Can anyone recommend a good Yoga or Pilates DVD to help with lower back pain? I havent done Yoga or Pilates before so I dont really know the differenc or benefits except that I know people who have done it and it helped. I lower back pains mainly from riding long distances, I want to get rid of or minimize the pains before I start training for IMOO 06. Thanks!
Chances are your core is too weak to keep up with your physical demands, so seeking out yoga and Pilates is a good thing. I would recommend doing BOTH.
I’m not into videos, so I can’t really recommend any. I just do classes and solo sessions with books as references. I’ve been loving the solo sessions lately as they allow me to totally tune into my body. Whatever you do, consistency will deliver the results.
There are a lot of different types of yoga but they mostly tend to focus on flexibility and isometric strength (and some classes are more core-intensive than others.) Pilates tends to focus more on hip and abdominal strength and less so on flexibility. While Yoga, Pilates, and core strengthening are generally good ideas, it would help to know the cause of your back pain. I’ve been struggling with low back pain this season after a couple of long MTB races w/ too low of a h-bar position. In my case I already had a strong core and had been doing yoga consistently for a couple months before I started having the issue. I didn’t need additional strength or flexibility; instead my psoas muscles needed to relax and stop contracting. A couple of targeted massage sessions and icing front and back really helped. You might consider starting with a PT session or massage to try to understand the root cause of the issue. Then you’ll better understand how to treat it.