Those who practice it have reported less discomfort and depression at six months. Practicing yoga can help relieve chronic back pain, according to a recent study.
The researchers divided 90 people, 23 to 66, who had moderate functional impairment as a result of back pain in two groups. One group did 90-minute sessions of Iyengar yoga twice a week for six months. The other continued with medical therapy or who had been receiving.
After three and six months, a higher proportion of yoga practitioners reported improvements in pain and function questionnaires that asked about levels of pain, difficulty performing physical tasks and taking painkillers. Those in the yoga group also reported having fewer symptoms of depression.
“The yoga group experienced less pain, less functional disability and less depression compared with the control group,” said study author Kimberly Williams, research assistant professor in the department of community medicine at the University of West Virginia. “These changes were clinically and statistically significant and lasted for six months after surgery.
Iyengar Yoga, a form of hatha yoga that is popular in the United States, improves strength, flexibility and balance among the participants through a series of specific postures.
Dr. Todd J. Albert, head of the orthopedics department of the Hospital of Thomas Jefferson University and the Rothman Institute in Philadelphia, said the study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, USA. UU., Was well designed.
“I’ve noticed that both yoga and pilates are great for chronic pain in your lower back,” said Albert. “They focus a lot on strengthening the core, critical for the physically depleted.
Low back pain can make people stop exercising because of discomfort or fear of further exacerbating the injury to his back. The lack of activity can cause back muscles to weaken, creating perfect conditions for even more chronic pain.
Exercises like yoga help reverse the muscle weakness to strengthen the trunk muscles among which are the back extensor muscles, abdominals and buttocks, which are key to the trunk stability and reduce the burden on the column.
“Strengthening these muscles is like creating a reinforcement around the torso,” said Albert.
Low back pain represents between 20 and 25 percent of medical claims and more than $ 34 billion in direct medical costs annually, according to background information in the study.
Mary Lou Galantine, professor of physiotherapy Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, said the study confirms earlier research on the benefits of yoga in conditions as diverse as the menopause and osteoarthritis. Other research shows that yoga can improve mood in women with breast cancer.
“There are so many facts that point so exciting to the physical benefits, psychological and spiritual aspects of yoga,” said Galantine. “I also think there is a social aspect about yoga. You can foster a sense of community and general welfare.”
As the strengthening of the back, physiological and spiritual aspects are also important, among which is the meditation and deep breathing, said Galantine.
“In order to achieve a holistic approach to welfare itself, we must get the physical benefits, psychological, emotional and spiritual,” said Galantine, a yoga instructor. “It is a comprehensive care. If breathing practices, postures and correct meditation, yoga offers many benefits. We must have all the elements. If they become westernized and only one athletic program, you may not be achieved these benefits. ”
Although there are many causes of back pain, is often responsible for a herniated disc or arthritis. Although people who suffer from back pain they might worry that exercise may aggravate your pain, it is unlikely to do so provided they do not exaggerate, Albert said.
