Chronic Low Back Pain in Older Adults: Causes & Holistic Treatment Options
"What can I do about my bad back?"
This is one of the most common questions I am asked as a chair yoga instructor for older adults, and it makes sense. It is estimated that anywhere from 21-75% of individuals age 60+ experience lower back pain! This is a striking figure, especially when considering that chronic low back pain can significantly detract from your independence and quality of life as a senior citizen.
So, back to the question: What can you do about your bad back?
There are an almost endless number of potential causes of chronic low back pain in older adults, which may require physical therapy, medication, or even surgery. However, outside of traditional medical interventions, there are also holistic treatment options that can help provide pain relief and reduce your risk of future injury. As a yoga teacher, that's what I plan to discuss today!
In this blog post, we'll dive deep into the following questions:
Why does the risk of chronic low back pain and conditions, such as degenerative disc disease, and lumbar spinal stenosis go up with age?
What areas of muscle tightness and weakness make you more prone to back pain?
How can your mindset increase your pain levels and keep you stuck in a cycle of chronic pain?
When do you need to seek the help of healthcare professionals for your low back pain?
What specific exercises can you do to improve posture and the health of your spine?
By the end, you'll leave with a deeper understanding of the factors that contribute to back pain in older adults. You'll be empowered with concrete actions to find pain relief. And you'll be one step closer to living life with more mental and physical ease.
Understanding back pain in older age...
General age-related changes
Decreases in bone density and joint health
First, let's review some basic anatomy. Your spine is made up of stacks of bones, called vertebrae, padded by cartilage, known as intervertebral discs. The vertebrae protect your spinal cord, and the intervertebral discs help absorb shock and facilitate movement in the spine.
At the base, your spine connects to your pelvic bones at the SI joint. Your spine and pelvic bones work together to keep your body upright. Sounds great, right? Well, there's a catch...
Bipedalism, or walking on two feet, is extremely rare in the animal kingdom. Human bipedalism, specifically, is the still imperfect result of millions of years of evolution. Our bone structure is not without its flaws, especially when considering the very recent increase in human life expectancy.
It's common knowledge that bone density decreases as we age, and it's only in the last 70 years that global average life expectancy has increased above age 50. That's barely a blink in the scale of human evolution.
The fact of the matter is that the bones that allow us to walk—to live life independently, to actively spend time with loved ones, to travel and engage with the world—are simply not built to support us for as long as we now need them to.
After the age of 50, decreases in bone density and the breakdown of cartilage between joints put older adults at a much higher risk for diseases, such as osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, disc degeneration, and lumbar spinal stenosis. But don't worry, it's not all doom and gloom!
Despite the natural degeneration of the spine, there are ways that you can take action to reduce your risk of developing chronic lower back pain or manage pain if you already have it.
Loss of muscle strength and flexibility
In addition to the age-related wear and tear on bones, our muscles also take a hit in older age. Specifically, they tend to lose strength, flexibility, and endurance. This can contribute to chronic lower back pain in a variety of ways.
First and foremost, weakness in the core muscles that support your spine and tightness in other muscles that help maintain proper pelvic alignment will lead to poor posture. On top of that, a loss of endurance in your muscle fibers can also cause you to unconsciously rely more on your joints (vertebrae and intervertebral discs) to keep you upright.
Apart from issues when trying to sit or stand straight, you'll likely have already experienced how muscle weakness and/or stiffness can restrict your movement. Inadequate levels of strength and/or flexibility can lead us to develop compensatory movement patterns that put undue strain on the lower back, leading to chronic pain.
Strong muscles also help improve our proprioception. What's that? It's our ability to know where our body is in space and control its movements without having to look at where it is.
Let's say you're sitting on the couch watching a program when your phone rings. You can easily reach over and pick up your phone without having to watch the movement of your arms or consciously decide how to move the joints in each of your fingers. That's your proprioception at work.
Maintaining adequate strength in your legs and core is essential to enhancing your ability to balance and coordinate your movements, reducing your risk of falls. Not only that, but increased muscle mass will also help reduce the chance of injury if you do fall by absorbing shock that would otherwise be transferred to your spine.
