How to Relieve Back Pain With Taiji

One of the most common causes of back pain iswhilst you are doing the form. The body will
poor posture. The body gets used to being held innaturally relax in stages, because relaxation in one
a certain position, one that puts a lot of pressurepart of the body must be accompanied by
on one part of the spine, typically the lumbaradjustments everywhere else. Practitioners of
spine, and, over time the strain develops into aTaijiquan typically report the process of relaxation
musculo-skeletal problem resulting in acute pain.taking place over a period of months or years.
By the time back pain becomes a problem, theThis stands to figure as the body cannot let go of
postural problems are most probably in a chronicthe tension built up over a period of years in a
phase. The body's muscle memory has got somatter of weeks.
used to holding the body in that poor posture thatIt is important to note that relaxation of the big
the body thinks that that is a normal state to besupporting muscles of the body allows more of
in. You might even think that that's a normal statethe muscles of the core to work together to help
for the body and spine to be in, having got usedsupport you, thus resulting in a lower weight load
to it over a period of years.for each muscle on average. It is this that will
The body's muscles need to be re-trained to holdallow you more flexibility in your spine and more
the body in the correct posture, and this correctrange of motion, which will allow you to achieve
posture will relieve a lot of back pain because abetter alignment and relieve yourself of back pain.
correctly aligned spine will be carrying the body'sMassage and chiropractors are good solutions to
weight the way it was designed to.acute back pain, but if the body is not somehow
Regular practise of Taijiquan helps to relieve there-trained to support itself properly the
stress on the spine and its supporting muscles.misalignment and poor posture will remain, and this
Relaxation and correct alignment re-train thewill inevitably cause more back pain in the future.
body's supporting muscles. Emphasis is placed onRegular practise of Taijiquan, even just 10
alignment and relaxation. Both are needed to startminutes a day is sufficient to begin this process.
the process of re-training the body to hold itselfRegular practise is proven to me much more
correctly. Relaxation allows the back and spine toeffective than concentrated bursts of an hour
be more mobile, thus relieving pressure on theonce a week. This is because the body needs to
vertebrae and discs which helps prevent discsdevelop new supporting habits and new ways of
from slipping. The muscular relaxation alsocoordinating itself, and regularity is the way to
prevents muscles from becoming over-stresseddevelop habit.
from having to carry too much tension.One does not need to be a Taijiquan master to
Once the body starts to relax, the body can thenrelieve one's back pain. I managed to get some
change its alignment as the added range ofvery good results just knowing the first section
motion will make the muscles and skeleton slightlyof the Yang Taiji 24 form. For a long time that
more malleable allowing the spine to move intowas all I really practised, because I was getting
the correct shape to carry the body.such good results and back pain relief.
Taijquan form is very slow, gentle andSo, if you can set aside 10 minutes a day to
low-impact, so the gentle flex and twists in thepractise a bit of Taijiquan form, you can help your
form will gradually work the large supportingback heal. This process is also like pushing a
muscles of the core, perturbing them as it weresnowball, it will accelerate the more you practise
and allowing them to relax temporarily as otherbecause relaxation begets more relaxation and
muscles take over the job of supporting the bodyhealing.