal and back
muscles are concentrated on at the same time, it
works towards strengthening your muscular framework,
your inner core, which means better posture
that leads to reduced back pain.
Many football and basketball athletes are known
to implement yoga into their workout regimens. It is
as much a preventive measure as a proactive measure
in eliminating the chance of chronic pain.
Another condition that could rock your senses is
knee pain. With a wide spectrum of accidents
and injuries caused by sports and old age, the knees
can really take the pounding. Constant stiffness
and swelling might contribute to knee pain.
Yoga Exercises for Knee Pain
Yoga exercises known as asanas
can be used to build strength and flexibility in
the joints to better the pain. Specifically, it
helps to build both the inner and outer quadriceps
which is necessary in supporting the kneecaps and
keeping them in alignment.
Those suffering from osteoporosis can take heed.
Yoga poses cause body parts to be squeezed
and released which sends a consistent flow of
blood to the region that was worked by the
posture.
Remember, the knees affect the ways we stand and
walk. Poor posture and uneven weight distribution
on the knees can be worsened by weak inner
quadriceps and a weak outer quadriceps.
Yoga helps to restore this imbalance and
correct this incorrect posture by strengthening the
legs. If you decide to use yoga to heal chronic
pain, make sure you do it in front of a qualified
yoga instructor to begin. In addition, consult your
doctor to see if this is the best course of action.
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