TIPS:Best Sex Positions for Back Pain

Once again, McGill and his team studied the spines of 10 couples performing five sex positions with the help of his handy-dandy infrared and electromagnetic motion capture systems. The five positions were as followed: “two variations of doggy style, one in which women supported their body with elbows and the other with their hands; two variations of the missionary position, one that required less flexion at the hips and knees and the other more flexion at the hips and knees; and, finally, spooning or sidelying.”
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The Best Positions for Back Pain

The study contradicts the myth that spooning, everyone’s favorite lazy position, is the best sex position for all types of back pain. In reality, it can be good for women with certain types of back pain, but dangerous for women with other types of back pain.
For women who are “flexion-intolerant,” meaning they typically have back pain from sitting too long — or if back pain is made worse by touching their toes — then spooning is a thumbs up. These women may also benefit from doggy style where she supports herself with her hands (not her elbows).
For women who are “extension tolerant,” meaning their pain is made worse by lying on their stomach or arching their back, then a better bet for them is missionary with a pillow under the lower back.
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Not everyone’s back pain is the same, so it’s important to listen to your body and figure out what position is best. ”What we know now is that sex positions that are suitable for one type of back pain are not appropriate for another kind of pain,” said Sidorkewicz, a PhD candidate who led the study. “These guidelines have the potential to improve quality of life—and love-life—for many couples.” Many couples, indeed. In fact, one half of all working Americans admit for having back pain each year.
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What You Can Do
Take steps to prevent back pain: maintain good posture, take many walking breaks if you sit all day long, practice yoga.
In the bedroom, you can also be communicative with your partner about what feels good and what hurts like hell, as opposed to just grinning and bearing it as some bizarre means of being polite when it actually feels like your back is being hacked away by an axe, in some positions. Knowing when to stop, when to take a break, and when to give in and see your doctor can also put excessive back pain to bed.
Experimenting to find what position works comfortably for both you and your partner is going to be a good time, a really good time. Even sans the infrared magic.