Yoga and Low Back Pain

New research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine demonstrates that when implemented properly, some forms of yoga can be as effective as physical therapy for lowering levels of low back pain.

You can read a summary of the research, Yoga, Physical Therapy, or Education for Chronic Low Back Pain, or the research article in full if you are a subscriber, Yoga, Physical Therapy, or Education for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Noninferiority Trial.

The original study protocol is available to read for free, Yoga vs. physical therapy vs. education for chronic low back pain in predominantly minority populations: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial, and the free supplementary materials include the Yoga Participant Guide, Yoga Teacher Training Manual, and Physical Therapy Training Manual (downloadable PDF documents).

However, before jumping into a yoga regimen, you should always consult with your doctor. Yoga is NOT always recommended for people with EDS or HSDs. As an NPR article about the new findings points out,

“The findings, published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, are in line with new guidelines for treating back pain from the American College of Physicians. The group recommends that people with back pain should avoid pain medicines if possible, and instead opt for alternatives such as tai chi, yoga and massage. As we’ve reported, those guidelines are aimed at people with run-of-the-mill back pain, rather than pain due to an injury or other diagnosed problem.”

I’d be really interested to see a study focused on how hypermobile patients with chronic low back pain respond to these different treatments, yoga, compared to physical therapy, education, and medication.

Have you tried yoga to reduce your low back pain? Leave a comment and share your experience!