What to do?
So, I have some bad news and some good news for you.
The bad news is that there is not a whole lot you can do to increase your bone density. After around the age of 50, our existing bone density naturally starts to decrease along with our body's ability to build new bone. You can ensure proper nutrition and increase physical activity to help maintain your existing bone density, but it's hard to restore what's already been lost.
The good news is that older adults can still see significant improvement in their muscle strength and flexibility within just a few weeks of starting a regular exercise program. Focusing on strength training or gentle stretching has the potential to provide far superior benefits.
Read ahead to learn how to identify the primary culprit behind your lower back pain and the specific exercises you can do for pain management.
In short, there are many natural age-related changes in your body that can lead to chronic lower back pain. However, that doesn't mean you have to suffer. You can take health into your own hands and decide how you want to feel during the golden years of your life.
Physical culprits behind lower back pain
Lower back pain is one of the most common sources of chronic pain among the elderly. However, it is an extremely generic symptom and difficult to diagnose. Similar to how a fever alone isn't enough for a doctor to distinguish between a bacterial or viral infection.
Nevertheless, there are a few postural issues I most commonly see contribute to chronic low back pain in older adults. These problems not only put pressure on the spine in a way that can, not only cause musculoskeletal pain but can also increase the risk of injury.
Destabilization of the pelvis
The first most common posture-related cause of chronic lower back pain is a destabilized pelvis. What does that mean? Well, the pelvis can tilt forward (anterior pelvic tilt), backward (posterior pelvic tilt), or remain in a neutral position.
It is healthy and necessary for the pelvis to be able to move into all these different positions. However, excessive amounts of time spent with the pelvis in anterior or posterior tilt can increase axial load, or pressure, on the lumbar spine and lead to low back pain. There's a good chance you're not even aware of whether or not you're doing this!
To check, stand profile to a full body mirror, and compare your natural posture to the images at the top of this section. Notice whether your tailbone is scooping in or arching back excessively. You can even try moving your pelvis between anterior, posterior, and neutral tilt to get a sense of how each looks and feels in your body.
If you notice that your pelvis naturally falls in posterior pelvic tilt, tight hamstrings might be to blame! Your hamstrings start at the bottom of your pelvis, run along the backside of your tights, and end at the back of your knee joint. When they're tight, they pull the pelvis down and back into posterior pelvic tilt.
On the other hand, if your pelvis tends towards anterior pelvic tilt, you might be tight in your quadriceps and/or hip flexors. Your hip flexors originate at the lumbar vertebrae and pelvis and extend down the front of your hips to connect at your femur.
Your quads start at the front of your hips, continue down the front of your thigh, and end just below the knee. When either muscle group is overly stiff, it will create an excessive forward rotation of the pelvis.
In addition to muscle tightness, weakness in the core is a common reason why seniors may experience chronic lower back pain. The core muscles help support the spine, maintain proper posture, and coordinate movements without putting pressure on the lower back.
When we think about our "core" we often only think about our abdominals, a.k.a. our stomach muscles. However, our core also includes the muscles in our back. Specifically, maintaining adequate strength in the multifidus and erector spinae muscles is extremely important for spine health in older adults.
These muscles help extend the spine, decreasing pressure in the lower back and stabilizing individual vertebrae. This is especially important for protecting the spine during bending and twisting motions. In contrast, weakness in any of the core muscles will make it extremely difficult to maintain good posture when bending or sitting.
Finally, a lack of hip mobility is an extremely common source of low back pain in older age. Muscle tightness, inflammation of the joints and tendons, osteoarthritis, and hip replacement surgeries can all contribute to decreased hip mobility.
Having a limited range of motion through your hips can contribute to chronic low back pain by leading to compensatory movements that are unhealthy for the spine. This is especially common bending to pick something up. If you do not have adequate hip mobility, you might tilt the pelvis forward or back to compensate, increasing strain in your lower back.
