Well, if most back pain is caused by bending forward and pushing your discs back causing gel to get in the crack of your disc, you can relieve back pain by bending backward and pushing your discs forward. One of the best stretches to help you do this is a yoga position called Cobra (In Physical Therapy, we call it the Press-Up Stretch). Cobra is done by lying flat on your stomach, keeping your hips down, and extending your elbows and lifting your head and chest up and off the floor.
A good way to visualize what Cobra does would be to compare the process to healing a cut on one of your knuckles. Every time you bend your finger forward you open the cut; just like every time you bend your back forward you open the crack even more. However, if you keep bending backwards and you avoid bending forward too often, your disc’s crack will start to heal just like a cut on your knuckle would.
Tips and Tricks for Doing Cobra
- If you feel pain when you reach the top of the position, don’t worry! As long as you come back to the ground and lay flat the pain will be relieved.
- Because you bend forward so much each day, you have to do Cobra ten times every hour before you see results
- Avoid bending forward like it’s the plague! Keep your lower back arched and push up.
Recent Comments