Gentle yoga gives relief from chronic back pain

Dec 21 2005

For people who suffer from on-going chronic lower backache they may find some relief in a yoga class.

According to researchers, in a study of 101 adults with persistent low back pain it was found that a gentle yoga class seemed to be a better alternative to either general exercise or a self-help book.

Though the people in the exercise class eventually improved to a similar degree as their yoga-practicing counterparts, the yoga class brought quicker results.

The study's lead author, Dr. Karen J. Sherman, says it is possible that yoga's benefits for both the body and mind explain the effects on lower back pain.

Dr. Sherman emphasises that the study participants took a slower-moving form of yoga that was specially designed for people with lower back problems.

It appears that more vigorous styles of yoga that include more-advanced poses could potentially make chronic back pain worse.

Sherman, who is a researcher at the Group Health Cooperative in Seattle, and her colleagues, randomly assigned 101 adults to take either 12 weeks of yoga class or 12 weeks of a standard therapeutic exercise class, or follow the advice of a self-care book.

According to estimates as many as 14 million Americans practice yoga, often as a way to treat chronic aches and pains.

However to date there have been no published studies in western medical literature, on the effects of yoga on chronic back pain.

Sherman explains that the yoga class was conducted in what is known as the viniyoga style , which adopts the philosophy that poses should be adapted to the individual's needs.

The instructor involved was experienced in therapeutic yoga, and the class was limited to basic poses that would not put too much strain on the back.

After 12 weeks, the yoga practitioners reported better back function than their peers in either of the other two groups, and after another three months, those in the exercise group had improved to a similar degree as the yogis.

Sherman says that though the findings do not clearly show whether yoga or standard, therapy-focused exercise is better for lower back pain, given the choice, she would choose yoga.

Sherman points to one significant difference between the yoga practitioners and other two groups that remained over the long haul, the yogis were using less than half the amount of pain medication their peers were.

Sherman speculates that yoga's "mind and body effects" are at work in this case, and this is possibly why yoga showed a quicker benefit for lower back pain.

Viniyoga, like other forms of yoga, focuses on coordinating movement with the breath and focusing the mind.

According to Sherman, it is possible that yoga allowed the back pain sufferers to become more aware of their habitual movements and postures which may have been contributing to their back problems in the first place.

Sherman notes that certain back problems, such as spinal disc injuries, might not respond well to yoga, but where people have a "non-specific" back pain involving muscles, soft tissue and nerves, for them, therapeutic yoga could be worth a try.

The study is published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, December 20, 2005.