Misalignment of the hips
Problems don't just occur when the hips tilt forward or back excessively. Low back pain can also present when the hips tilt unevenly to the right or left. This is called lateral misalignment of the hips and is typically the result of weakness in the hips.
Lateral misalignment creates low back pain in two main ways: 1) By creating excessive and uneven muscle strain on one side of the lower back, and 2) putting uneven pressure on the spine, increasing the risk of a herniated disc.
Let's dive in deeper and understand the mechanics.
Your outer hip muscles, a.k.a. abductors, are responsible for maintaining proper pelvic alignment during activities, such as walking and running. They prevent your hips from swaying excessively to the right or left, which would put stress on the knees. However, when your abductors are not strong enough, your tensior fasciae late (TFL) may step in to help compensate.
You can think of the TFL as a kind of mediator between the abductors and the IT band. The abductors stabilize the hips, and the IT band stabilizes the knee. The TFL sort of "holds hands" with the abductors and IT band to assist in both functions.
Here's the problem: when the abductors aren't doing their fair share, the TFL over-exerts itself to keep the hips aligned. This tension then extends from the TFL into the IT band as well. The tightness is made even worse by the fact that it tends to be lop-sided.
Usually, the hips are not equally weak on both sides, resulting in over-compensation and strain through the TFL and IT band on one side of the body more than the other. This is consequential for lower back pain, because the IT band connects to the thoracolumbar fascia and quadratus lumborum (QL).
These are found in the lower back. The thoracolumbar fascia plays a vital role in supporting the lower back muscles, transmitting force between the upper and lower body, and helping coordinate movement. The QL is essential for providing stability to the lumbar spine, especially during activities such as walking when the hips are uneven.
When tightness from the IT ban extends up to the thoracolumbar fascia and QL on one side, it can cause other muscles in the lower back to compensate, leading to general soreness and even muscle spasms. The uneven tension also puts excess pressure on one side of the spine, resulting in more rapid disc degeneration and an increased risk of pinched nerves.
How mindset can contribute to chronic pain
"It's all in your head!"
This is often the response whenever physical pain can't be adequately explained by a physical cause. However, as it turns out, this is often at least part of the picture when it comes to chronic lower back pain in older adults. The functioning of our nervous system, the beliefs we hold about our lower back pain, and our subsequent behaviors all play a huge part in whether or not we experience chronic and/or severe pain.
Don't quite believe me? Just listen to this famous placebo surgery study conducted by Dr. Bruce Moseley. Between 1995 and 1998, Dr. Moseley recruited 180 patients from the Houston Veterans Affairs Medical Center who had been diagnosed with osteoarthritis of the knee.
Half of those patients received arthroscopic surgery to treat their osteoarthritis. The other half received a placebo surgery. They were put under amnesia, and incisions were made in the knee. However, no surgical interventions were actually performed.
The patients received follow-up questionnaires at various points for 2 years following their operation. However, at no point did the patients who had received true surgery report higher pain relief or better knee function when compared to the placebo group. In fact, both groups were equally likely to guess that they had received true surgery.
If that isn't a testament to the power of the mind to influence our experience of pain, I don't know what is!
However, none of this is to say that your chronic lower back pain is any less valid if part of it might be "in your head". Your brain is responsible for almost all of your bodily functions. Chronic back pain is no less real than the taste of food on your tongue, the sound of someone talking in a room, or the feeling of your heart beating in your chest.
The point of understanding how your brain, beliefs, and behaviors can exacerbate and perpetuate chronic lower back pain is so that you, as an older adult, can be empowered to make necessary changes that will improve your quality of life. Let's discuss more.
Anxiety creates a self-fulfilling prophecy
Let's say there is a student. Since a young age, he has excelled at sports but was less naturally drawn to studies. His parents and teachers all refer to him as a "jock", he's embedded this as a part of his identity. Despite the fact that he possesses an average level of intelligence and has the ability to perform well in school, he doesn't. Why?
Because the student identifies as a “jock”, he doesn't think of himself as someone smart and capable of getting good grades. When it comes time to study for exams, he doesn't even try, because he believes it won't make a difference. As a result, he scores poorly which then reinforces his belief that he isn't "good" at school and perpetuates the behaviors that hurt his grades in the first place.
