Yoga Can Effectively Treat Chronic Low Back Pain

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 28, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Tele-yoga asana might have a positive impact on pain intensity in women with chronic low back pain (LBP), according to a study published online Feb. 21 in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research.

Nicola Marotta, M.D., from the University of Catanzaro “Magna Graecia” in Italy, and colleagues evaluated the impact of yoga asana on the flexion-relaxation phenomenon in women with nonspecific LBP. The analysis included 11 healthy women and 10 women with chronic nonspecific LBP who underwent an eight-session yoga asana program, with the first session conducted in clinic and the rest delivered with a tele-approach.

The researchers found that the repeated-measures test in the chronic nonspecific LBP group showed a significant decrease in pain intensity after the four-week follow-up (visual analog scale: 6.80 versus 3.30) and an improvement in the flexion-relaxation ratio after the intervention (5.12 versus 9.49), with effect sizes of 0.77 and 0.47, respectively.

“Our findings demonstrated the feasibility and safety of a tele-delivered yoga intervention that could be integrated in a rehabilitation plan for patients with nonspecific LBP,” the authors write. “Further research is warranted to confirm the long-term effects of yoga for managing LBP.”

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