A pinched nerve can cause pain, tingling and numbness in such areas as your neck, back, arms and hands. Although surgery and medications are sometimes prescribed, they can be expensive and come with many side effects. A noninvasive therapy such as yoga may be an option for you. Consult with your physician before starting any new exercise program.
Identification
Yoga has been used by people around the world for a variety of medical conditions, including symptoms of a pinched nerve. When a nerve is compressed, or pinched, the flow of nerve cells and fluids becomes blocked, and the cells can no longer transmit electrical charges. This may cause the nerve fibers to die, leaving muscles and skin feeling numb or tingly, or it may induce pain. Pinched nerves are usually caused by herniated discs, bone spurs or inflammation.
Yoga for Relief
Proponents and practitioners of yoga note that it requires you to hold poses for a period, which helps strengthen your muscles. This in turn will help you maintain a proper upright posture and prevent herniated discs, one of the causes of pinched nerves in the back. Yoga also involves a lot of stretching of various muscles, increasing blood flow to your nerves, muscles and soft tissues. Improved circulation can promote your body's own healing properties, such the ability to fight inflammation.
Expert Insight
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia studied patients with carpal tunnel syndrome, a condition that increases the pressure on nerves between the bones of your wrist. The subjects were divided into two groups, a control, who didn't exercise but were allowed to use hand splints, and a group who participated in one-hour yoga sessions, twice a week for eight weeks. The results, published in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" in November 1998, showed that the yoga group had more improvement in grip strength and pain reduction than the non-yoga group, which lasted up to four weeks after concluding the program. Another trial at the University of Washington in Seattle published results in the December 2005 "Annals of Internal Medicine" demonstrating that after 26 weeks, patients who took yoga had less pain and better back function than a control.
Considerations
Although yoga is safe in most cases, you should check with your health care provider before starting a yoga program if you're suffering from acute pain and numbness, or if you have balance problems, uncontrolled high blood pressure, glaucoma, osteoporosis or artificial joints. Julie Gudmestad, of "Yoga Journal" also cautions that hyperextending your neck can put pressure on your vertebral arteries and reduce blood circulation to your brain, causing dizziness or loss of consciousness. You should find a certified yoga instructor knowledgeable about pinched nerve conditions to help design a program right for you.
References
- National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Yoga
- MayoClinic.com: Yoga: Tap Into the Many Health Benefits
- "Yoga Journal": Forbidden Territory
- Spine Universe: Why Pinched Nerves Cause Back and Neck Pain; Brandon J. Luskin, M.D.
- "Journal of the American Medical Association"; Yoga-Based Intervention for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome ... ; M.S. Garfinkel et al.; November 1998