This is a classic example of what's called a self-fulfilling prophecy: that is a belief about ourselves or the world that influences our behavior, eventually causing that belief to become true. But how does any of this relate to chronic low back pain in older adults? Let me explain.
Your lower back pain may have started due to an injury or any of the postural issues we discussed in the previous section. However, it might have been made worse due to a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The natural response to "throwing out" your back is to stop exercising, grab your heating pad, and rest. There's nothing wrong with this. In fact, it's advised. However, if you go back to the gym on your first good day and overdo it or try to exercise again before you're fully ready, you can re-injure your lower back.
This creates a "pain memory" associated with exercising. Whether you're fully conscious of it or not, you will start to relate movement with the experience of pain. Over time, this can lead to avoidance behaviors, such as exercising less or stopping altogether.
While, it's important to take adequate time off from exercise after an injury and to not "push through" pain, complete bed rest or switching to a sedentary lifestyle will likely do more harm than good. The muscles in your back, hips, and legs essential for maintaining good posture and protecting the spine from injury will become stiff and weak. This will ultimately make you more prone to re-injury and/or other common sources of chronic lower back pain in older adults.
However, this self-fulfilling prophecy doesn't just lead to changes in muscle strength and flexibility. It can also influence nervous system function and how your brain responds to pain signals.
Functional changes in the central nervous system
A recent study at the University of Colorado Boulder has provided evidence that the expectation of pain, can actually increase the brain’s response to pain signals.
In this experiment, participants received various degrees of painful, but non-damaging heat while attached to an fMRI machine. Prior to receiving the stimuli, they were presented with a visual cue (the letter "L" or "H"), that would naturally be associated with higher or lower levels of pain. However, the participants were not told that the visual cue was not actually associated with how painful the subsequent stimuli were.
The researcher found that the anticipation of more pain based on visual cues, resulted in more activity areas of the brain associated with pain sensation. This was regardless of how painful the stimuli actually were. These findings point toward the fact that the brain's sensitivity to pain signals can change based on our experiences and beliefs.
This is the case in a common phenomenon underlying chronic pain, known as central sensitization. Think of your brain as a fire alarm. Ideally, you'd like the fire alarm in your home to be sensitive enough to go off in the event of a fire. However, you don't want it to be so sensitive, that it starts ringing at the slightest bit of smoke while you're cooking.
In the case of central sensitization, your brain is like this overly sensitive fire alarm. Movements and positions that used to be accessible now elicit severe pain. But how does this happen?
Well, it often starts with the self-fulfilling prophecy we just discussed. Say you have acute lower back pain from a recent injury or even chronic lower back pain for some other reason. The pain signals from the injury or chronic pain cause you to hyper-focus on the sensations in your back.
Over time, your nervous system begins to undergo structural and functional changes that can result in feeling: 1) Spontaneous pain without a trigger, 2) low back pain during activities that used to be pain-free, 3) more severe pain levels, and 4) widespread pain in surrounding areas that were previously unaffected.
Neurons in the lower part of the spinal cord become more sensitive to painful stimuli. There is a higher release and re-uptake of neurotransmitters responsible for the sensation of pain. Neural pathways in the spinal cord and brain that amplify pain signals become stronger, whereas inhibitory pathways that suppress pain become weaker. Neurons may even start to fire and signal pain, even in the absence of any painful stimuli.
If everything I just wrote sounded like a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, don’t worry. My point is that these changes in the nervous system are very real and very valid. Even if some amount of your chronic lower back pain is "in your head" that doesn't mean that you're weak or that there's nothing you can do.
Stress management for chronic back pain
Before you freak out and start worrying about whether or not you have central sensitization, understand this: stress will only make the problem worse. Let's review some basic facts about how the nervous system works.
When we're stressed—whether it's because we're being chased by a lion, we have to have a difficult conversation, or we're experiencing pain—our body initiates the same physiological process: the fight-or-flight response. Our heart rate increases, our muscles tense, our hands get sweaty, and we might even feel shaky.
