California
If you’re in southern California and are looking for excellent yoga instruction with a focus on alleviating back pain, seek out classes with Roger Cole at Yoga Del Mar, just north of San Diego. On his website, he also posts workshops that he offers out-of-state throughout the year.
Read Cole’s article posted on the Yoga Journal, titled “Back on Track: 5 Daily Poses to Ease Back Pain“
Watch this video from the American College of Physicians (ACP) and the Annals of Internal Medicine about how yoga can effectively treat chronic low back pain:
Before you decide that the skeleton has limitations, watch some of the incredible things the human body can do in “Duo de Paradis,” in a contemporary French cabaret show.
If you have back pain and an interest in yoga, Iyengar is for you. The website for the Iyengar Yoga National Association of the United States provides information on the Iyengar method as well as histories of its creators and developers (B.K.S. Iyengar is apparently known as the “Michelangelo of yoga”), research on the body and its interaction with yoga, information on Iyengar teacher certification and evaluation, links to books and articles, and a teacher search function. Iyengar yoga aims to adjust poses and practices to the individual, and to teach in stages, starting with standing poses for beginners and moving on from there to more complex poses and flows. Emphasis is on accessibility of yoga to everyone, regardless of age, physical condition, or mental and emotional state. Read an article about how Iyengar views the spine here.
For more information about the benefits of Iyengar yoga for low back pain, read this article published in the International Journal of Yoga Therapy, called “Therapeutic Application of Iyengar Yoga for Healing Chronic Low Back Pain.” And check out Yoga for Healthy Lower Backs, based off of research by the University of York.
California
The American Viniyoga Institute is the union of practitioners and institutions that base their practice in Viniyoga. As the site explains it, Viniyoga is “a comprehensive and authentic transmission of the teachings of yoga including asana, pranayama, bandha, sound, chanting, meditation, personal ritual and study of texts. Viniyoga (prefixes vi and ni plus yoga) is an ancient Sanskrit term that implies differentiation, adaptation, and appropriate application.” Gary Kraftsow developed the institute in order to tailor different methods and practices in yoga to individuals’ specific needs and conditions with a focus on back pain. The institute is based in Oakland, CA, but you can search for a teacher or therapist anywhere through the AVI website’s directory here.
The Alexander Technique is an all-purpose postural approach that aims to help you lose the undesirable or uncomfortable physical habits you have developed in your life. It’s most appropriate for strain or injury, back and neck stiffness, discomfort in sitting and other physical positions, and particularly for professionals in physically-based activities: musicians, athletes, and dancers very often turn to the Alexander Technique to help them perform optimally.
This website explains the method, offers different applications of the method depending on your condition, provides research and endorsement information, and hosts a huge number of links to different practitioners and courses available worldwide. There is also a site specifically dedicated to the Alexander Technique International, which also offers information on a number of books and audiobooks, periodicals, and dissertations on the technique. Search by country or for specific practitioners here.
The following is a two-part video created by the British Medical Journal about the Alexander Technique:
New York
The Feldenkrais Method is a postural approach that, by employing exercises in movement and encouraging the mind to reconnect with the body, helps individuals restore better physical function. Through the website you can search for practitioners and classes across the United States. Courses offered are either part of their “Awareness Through Movement” therapy, in which patients are guided verbally through sequences of motion and exercise, or part of the “Functional Integration” program, in which practitioners guide participants through movements with gentle, non-invasive touching.
You can also find information and excellent course selections at the New York Feldenkrais Institute, which has Feldenkrais superstar Marek Wyszynski on staff – and Wyszynski is also president of another NY-based Feldenkrais institution, Physical Therapy & Feldenkrais NYC.
Watch this video (or watch below) on “How The Nervous System Senses Differences,” presented at the Feldenkrais Institute of New York.
Colorado
The Rolf Institute of Structural Integration is the official institution of the postural approach called “Rolfing,” developed by Ida P. Rolf. Rolf founded the institute in 1971, and it is located in Boulder, CO. Its website offers information on Rolfing as well as a comprehensive catalogue of certified Rolfers through a search function, if you can’t attend classes at the Institute itself in Colorado. (Note: there are more Rolfers than will appear on the RSI site, however; the site displays practitioners who have paid to be advertised there.)
East Midlands, United Kingdom
If the location makes sense for you, consider the RealHealth Institute, located in the East Midlands of the UK, with locations soon to come in London. The institute offers non-surgical treatment options, with an intensive treatment program for the treatment of persistent pain as well as a functional restoration program geared toward recovery from a more specific injury.
New Hampshire
This functional restoration program in Lebanon, NH is provided by the Spine Center of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock network of health programs in northern New England, and led by Dr. Rowland Hazard, one of the leaders in functional restoration. The goal of their rehabilitation program is to limit the need for more spine surgeries and instead help patients develop the tools to return to functional lives at home and work alike.
Massachusetts, Minnesota
The Spine Center at NEBH specializes in evaluation, treatment and management of spine disorders. Dr. James Rainville leads an internationally-recognized exercise-based “boot camp” program.
Here’s a midwestern program based on James Rainville’s protocol.
Read an article featuring Carol Hartigan from the New England Baptist Hospital about hitting the weights.
From a website specifically devoted to Safe Spine Surgery, here is a list of twelve questions you should definitely ask before deciding to undergo invasive treatment.
Here’s a list of red flags meant to let you know whether it’s time to say goodbye to your prospective spine surgeon. (Some warning signs are obvious; many less so.)
If you’re considering becoming a patient of a new physician, visit the Certification Matters website to find out whether they have been certified by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS).
Florida
The Ergonomics Program in Back Pain at the Rosomoff Comprehensive Rehabilitation Center offers personalized health services to individuals suffering from a range of musculoskeletal disorders, with a focus on back pain prevention and treatment.
Illinois
Each year, the American Pain Society gives a Clinical Center of Excellence in Pain Management Award to five or so pain management facilities around the country. The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago was a winner in 2009, the third year of the annual awards. You can find practitioners, locations, and information on different conditions and how the RIC can treat them. Their Center for Pain Management has a number of excellent programs to treat chronic pain, involving long-term strategies for developing a healthy, balanced, and active lifestyle.
Barry Meier, a reporter for the New York Times, has written several important and enlightening books on the topic of painkillers, including Painkiller: A “Wonder” Drug’s Trail of Addiction and Death and A World of Hurt: Fixing Pain Medicine’s Biggest Mistake.
Washington
The Washington State Agency Medical Directors website harbors some progressive thinking on the matter of dealing with dependency on opioid painkillers. It’s kind of technical, but worth inspecting. While you’re on the site, click on the PDF called Cautious, Evidence-Based Opioid Prescribing.
California
Penney Cowan, the founder and director of the American Chronic Pain Association, provides a constructive, non-opioid painkiller perspective for patients here.
Missouri
I met Dr. Heidi Prather, D.O., Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Neurology and Co-Director Director of Orthopaedic Spine Center at Washington University School of Medicine, at a spine surgery conference where many of the other doctors (mostly surgeons) did everything they could to avoid me. Dr. Prather and I chatted for a couple of hours about her interests – women’s health; in particular, low back pain, radiculopathy, sacroiliac joint pain and pelvic dysfunction. A few weeks later, I had a woman call her who had been scheduled to undergo a two-level spinal fusion…but who turned out not to need any type of surgery. It can be tough to get a hold of Dr. Prather – her office tends to put people off, telling them she only sees dancers and athletes. Not true. If you’re in the St. Louis area, keep trying, because it’s worth it.
