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Low Back Pain

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Thai massage is the best bodywork for dealing with low back pain in my experience. I spent years doing table work to little effect on low back issues but when I learned Thai massage and started using it, low back pain clients glommed onto me in a way that I found puzzling at first. I didn’t realize exactly why it made such a difference but over time it became clear.

People usually feel pain right in the center of their low back, some describe it as a band across the low back and others often describe feeling pain running down their legs they call sciatica. Where they point to, isn’t where the problem is. That is why Thai massage is so effective in dealing with low back pain, it goes to the source.

The source of most low back pain comes from the hamstrings, the glutes and the pelvic bowl in my experience. What is Thai massage really great at accessing? All of those just listed. I’ve seen it so many times there’s a pattern that is ingrained in the way I look at posture.

The video shows a simple way of stretching your hamstrings while in an chair at your office. It’s a good start but long term, get regular Thai massage and start taking yoga classes. Trust me, I’ve learned a lot in the past 11 or so years.

Seated Forward Bend

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Seated forward bend or paschimottanasana is a safe pose to practice regularly. The primary precaution as in standing forward bend is being careful with the lumbar spine. The pose is a deep forward bend and one must be careful not to strain the lumbar musculature in addition to herniating discs from posterior pressure.

To safely practice the pose, you’re working on stretching the hamstrings: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris to be exact. You can bend your knees as much as you want but slowly engage the quadriceps and lift the kneecaps. This beginning of lengthening the legs and straightening them will give you the tension to need to begin opening those deep tight hamstring muscles.

The strap shown allows one to focus on opening the calves and achilles tendons. The additional grip with the hands also allows more pull, a pull that’ll slowly allow you to lengthen the hamstrings and begin lengthening the spine. Always remember in forward bends, the pressure is in the backs of the legs, no sharp pain is felt behind the knees and you allow the hamstrings to open slowly as you breathe. Only then do you allow the spine to fall open and begin tractioning the spine.