This is caused by the release of stress hormones, cortisol and adrenaline. The fight-or-flight response is a perfectly natural and adaptive response to threats in our environment. However, cortisol and adrenaline increase inflammation in the body, which can wreak havoc on the mind and body when it becomes chronic.
Chronic elevated levels of inflammation can release cytokines and other inflammatory mediators that directly contribute to the changes in the nervous system underpinning central sensitization. On top of that, inflammation can accelerate the degeneration of spinal discs, increase the risk of facet joint arthritis, cause swelling and compression of nerves in the spinal cord, and lead to muscle spasms in the lower back.
I say all this, not to fear-monger, but to help you understand what the solution is. Yes, older adults with chronic lower back pain must receive physical therapy and/or practice specific exercises to stretch and strengthen certain muscles. However, an essential part of chronic pain management is also addressing what's "in your head".
You need to learn how to relate to your low back pain in a healthy way. This means not engaging in avoidance behaviors. This means learning to keep your nervous system calm when experiencing pain. And this means making concrete efforts to reduce stress.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the best treatment options for this side of chronic pain management and can be provided by a Licensed Mental Health Professional. Meditation and mindfulness techniques can also be a powerful resource for older adults with chronic lower back pain. We'll discuss a few specific exercises you can do later in this blog.
When to consult a doctor about chronic low back pain
Before we dive into holistic treatment options for chronic lower back pain in older adults, I must make the necessary disclaimer that I am not a doctor. While the exercise and mindfulness techniques that I provide as a chair yoga teacher can be an invaluable tool in your journey toward living life pain-free, they only serve as an adjunct to proper medical care.
You should always seek the advice of healthcare professionals before making changes in your exercise routine or level of physical activity. However, there are also a few immediate signs that elderly patients should see a doctor for their lower back pain.
Severe pain that doesn't respond to holistic treatments
Back pain that is severe and doesn't respond the rest or gentle stretching after 4-6 weeks may be caused by a more serious underlying condition, such as a slipped disc, lumbar spinal stenosis, or other age-related degeneration in the spine.
Regardless of the underlying cause, you shouldn't have to suffer in silence. If your low back pain isn't going away, you deserve to know why and what you can do to fix it.
Acute trauma or injury
If you've had a recent fall or other injury that's caused or exacerbated your lower back pain, you should seek immediate attention from the relevant healthcare professionals.
Older adults have weaker bones and are at increased risk of spinal fractures. It is essential to speak with a doctor to receive a diagnosis and treatment as soon as possible to prevent further complications.
Tingling pain that radiates down the leg
Pain that extends down the leg on one side, numbness, and/or tingling is an indicator of nerve damage and/or irritation. This may be caused by diseases, such as lumbar spinal stenosis, a herniated disc, or even general inflammation in the spine or facet joint. Medical treatment can help prevent further injury and provide prompt pain relief.
History of osteoporosis
If you are an elderly person with a known history of osteoporosis or osteopenia, it is worth speaking to a doctor about your chronic back pain. The weakened vertebrae in your spine are susceptible to compression fractures from very minor trauma and even the activities of daily life. It's important to rule this out as one of the potential factors contributing to your lower back pain.
Loss of bladder control
This is a rare but immediate red-flag symptom that calls for a trip to the emergency room. Low back pain accompanied by urinary incontinence can be a sign of cauda equina syndrome, a condition in which the cauda equina nerves at the bottom of your spinal cord become compressed.
This requires surgery and can lead to permanent damage and/or paralysis without treatment.
Fever
Back pain that doesn't respond to pain relievers and is accompanied by a fever could be an indication of an underlying infection, such as discitis osteomyelitis (infection in a vertebral disc). This is considered a medical emergency and requires immediate medical evaluation and treatment.
History of cancer
Low back pain is an extremely common and usually benign symptom. However, it can be a sign of certain types of cancer.
