Back pain is a common health issue in the modern day life. Survey indicates that about 70 percentage of population suffer from back pain at least once during their lives. It is the pain felt in back that usually originates from muscles, nerves, bones, joints or other structures in the spine. Men and women are equally affected.

According to Ayurvedic science, Back pain is understood as Kati shoola. Kati refers to ‘low back ‘and shoola refers’ pain’. Vata is the predominant dosha causing these conditions. The cardinal symptom of vitiation of this dosha is pain.

Symptoms of Back pain

• Muscle ache
• Shooting or stabbing pain
• Pain that radiates down to hip- buttock-leg
• Pain that worsens with bending, lifting, standing or walking.
• Pain that improves with reclining
• Tingling sensation or numbness

Causes of Back pain

• Muscle or ligament strain
• Repeated heavy weight lifts or sudden movements or postural irregularities may strain muscles and spinal ligaments. Constant strain on back may cause painful muscle spasm.
• Bulging or ruptured disc
• Discs act as a cushion between the bones in the spine. Sometimes soft material in the disc may bulge or rupture and press on a nerve.
• Spinal degeneration - arthritis
• Degeneration of disc can leads to narrowing of the spinal canal. Osteoarthritis also can affect the spine that leads to narrowing of space around the spinal cord resulting in back pain.
• Skeletal irregularities
• Back pain can occur if your spine curves in an abnormal way. Scoliosis is a condition in which spine curves to the side.
• Osteoporosis
• Spine vertebrae can develop compression fracture if bones become porous and brittle.
• Other causes for back pain can be,
• Pelvic inflammatory diseases (Inflammation in the cervix or mouth of the uterus).
• Leucorrhoea, other vaginal infections.
• Renal calculi (Stones in the urinary tract)
• Chronic cystitis (Inflammation in the urinary bladder)
• Constipation
• Anaemia
• Tuberculosis (of spine)

Risk factors of Back pain

• Age - Back pain is common as you get aged.
• Excess weight - excess body weight put extra stress on your back.
• Lack of exercise - Weak, unused muscles in back and abdomen might lead to back pain.
• Previous Injuries to your back tends to increase the risk of developing back pain.
• Improper lifting - Using back instead legs can lead to back pain.
• Certain jobs - Physically demanding jobs or jobs that require repetitive stress on back can increase your chance of developing the disease.
• Poor posture may also play an important role in spinal changes.
• Smoking can reduce blood flow to the spine and also slow healing.

Modern perspective- management of Back pain

• OTC Pain relievers - Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) Muscle relaxants
• Topical pain relievers
• Narcotics
• Antidepressants
• Injections
• Physical therapy and exercise
• Surgery

Ayurvedic treatment for Back pain

Back pain is understood as Kati shoola. Kati refers to ‘low back ‘and shoola refers’ pain’. Vata is the predominant dosha causing these conditions. The cardinal symptom of vitiation of this dosha is pain. Treatment for back pain is planned according to the presentation of dosha predominance and underlying causes. Treatment includes internal medications and external herbal application. Panchakarma procedures like Snehapana, abhyanga, swedana, vasti, elakizhi, podi kizhi, njavarakizhi, kati vasti , kati pichu, etc are done according to the severity of the disease.

At Amala, we provide effective treatment for back pain considering the dosa predominance, severity and nature of the disease. Healthy lifestyle and dietary modifications are also advised to prevent the further vitiation of doshas.

Diet in Back pain

• Have wholesome diet - wheat, red rice, black gram, drumstick, snake gourd, garlic, ghee
• Food items that have sour, sweet taste are recommended.
• Avoid cold and beverages.
• Lifestyle in Back pain
• Sit straight - It helps in the uniform distribution of body weight through the length of the spine and helps to decreasing extra tension on low back.
• Maintain proper sitting posture while working on computers and laptops.
• Avoid long distance travelling on two wheeler.
• Exercise regularly
• Build muscle strength and flexibility
• If you already have back pain and need to sit for long time, use lumbar belt around your lower back.
• While lifting heavy weight, don’t bend from waist/back. Bend on your knees and squat, hold your object close to your body as you stand up. Don’t twist your body.
• Sleep in regular surface. Use slightly hard bed (neither too hard nor very soft)
• Maintain a healthy body weight
• Avoid high heels
• Quit smoking

Best Yoga postures for Back pain

Yoga can offer a great relief for the pain, as well as provide great preventative care for the future. Yoga helps to strengthen both abdominal and back muscles and to get relief from stiffness and pain in low back.

• Half waist wheel pose (Ardhakati chakrasana)
• Half wheel pose (Ardha chakrasana)
• Cobra pose (Bhujangasana)
• Half spinal twist pose (vakrasana)
• Camel pose (Ushtrasana)