Whether you’re beat from a workout or bent out of shape from your desk job, practicing yoga could help calm your back pain, say German researchers.
Up to 85 percent of Americans are afflicted by lower back pain, according to the Clinical Journal of Pain. While most alignment ailments tend to resolve with rest, these injuries still put you at high risk for a chronic condition, and possibly a serious disability. So researchers analyzed multiple studies to determine the effects of yoga on this common injury and found that the activity helped people ease both short- and long-term discomfort.
If yoga isn’t on your “to-do list,” you may want to reconsider. Twenty percent of the 15 million American adults that regularly practice this ancient discipline do so specifically to ease their spinal woes. Not sure you’re ready to show off your Downward Dog in public? No problem. Check out the Men’s Health Yoga Center for some pro athlete-approved positions you can practice in private.
One word of caution: Back pain can be serious business—get approval from your doctor before starting any type of new exercise.
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