The most common cancers that can affect or metastasize in the spine are lung cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, multiple myeloma, and lymphoma. If you have a personal or family history or are at an otherwise higher risk for any of these cancers, it might be worth consulting a doctor about new and/or worsening back pain.
Holistic treatment options for chronic lower back pain relief
Holistic treatments are a wonderful option for older adults who suffer from chronic lower back pain. They are not a replacement for medical interventions, however, they can help support the work being done with healthcare professionals.
Approaches, such as yoga, tai chi, meditation, and healthy eating can help provide pain relief, hasten recovery time, increase pain tolerance, and decrease the risk of reoccurrence. They also tend to be more accessible and cost-effective than standard medical treatments.
As always, be sure to consult your doctor or healthcare provider prior to starting a new exercise program or other health regime. But without further ado, let's discuss different holistic treatment options for managing chronic lower back pain and how they can help.
Chair yoga for chronic low back pain in older adults
Benefits of chair yoga for senior citizens
As a chair yoga instructor for seniors, I'm biased. However, I'm in this business for a reason. I have seen with my own eyes what an invaluable and comprehensive resource chair yoga is for older adults.
All movement is good movement, but few other forms of exercise provide benefits as comprehensive as yoga. Running or walking will improve cardiovascular health but won't build muscle mass in the way resistance training will. Weight lifting will improve strength but can leave your muscles and joints feeling stiff. However, in a one-hour session, yoga can help older adults improve strength, flexibility, balance, mobility, and circulation.
An experienced yoga instructor will be able to create a chair yoga class that helps specifically address areas of weakness or tightness in your body that might be contributing to your chronic lower back pain. Improvements in balance and mobility will help reduce your risk of falls and correct compensatory movement patterns that put pressure on your low back. Better circulation and stress reduction from practicing yoga will help reduce inflammation and improve blood flow to muscles and ligaments in and around the low back.
On top of providing a wealth of physical and mental benefits, yoga is also highly customizable and accessible with minimal equipment. You don't need orthopedic running shoes, an expensive gym membership, or to drive all the way across town. All you need to do yoga is a mat to provide cushioning, a chair for support, and internet connection to access an online chair yoga class.
Chair yoga poses for chronic low back pain
So you're sold on chair yoga for lower back pain, but you don't know where to start. As we discussed earlier in this blog post, there are certain areas of muscular tightness and/or weakness that can contribute to low back pain.
An effective chair yoga program for chronic lower back pain in older adults should focus on including the following types of movements:
Stretches for the hamstrings, hip flexors, and quads
Strengthening exercises for the core, including both the abdominals and back muscles
Hip mobility and strength exercises
Stretches for the TFL, IT band, and QL
Twisting movements to lubricate joints and reduce pressure in the lumbar spine
If you'd like examples of chair yoga poses and stretches you can do for your lower back pain, I have another blog post covering just that! You can read about 10 simple chair yoga poses for low back pain and download a FREE printable 28-day yoga challenge to help start your chair yoga journey.
Sound like exactly what you need? Join my mailing list to be notified when the blog is posted!
Mindfulness techniques for pain management
We talked a lot about how mindfulness and stress-management are essential for treating chronic lower back pain. However, just saying "try meditation" is about as vague as saying "go exercise". What kind of exercise should I do? What kind of meditation will help?
The "Itch" Meditation
Go ahead and pause and just try something with me. I want you to focus on a part of your body that feels itchy. Don't move to scratch it. Just notice the sensation of the itch.
Now, to start, I want you to get as angry at the itch as possible. Focus on how annoying it is. How much you want to scratch it. How infuriating it is that I'm making you resist the urge right now. Notice what happens to the sensation of the itch as you try to push it away. Does it get more intense?
Now, I want you to shift your perspective. Don't scratch the itch just yet, but try to let go of any frustration you have with it. Try to accept the sensation of the itch as a neutral stimulus, no different than the various sounds in your environment or the feeling of the seat beneath you. Simply observe it with a sense of child-like curiosity. Notice what happens when you view the itch in this way. Does it become a little more manageable? Do you feel less frustrated?
