Yoga and lower back pain: when it can help and how to practise safely

What the evidence says

The Cochrane review of yoga for chronic non-specific lower back pain, which brought together trials with more than a thousand participants, found that yoga can produce small improvements in back function and pain in the short and medium term compared with no exercise, and results similar to other therapeutic exercise programmes. In other words: moving mindfully helps, and yoga is a good way to do it.

How to practise yoga if your back hurts

• Start with gentle spinal mobility in every direction: flexion, extension, side bending and rotation, without chasing maximum range.
• Include strength: the glutes, deep abdominals and back support the lower back.
• Breathe: slow, full breathing reduces protective muscle tension.
• Use props (blocks, cushions, blankets) without hesitation: they adapt the posture to your body, not the other way round.
• Avoid forcing deep forward bends with straight legs or intense twists at first.
• Rule of thumb: mild discomfort that doesn't increase and goes away when you finish is usually fine; pain that grows or persists is not.

Four gentle movements to get started

• Cat-cow on all fours, slowly and with the breath.
• Glute bridge, rolling up vertebra by vertebra.
• Child's pose with knees apart and a cushion under your chest.
• Gentle rotations lying on your back with knees bent.

When to check first

Get a medical assessment before starting if the pain appeared after a blow or fall, radiates down the leg with tingling or loss of strength, comes with fever or unexplained weight loss, or if you notice changes when urinating. In those cases yoga can come later, when a professional advises it.

INNER Yoga

At INNER, yoga is mindful movement: we adapt each posture to the person, combine mobility, strength and breathing, and work in small groups or one-to-one sessions, in Sarrià, Sant Gervasi and Pedralbes or online.

This content is for general information and does not replace an assessment by a healthcare professional. If you have pain or an injury, are pregnant or have recently given birth, check with your doctor or physiotherapist first.