The randomized study, published in Annals of Internal Medicine (2005, vol 143, no 12), examined the effect of yoga practice on individuals with chronic low back pain and compared yoga treatment to conventional therapeutic exercise or a self-care book.
Researchers at Group Health Cooperative's Center for Health Studies in Seattle, Washington, randomly assigned 101 adults with low back pain to 12 weekly 75-minute yoga classes and home practice, or 12 weekly 75-minute conventional therapeutic exercise classes and home practice, or a self-care book on back pain. The yoga participants were taught viniyoga, a therapeutically oriented style of yoga that is safe and easy to learn. The conventional exercise participants were taught aerobic, strengthening and stretching exercise. The participants' back-related functional status (modified 24-point Roland Disability Scale) and "bothersomeness" of pain (11-point numerical scale), were assessed at the beginning, 12 weeks, and 26 weeks of the study.
The researchers found that after 12 weeks, the yoga group participants were better able to do daily activities involving the back, compared with the exercise or self-care groups. Findings also revealed that after 26 weeks the yoga group participants had better back-related function and less pain. Furthermore, the yoga group participants used pain relievers less frequently than the participants in the other two groups.
"This study suggests that viniyoga is a safe and effective treatment for chronic back pain and provides physicians with a rationale for recommending it (and possibly other therapeutically oriented styles of yoga as well) to their patients," the study authors write.
Posted by Kristopher Foster on June 30, 2006 02:07 PM