...Okay, go ahead and scratch the itch if you haven't already!
What was the purpose of this exercise? It's a simple way to demonstrate how choosing to view a negative sensation with resistance or acceptance can change how we experience it. Mindfulness exercises that help you train your ability to relate your lower back pain with acceptance and neutrality will help you in pain management.
Other meditations from chronic pain
Two of my favorite full-length meditation practices I like to do with clients suffering from chronic pain are the Compassionate Body Scan and the Pain vs. Pleasure Meditation.
In the Compassionate Body Scan, we take time to focus on each part of the body, starting at the feet and moving up to the head. As we visit each body part, we thank it for all the ways it serves our ability to live life and experience the world. We notice any tension present in the body part and gently give it the permission to relax and release to the extent that feels comfortable.
In the Pain vs. Pleasure Meditation, we start by focusing on a part of the body experiencing pain. We spend some time simply observing it with neutrality, similarly to how we did in the "Itch" Meditation. After a few minutes of focusing on the painful sensation, we shift our attention to a part of the body that feels relaxed or neutral and observe it with the same openness.
Finally, we expand our attention to hold both the painful and pleasurable parts of the body in our awareness at once. We stay here for a few minutes and see if we can allow the two contrasting sensations to melt and blend together, like blue and yellow paint mixing to form green.
Both of these exercises are powerful techniques to help let go of our mental attachment and resistance to low back pain. This, in turn, allows the body to rest, relax, and experience less pain.
Other tips and tricks
Apart from chair yoga and mindfulness practices, there are a few other diet and lifestyle modifications you can experiment with to help manage your chronic lower back pain.
As always, be sure to consult a physician or nutritional specialist before making significant changes to your diet. These are simply suggestions to bring up with your healthcare team.
Nutrition tips for lower back pain
As you age, it is essential to do what you can to maintain bone density. One of the biggest factors that contribute to your bone health as an elderly person is your calcium and vitamin D levels. Do your best to spend at least 10-30 minutes out in the sun, and try to incorporate calcium-rich foods into your diet. Some examples include dairy products, seeds, salmon, beans, and leafy greens.
If you're concerned about whether or not you're getting enough calcium and vitamin D, you can talk to your healthcare provider about blood tests. However, never take vitamin D or calcium supplements without the supervision of a physician, as these can be harmful if taken in high doses.
Apart from nutrition that supports bone health, anti-inflammatory foods can help you reduce psychological stress, muscle tension, and/or arthritis that may be contributing to your low back pain. Examples of anti-inflammatory foods are fatty fish, berries, leafy greens, nuts and seeds, whole grains, olive oil, green tea, dark chocolate, aromatic vegetables, and turmeric.
You should also monitor your fluid intake, and ensure that you are adequately hydrated. This will help keep your spinal discs and back muscles supple and less prone to strain or injury.
Sleep & physical activity
Even if you're exercising, eating well, and meditating, you can experience problems if you spend too much time sitting and if you don't get quality sleep.
Try to get up and move every hour, even if it's just to stretch your legs or grab a glass of water. Getting up regularly will help reduce strain on your joints and avoid muscle stiffness and atrophy. You may also see added benefits in your circulation, blood sugar, and energy levels!
I know it can be difficult, but do your best to get 7-9 hours of sleep every night. Try to go to sleep and wake up at the same time each day, and avoid screens for at least 1 hour before bed. If racing thoughts or aches and pains keep you can try practicing meditation to help calm your anxiety. You can also make use of ergonomic supports to help minimize discomfort.
Sleep is essential for muscle repair, keeping inflammation at bay, stabilizing mood, improving immune function, and maintaining good coordination and balance. If there's one thing you can get right to improve your overall health, sleep is it. Do the best you can, but have compassion for yourself along the way!
Summary: How to manage chronic lower back pain in older adults
In this blog post, we've engaged in a comprehensive deep-dive into age-related low back pain. We've examined both the mental and physical causes of chronic lower back pain in older adults. And we've discussed holistic treatment options and lifestyle modifications to help manage lower back pain.
