by Karden Rabin, Licensed Massage Therapist at the Center for Structural Wellness
back bridge

Oi Vay, My Back!

Most of us have back pain. Because we’re all way to busy, we either learn to live with it or latch ourselves to quick fixes, like pain medication, cortisone injections or a couple of cracks at the chiropractor. None of these, of course, are cures; they just dull or block out the pain for a few hours or days.

In fact, mainstream remedies will never restore a person’s back to health when having to live a modern lifestyle. The human body is not accustomed to asphalt streets, concrete sidewalks, handbags, telephones, driving and most especially, sitting at a computer for hours on end. The demands of modern society keep the back oscillating between up-right and slouching forward. Over time, this creates a destructive pattern of ceaseless back muscle engagement and hyper-stretching. Our over-worked and over-tired back muscles become compromised from such abuse and eventually start manifesting more severe issues, including pathogenic displacement of vertebrae and shoulder blades, postural misalignments, nerve impingement, headaches, migraines and many other issues.

They key to finding lasting relief for back pain is to counter-act this daily pattern of abuse to our backs. But who can do that? Are we all supposed to levitate along sidewalks, lie down in our cars, train our pets to carry our handbags and hire someone to answer our email? Although this would be awesome, it’s highly improbable. So we’re back at square one, trying to find an effective, fast and frequent method to alleviate our back pain that we’ll actually get around to doing.

Fortunately, there are techniques that allow us to achieve this goal and they are especially suited for people who want to relax and need a lazy form of pain relief. In fact, after keeping us upright all day long, what our backs are seeking most is a comfortable position or just plain rest. Their dream therapy is effortlessly relaxing into a back bend. Therefore, the lazy person’s path to back pain relief is the supported bridge position

The Science behind the Supported Bridge: Positional Therapy

Eighty five percent of the pain we experience in our lives is muscular in origin and predominantly from excessive contracture or tightness. Often, the key to pain relief is the release of tight muscles, which is why so many of us receive massage or practice yoga. One of the most powerful therapies dedicated to muscle release is known as Positional Therapy. Discovered by osteopaths, it was determined that if a muscle is placed in a position of passive contraction for 90 seconds, it spontaneously releases its tension.

For example, the upper trapezius muscle (the one between the shoulder and the neck that everyone loves having massaged) helps to raise the shoulder towards the ear. The position of release for the trapezius is to lie down on one’s back, lift an arm over the head, and bend the elbow across the crown of the head. It is imperative that once this position of release is reached, the trapezius muscle be allowed to completely relax. The trapezius must not hold itself in this position of release, but lets gravity do the work. After 90 seconds, the trapezius muscle will release, and it will not only feel better but will have a greater range of motion.

The technique is so simple, passive and effective that people would find it unbelievable if not for their undeniable relief of pain.

Currently, the precise physiological explanation for the effectiveness of the Positional Therapy remains unclear. The primary theory is that a muscle becomes tense due to habitual use or trauma. The muscle then gets stuck in a constant state of contraction from which it cannot release itself, and therefore experiences pain. By passively contracting the muscle in the position of release for 90 seconds, the neuromuscular sensors in the muscle realize there is no need for continued habitual contraction and spontaneously release. Of course, no matter what the biophysical explanation, the effectiveness of positional therapy has been overwhelmingly and consistently demonstrated. Ultimately, when it comes to pain relief, results are more important than explanations. And, when it comes to living our lives, nothing could be more welcome than a lazy way of releasing muscles.

The Practice of the Supported Bridge

The supported bridge is a classic yoga posture. Although yogis have been practicing such postures for a very long time, and harnessing their healing benefits for the back, the reasons why the supported bridge released the back muscles, and the key to making it consistently effective, were unknown. Using the lens of Positional Therapy, the healing benefits of the supported bridge are now understood.

The back muscles are responsible for keeping the back erect, when they contract, they pull the torso backwards. Another way of looking at it is that they keep the upper body from falling forward towards the feet. In Positional Therapy, our goal is to passively contract the targeted muscle. This is essential to the process. If the muscle is working it will not release. Conveniently, the supported bridge posture is perfect for our goal of releasing the back muscles, because it allows gravity to passively contract our back muscles. And even more conveniently, all we have to do is lie down (that’s right, I said lie down) on a yoga block for ninety seconds!

I’ll let that settle in for a moment. Sometimes the concept is so lazy, it’s incomprehensible.

Alright, now that you’ve had time to digest that, we’ll talk about how it’s done.

Instructions

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.

2. Your arms should lie along your sides, palms down, with your fingers near your heels.

3. Your feet and knees should stay about hip-width apart. Don’t attempt to keep the knees parallel.

4. Engage your abs (do not do a sit-up, just activate them); push down into the soles of your feet and lift your hips off the floor.

5. Slide a yoga block or firmly rolled towel (minimum of 4 inches to a maximum 12 inches thick) under your back directly under the sacrum. Let your sacrum rest on the block. Let your arms rest alongside your body.

6. Find a comfortable resting position. Focus on breathing into your back body and melt around the support of the block. Your goal should be to relax as much as possible in this position. Remain in the posture for a minimum of 90 seconds; although you may stay in the position for as long as it remains comfortable.

7. To come out of the posture, engage your abs (do not do a sit-up, just activate them), press down into your feet, and lift the hips again. Remove the block and lower your back slowly and gently – - one vertebra at a time – - from the top (shoulders) down (sacrum).

8. Roll onto your side into a fetal position, and then push yourself up slowly into a sitting position. Take your time standing up again.

Notes:

This posture should be comfortable. It should not be painful. If it is, adjust the height and position of the yoga block. If it continues to be painful, stop.

Remember, you are not seeking to stretch. In fact, you are seeking just the opposite, a passive melting contraction of your back muscles.

If you cannot completely relax while trying to keep your legs parallel; let them release inwards (so that the knees touch) rather than outwards.

You may want to use a low cushion of some sort to support your head.

The minimum time for Positional Therapy release is 90 seconds.

If it is your first time doing this and you have extreme back pain and/or limited flexibility, use a very low yoga block (4 inches).

You may increase the height of the support if you want, especially if you are more advanced.

Variations may be explored in order to more specifically address your form of back pain. For example, if your back pain is between your shoulder blades, place the yoga block between your shoulder blades and not on top of them. Melt your upper back and shoulder blades around the yoga block.

You should consult your doctor before attempting this self-care treatment

The Lazy Persons Conclusion

The supported bridge is an immensely effective treatment. This is because it provides a break to our everyday abuse of our back muscles. More specifically, it’s an opportunity for our back to do the opposite of what it does every day (stay engaged to keep us upright and hyper-stretch via the forward slouch). By doing the supported bridge twice a day, once in the morning and once before bed, for just 90 seconds each time, our back muscles get the release that they scream for (in the form of pain) and counteract the damage done throughout our daily lives.

In general, benefits are immediate, but may take some repetition. Additionally, the more frequent the application, the more potent the relief. All one has to do is embrace his or her inner laziness and lay down on a yoga block. Best of all, it is lasting pain relief without the degenerative use of drugs and surgery. Does it get any easier than that? I don’t think so.

A final note. If a yoga block is inaccessible or uncomfortable and you are finding that a towel is ineffective, Gaiam makes an excellent product called the Back Wave II. Check it out.