Yoga for back pain relief?

Do you suffer from chronic back pain?

Research published in the journal Spine has found yoga is a great way to overcome that horrific pain rather than conventional treatments.

90 patients were involved in the study and were divided into two groups, with half taking 90 minute lyengar yoga classes twice a week for 24 weeks. This group focused on postures designed to relieve chronic back pain, whereas the other patients were given conventional medical treatment. All participants were also tracked for 6 months after classes or medical treatment ended.

The results speak for themselves, because after 6 months, 29% of the participants from the yoga classes were able to move better and a staggering 42% felt less pain. There was also a 45.7% decrease in symptoms of depression when compared with standard medical treatment.

Dr Kimberley Williams, an assistant professor in the Department of Community Medicine at West Virginia University, said “The yoga group had less pain, less functional disability and less depression compared with the control group”. She also added, “These were statistically significant and clinically important changes that were maintained six months after the intervention”.

Dr Williams went on to say, “Proponents of yoga have long described its benefits in reducing back pain. But not everyone was convinced. This is a much bigger, much more rigorous evaluation than had been done before”.

Less medication was also used by the yoga group compared to the other group, although the figures were not statistically significant.

Have you tried yoga to relieve your pain?