The Best Sex Positions for Men and Women with Back Pain: Study
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In 2014, a groundbreaking biomedical research study at the University of Waterloo documented how the spine moves during intercourse. Led by world-renowned back pain specialist and professor of kinesiology, Stuart McGill, and Ph.D. candidate Natalie Sidorkewicz, their findings reveal what are the best sex positions for avoiding back pain.
According to surveys, as many as 84% of men and 73% of women with chronic low back pain experience decreased sexual activity because of their pain. According to McGill, many couples remain celibate because one night of lovemaking leads them to months of back agony. He also added that it is a pervasive problem, but a completely unresearched topic.
The high-tech sex study on sex and the spine
The researchers used electromagnetic and infrared motion-capture systems to track how 10 heterosexual couples’ spines moved while trying five different sex positions. The technology used is similar to that used by video game developers and filmmakers when creating 3D animations.
“We were able to determine the position and angle of the spine at each moment in time during intercourse, and see if each sex position engaged low back muscles differently,” Sidorkewicz told the University of Waterloo Magazine.
The high-tech biomechanical approach revealed that when it comes to avoiding back pain during sex, all positions aren’t created equal.
Related Read: Why Joint Pain Doesn’t Have to End Your Sex Life
The findings on best sex positions for back pain
Based on their findings, researchers created a set of guidelines that recommend different sex positions and other techniques based on movements that trigger pain.
The trailblazing study’s findings on male participants were first were published in the academic journal Spine. Surprisingly, the results disproved earlier assumptions that spooning was the best sex position for those with bad backs.
Although spooning had long been assumed as the best sex position to reduce nerve tension and back pain, Sidorkewicz found it was always not the most suitable for this purpose.
Specifically, the guidelines advise that for men with flexion intolerance, which is back pain made worse by touching their toes or sitting for long periods, the best sex for position to avoid back pain was from behind, or in a “doggy-style” position, rather than spooning.
On the other hand, men with extension intolerance, who experience pain when arching their backs or lying on their stomachs, will likely find the best sex positions are in the spooning or missionary position. This group may find the missionary positions the best for avoiding back pain when they use their elbows rather than their hands for support.
The guide also suggests that men use a hip-hinging motion rather than thrusting by bending with their spines. For Sidorkewicz, the study is a solid science guide to clinicians whose patients are suffering from back pain that may prevent them from being intimate with their partners.
The study has also tackled the mechanics of male orgasm, which was suspected of exacerbating back pain due to muscle tension. But again the findings were unexpected.
“We were quite surprised to find that consistently, abdominal and hip muscles were much more active than the back muscles we monitored,” said Sidorkewicz.
Related Read: How to Make Love in a Wheelchair
Sex positions for women with back pain
The back pain study published its findings on women in the European Spine Journal, and it also debunked the spooning myth as it always being the preferred or best sex position for back pain.
Similar to men with the same back pain issue, women who are extension intolerant, the guide suggests replacing the previously suggested spooning position with the missionary position. Adding a pillow for low-back support is also advised as a way to maintain the spine in a more neutral position.
Conversely, women who are flexion-intolerant, are actually recommended to try spooning or the “doggy-style” sex position in which the woman supports her upper body using her hands, not her elbows.
“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. “These guidelines have the potential to improve quality of life — and love life — for many couples.”
Image source: Deon Black
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