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About Using a Yoga Ball for Back Pain

Exercise balls are used for all types of physical fitness including yoga, aerobics and physical therapy. But you can also use a yoga ball to help relieve your back pain. It works to help stabilize your lower back and provide strength to your "core" muscles or those muscles that include your abdomen and back, so you can stand taller and find relief from your back pain problems.

  1. Why Yoga Ball Use Helps Back Pain

    • The very nature of a yoga ball is unstable. When you sit on the ball, your body works to maintain balance, forcing you to flex and tense various muscles at all times. These movements tone and shape your abdominal and back muscles, giving your body the strength it needs to support your spine and reduce back pain.

    How It Helps

    • Using a yoga ball to help back pain is especially effective because it's very simple to use. Just the subtle rocking back and forth motion on the ball can relieve tension in your muscles. This exercise tool helps to build strength and expand the range of motion in your back and spine. You will be able to maintain good posture due to this increased strength and will place less strain on the surrounding muscles of the back.

    How Yoga Balls Can Be Used

    • Now that you know the benefits of using a yoga ball to help ease back pain, let's discuss the ways this tool can be used. First, it can help you learn how to hold your body in erect posture. It can also help you to improve balance and control your core muscles. What's perhaps even more important is its ability to help you learn to lift with your knees to avoid future back injuries.

    Simple Ways to Use a Yoga Ball

    • Using a yoga ball every day is your best option for easing your pain. One way you can do this is to stand with an exercise ball behind your back and resting against a wall. It should be positioned at the small of your back. Then, squat down so that your knees are in line with your toes. The ball should roll up your back and help you keep proper posture. However, don't lean against the ball. This can be done five times and should help you find the best way to hold your body.

    Warnings

    • Before using a yoga ball to find back pain relief, you should consult with your doctor about your exercise limitations and if you need to take any special precautions. Read the instructions that come with your yoga ball and follow them. For instance, the ball needs to be inflated to a particular size depending on the model you purchase. Be mindful not to overdo the exercises at first, as your back muscles are weak. The last thing you want to do is cause further injury or unnecessary stress.

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