Pilates/Yoga - Back Problems

[FrostyBoy]

Do any of you have a back problem?

Since I was 7 or 8, I have been crouching close to the TV screen with my Atari, then crouching on a chair with the Amiga and then the PC.

And because of this, I have developed a small hunch, it's not a really bad one, but its still difficult for me to hold my self up straight in a comfortable position.


So I have started looking at doing some Yoga/Pilates exercises for back problems specifically. Has anyone tried this? Is it worth the time?


Personally, I believe we are all sitting at computer desks incorrectly. We should all be lying down in a unfolded chair, which you rest on, and the monitor is tilted over your head facing directly where you are looking. The mouse placed on a platform on the right (or left) armchair and the keyboard placed over you, "hovering" above your waiste or just below it.

Getting off the chair should be as easy as leaning forward, and as you do this, the keyboard will swing away automatically and the monitor pull back out of your way (so you don't bump your head).

This of course will be available in 5-10 years time, and I know this because I recently took a vacation to the near future last week.

[Provost Harrison]

You just need a chair with good support...although saying that I rarely sit down at the computer for that long in one session, I usually end up moving about and doing something else inbetween...whether at home or in the lab...

[Urban Ranger]

I don't think you have a back problem, it's just bad posture.

Try to take a break for a minute or two for every hour you sit in front of a computer and stretch out a bit.

[FrostyBoy]

Good idea

[Rufus T. Firefly]

My wife's great-aunt was nearly bent double from a lifetime of bad posture + osteoperosis. Then she did pilates, and now has great posture (and is much taller). That's all I know about pilates, but I was impressed with the results in that one case.

[Footie Mad]

Do some weight lifting instead.

[Alexander's Horse]

I had a woman walk on my back on the weekend, still got what feels like a footprint on my kidney, but my back is great

[Wraith]

--"So I have started looking at doing some Yoga/Pilates exercises for back problems specifically. Has anyone tried this? Is it worth the time?"

I haven't ever had any real back problems, but I did Pilates for a couple years (until they moved to a much, much more inconvenient location, and I changed jobs to one with a rather different schedule).

Some people have mentioned that you probably just have a posture problem, and I can say I did as well. Pilates definitely improved my posture noticeably. I drive a Honda Civic, and before I never had a problem with headroom. After doing Pilates for a while I realized just how little headroom there is in that car...

The key point will be to find a good instructor. As with anything, they vary greatly, from the hacks to the masters. I was lucky enough to find a really good instructor.

You don't really need an instructor for pilates if you don't want. It is something you can do yourself, with nothing more than a mat to work on. There is specialized equipment, but it isn't required.
In fact, your best bet is to start by attending or observing a couple mat classes with the instructor. Private sessions are great, but they'll cost. Be wary of any instructor who tries to go all new age or mystic on you.

Wraith
It's fine in practice, but it will never work in theory!

[FrostyBoy]

How many hours would you do pilates a week?

[Kassiopeia]

I've had back problems brought by very bad posture. I did Pilates or, rather, a really elementary version of it that was basically just a series of various exercises two times a day for maybe five to ten minutes per session. After a year the pain had mostly gone away (although my posture hadn't really improved), but then I moved off to uni and never got my exercise rhythm back, and the pain is creeping back in. Yeah, I'm a lazy bum.

[Wraith]

--"How many hours would you do pilates a week?"

I was doing two half-hour (IIRC) mat classes a week. It doesn't take much as long you don't have any existing issues, and just posture isn't that big a deal. As long as you get an exercise mat you can do it yourself once you get the basic stretches down.

My instructor recommended The Pilates Body by Brooke Siler as a good book to look at. It covers basic through advanced stretches, although you'll want someone to be checking your form.

I'm starting to think I should try starting back up. It looks like the place I was going has weekend classes now, so that'd make it a lot easier to get to. Hmm.

Wraith
"Life is not all thorns and singing vultures."
- Morticia Addams

[Sikander]

Sit on a stool / chair with no back, or don't use the back. Sit in the "horse" stance (toes pointed forward feet about shoulder width apart). Keep your back straight, but don't lock it in position. This will help your back and keep you more alert as you sit at the computer. If you aren't fit you probably won't be able to sit like this constantly, but using it to give your back a break from bad posture helps to reduce the negative effects of sitting for long periods.

[Provost Harrison]

I remember it was the Romans who first invented pilates...they called it pontius pilates