Online Yoga Classes Can Ease Lower Back Pain

Follow Drugslib on

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Nov 1, 2024.

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Nov. 1, 2024 -- Yoga can help ease chronic low back pain, even if the classes are conducted online, a new study shows.

Guidelines recommend using physical therapy or yoga to treat lower back pain before moving on to painkillers, but it can be tough for some people to make it to a yoga studio.

“Attending yoga classes in person can be challenging,” said senior researcher Dr. Robert Saper, chair of the wellness and preventive medicine at Cleveland Clinic.

But the study found that people taking virtual yoga classes had a sixfold greater reduction in pain compared with those not assigned to the online sessions, researchers reported Nov. 1 in the journal JAMA Network Open.

The online yoga students also had a nearly threefold improvement in their back-related function.

“This research shows that a virtual yoga class program can be a safe and effective therapeutic option for the treatment of chronic low back pain,” Saper said in a Cleveland Clinic news release.

For the study, 140 people with chronic low back pain were randomly assigned to either participate in a virtual live-streamed yoga class for 12 weeks or continue with their usual medical care.

All the participants were members of Cleveland Clinic’s Employee Health Plan from either northeast Ohio or Florida.

In the classes, yoga instructors delivered a program designed especially for virtual delivery to treat people with low back pain.

Along with the improvements in pain and function, 34% fewer patients in the yoga group reported using pain medication. They also reported 10 times greater improvement in sleep quality.

At 24 weeks, the improvement in pain and back-related function had remained for the yoga students.

“Yoga offers a comprehensive approach to managing low back pain, a condition for which traditional treatments often fall short,” said lead researcher Hallie Tankha, a member of research faculty in wellness and preventive medicine at Cleveland Clinic. “Now we must work to increase access to this safe and effective treatment.”

Sources

  • Cleveland Clinic, news release, Nov. 1, 2024

    • Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

    Source: HealthDay

    Posted : 2024-11-02 06:00

    Read more

    Disclaimer

    Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Drugslib.com is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Drugslib.com information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Drugslib.com does not warrant that uses outside of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Drugslib.com's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Drugslib.com's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners.

    The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Drugslib.com does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information Drugslib.com provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.

    Popular Keywords