Yoga Helps Back Pain
Nothing will make you feel old like back pain. An aching back will keep people from enjoying life and living to their full potential. I used to suffer from a bad back but I did masses of therapy on it. Today my back feels wonderful, yet it is one my most stiff areas of my body when I do yoga. The back bend has always been the hardest pose for me.
A recent study has now shown that doing yoga regularly may be an effective way to combat back pain.
101 adults with back pain were studied at Seattle’s Group Health Cooperative Center for Health Studies. The benefits of yoga, conventional therapeutic exercise, and the instructions from a popular back pain book were all assessed over a 12 week period.
One group practiced a gentle form of yoga called viniyoga. The second group did standard therapeutic exercise classes taught by a physical therapist. The last group read a copy of The Back Pain Helpbook.
The participants that practiced yoga for 75 minutes per week experienced the greatest increase in function. The Roland Disability Scale identifies how easily people can perform daily activities. 78 percent of the yoga group jumped at least two points on the scale, in contrast to 63 percent of the exercise group and 47 percent of those who read the book.
In addition to improved function, the group who practiced yoga needed far less pain medication. 21 percent of this group were taking pain medication by the end of the 12 weeks, down from close to 60 percent at the start. In the exercise group, the use of pain medication dropped minimally, while the group who read the book increased their medication from 50 percent to 59 percent.
Many people who regularly practice yoga rave about the benefits they experience, including reduced pain. Yoga helps people to become more aware of how they move their bodies. It also stretches, aligns and oxygenates the body. However, there has been a lack of firm evidence to prove its validity in treating back pain.
I can’t imagine my life without yoga. My body is so much happier when I am doing yoga, and more importantly for me my mind feels more stable and joyful. Yoga rules!
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