UNDERSTANDING BACK PAIN

A. INTRODUCTION

Most of us have suffered from backache at some time or other in our lifetime. Usually it is unpleasant and awkward, but not a desperate and serious problem. The commonest type of back pain is caused by some kind of mechanical stress or damage within the back which gets better fairly quickly. Poor posture, excessive stresses (physical and psychological), aging problems and mechanical damage may all contribute to back pain.

We should not be surprised that backache is so common when we understand the highly complex mechanics involved in the functioning of the spinal column. Since man became a biped, the centre of gravity has become narrowed to a small zone (the area of one foot ) as compared to the wide area of the centre of gravity when we were four legged animals. The brunt of the weight of entire body has to be borne by the spinal column. While having to do this the spinal column also has to allow for enormous degree of flexibility. This is ensured by a highly complex organization of various anatomical structures such as bones, discs, ligaments, tendons, nerves, blood vessels and strong muscles. Any one of these structures could be injured or affected by diseases or subjected to exessive stresses and strains thus contributing to pain in most mobile parts of the spine namely the neck and the lumbar region.

This book is designed for persons with back pain and yoga therapists. It aims to