EXERCISE IS MEDICINE

Yoga has been used for more than 5,000 years around the world as a means of health improvement, with well-documented studies showing increased flexibility and ROM, a key aspect of health-related fitness.  Yoga’s use has increased dramatically as a popular exercise modality in the United States in the recent past.

In addition to the benefits to flexibility, yoga has often been used to ease pain and dysfunction associated with chronic low back pain (CLBP), a serious medical problem affecting as many as 80% of all adults and a leading cause of lost work time; however, evidence to support yoga as “medicine” for treating CLBP has only recently surfaced.

Williams et al. (2009), randomly assigned 90 participants to either a yoga group or a control group, with the yoga group receiving 24 weeks of bi weekly yoga classes designed for the CLBP.  Outcomes for disability, pain, pain medication, and depression were assessed at 12 (midway), 24 (immediately after), and 48 weeks (6-month follow-up) after the start of the intervention.  Outcomes included significant reductions in functional disability and pain intensity in the yoga group at the end of the 24-week intervention.  There were also a significantly greater proportion of yoga participants reporting clinical improvements at both 12 and 24 weeks.  In addition, depression was significantly lower in yoga participants in CLBP.  Although both groups experienced a reduction in pain medication, there was no difference between groups.  Even after 6-month follow-up, the yoga group still showed significantly improved functional disability, pain intensity, and depression compared with standard medical care.

In summary, appropriately designed yoga programs can be an effective treatment for reducing pain, pain medication, disability, and depression associated with CLBP.Williams K, Christiaan A, Steinberg L, et al.  Evaluation of the effectiveness and efficacy of lyengar yoga therapy on chronic low back pain. Spine.  2009:34(19); 2066-76