Here's a quick cheat sheet of all the main ideas covered.
Key Points:
Natural age-related changes in the bone and muscle tissue increase the risk of chronic lower back pain in older adults.
Destabilization of the pelvis and lateral misalignment are the most common posture-related issues that contribute to chronic low back pain.
Chronic lower back pain can be perpetuated by self-fulfilling prophecies and changes in the brain that increase sensitivity to pain signals.
Chair yoga is a powerful tool for senior citizens to reduce chronic lower back pain by improving strength, flexibility, and balance.
Meditation and mindfulness techniques can help seniors find strategies to better cope with and relate to chronic back pain.
Nutrition, quality sleep, and general levels of physical activity are additional essential ingredients for a healthy spine and back.
Final thoughts
To wrap things up, I just want to end by saying this: too often, older adults have their pain brushed off by family members or healthcare professionals as "normal" parts of aging. This often comes from a place of good intention, wanting to make you feel like your struggles are the result of normal age-related changes and nothing to worry about.
However, at the same time, this can minimize the very real pain you live with on a daily basis. Just because you have reached older age, doesn't mean that you should have to suffer. And just because your lower back pain might be the result of normal age-related changes, doesn't mean that there's nothing you can do about it.
I want you to feel empowered with the knowledge of the many factors, that could be contributing to your lower back pain and the specific steps you can take to find pain relief. I understand that life doesn't end the moment you're eligible for an AARP membership. You are an interesting, competent, and ever-evolving person capable of making the changes necessary to manage your chronic lower back pain.
You deserve to live out the golden years of your life with as much mental and physical vitality as possible.
Let's stay connected!
I sincerely hope you've gotten value out of this blog post. I aim to provide information related to senior health that is comprehensive but digestible at the same time. If you ever have additional questions or would like insight into your specific situation, you can reach out directly at info@haidensyogapractice.com.
You can visit the services pages on my website to learn more about my yoga and mindfulness services for senior citizens, or book a FREE consultation to speak with me directly.
Book a Consult: calendly.com/haidensyoga/30min
1:1 Chair Yoga for Seniors: haidensyogapractice.com/private-chair-yoga-classes-for-seniors
Group Chair Yoga for Seniors: haidensyogapractice.com/group-chair-yoga-for-seniors
Private Meditation Sessions for Seniors: haidensyogapractice.com/mindfulness-for-seniors
Thank you for taking the time to read this article. I wish you a lovely day ahead filled with mindfulness and ease.
All the love,
Haiden
References
International Association for the Study of Pain. (2021). Psychology of back pain. Retrieved from https://www.iasp-pain.org/resources/fact-sheets/psychology-of-back-pain/
Jepma, M., Koban, L., Van Doorn, J., Jones, M., & Wager, T. D. (2018). Behavioural and neural evidence for self-reinforcing expectancy effects on pain. Nature Human Behaviour, 2(11), 838-855. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-018-0455-8
MedlinePlus. (2022). Aging changes in the bones - muscles - joints. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved from https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/004015.htm
Moseley, B., O’Malley, K., Peterson, N., Menke, T., Brody, B., Kuykendall, D., Hollingsworth, J., Ashton, C., & Wray, N. (2002). A controlled trial of arthroscopic surgery for osteoarthritis of the knee. The New England Journey of Medicine, 347(2), 81-88. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa013259
Roser, M., Ortiz-Ospina, E., & Ritchie, H. (2023). Life expectancy. Our World in Data. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/life-expectancy
Sakaguchi, T. F., King Yuan, S. L., Matsutani, L. A., Pereira, B., & Marques, A. P. (2019). Prevalence of low back pain in the elderly population: A systematic review. Clinics, 74. https://doi.org/10.6061/clinics/2019/e789
Volcheck, M., Graham, S., Fleming, K., Mohabbat, A., & Luedtke, C. (2023). Central sensitization, chronic pain, and other symptoms: Better understanding, better management. Cleveland Clinical Journal of Medicine, 90(4), 245-254. https://doi.org/10.3949/ccjm.90a.22019
