Yoga can help relieve lower back pain

Regular yoga practice can reduce lower back pain, improve sleep and reduce dependence on pain medications, according to a study by researchers at the Cleveland Clinic.

Regular yoga practice can reduce lower back pain - Photo: Géopélie

Participants in a 12-week online yoga program reported less lower back pain and better sleep.

Yoga helps relieve pain and sleep well

According to The Washington Post , the randomized clinical trial studied 140 Cleveland Clinic employees who reported moderate pain for at least three months. The group that participated in a 12-week online yoga program reported less pain and better sleep than those who did not have the opportunity to participate in the program.

The study suggests that yoga can be effective when considered as part of a patient's usual care, similar to the use of medication or referral to physical therapy, according to Robert Saper, chief of health and preventive medicine at the Cleveland Clinic and lead author of the study.

But unlike those interventions, a holistic approach to yoga practice can address how pain affects a person's overall well-being.

“Anti-inflammatory drugs can address the physical part, but yoga can address the emotional, social, even meaning and purpose part,” he says.

The average age of participants was 48. Eighty percent were female and 73.5 percent had a college degree. The group was divided into a “yoga now” and “yoga later” group, who were offered the program after the study ended but were not evaluated.

The “Yoga Now” group took a 60-minute online class focused on Hatha yoga each week and were encouraged to practice at least 30 minutes a day. They were given a mat and supplementary materials explaining the poses, along with access to videos encouraging self-paced yoga practice.

Before the trial began, participants rated their lower back pain as an average of at least 4 on an 11-point scale. After 12 weeks, the yoga group reported an average 1.5-point reduction in pain intensity, and after 24 weeks, an average 2.3-point reduction.

Participants were also asked to rate their sleep quality on a scale of 0 to 4, with the average rating being fair to poor. The “yoga now” group reported an average improvement of 0.4% after 12 weeks compared to the “yoga later” group.

Pain medication use was also tracked during the study. The “yoga now” group reported a 34% reduction in pain medication use by the end of the 12 weeks of yoga compared to the “yoga later” group. The study was published in JAMA Network Open.

Why is yoga effective for back pain?

Low back pain is very common, affecting more than 619 million people worldwide in 2020 and is the leading cause of years lived with disability, according to a 2021 study in Lancet Rheumatology.

Causes may include lack of exercise, injury or stress at work.

Treating lower back pain with yoga or physical therapy is recommended as a non-invasive approach, before moving on to interventions such as surgery.

Yoga is a good option for back pain because it focuses on static poses and has variations for people who need chairs or other support devices to perform the movements, Saper says.

Movement is important in pain management because it helps the brain understand what movements are safe to perform and prevents muscle atrophy, says Marissa Lizotte, a senior physical therapist at Mass General Brigham.

Yoga's focus on gradually moving into positions as well as maintaining balance and stability makes it a good practice to aid in injury recovery, says Lizotte. The poses can also activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes relaxation.

Exercise slowly to avoid injury

Lizotte encourages people to approach any exercise with caution. Staying safe can lead to less pain, she says.

“Typically, the rule I follow is to gradually increase your activity level and training slowly to avoid injury, then gradually build up to your desired fitness level according to your ability,” she says.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/yoga-co-the-giup-giam-dau-lung-duoi-20241107150319018.htm