Group yoga backed for pain
Friday August 17th, 2012
Group yoga could provide a good treatment for people with chronic back pain, according to a British study.
Researchers
at Hull York Medical School say the treatment has proved cost-effective
and would be an efficient use of NHS resources.
Researchers say group yoga cut the number of days off work that people with back pain had to take - from 12 days during the 12 weeks of the programme to four days.
The findings were published in the journal Spine yesterday. The researchers say the treatment would be cost-effective if the NHS spent less than £300 a patient on courses.
The research involved more than 300 people, of whom about half took part in group yoga classes.
Yoga teacher Alison Trewhela said: "GPs and commissioners are showing great interest in this yoga programme.
"Many consider it could be the primary treatment option because it offers long-term positive outcomes, as well as a multi-disciplinary combination of taught skills that suits the bio-psycho-social nature of the condition of chronic low back pain."
She said the course "addresses joint mobility, muscle-strengthening, emphasis on the breath, mental attitude to pain and perspective on life lessons, postural awareness and low back education, relaxation techniques, and advice about other potentially health-giving techniques and benefits."
The project was backed by Arthritis Research UK and its medical director Professor Alan Silman said: "It is another option for people who are struggling to manage their condition, and one that encourages the move to self-management. Yoga is an intervention that has been proven to make their everyday lives easier and their pain more manageable.
"We’d hope that on the back of this, more people with back pain are encouraged to take up the yoga programme."
Researcher Professor David Torgerson, of York University, said: "While yoga has been shown as an effective intervention for treating chronic and low back pain, until now there has been little evidence on its cost effectiveness."
Tags: Alternative Therapy | NHS | Pain Relief | UK News
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