Back-pain study touts yoga's benefits

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Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Back-pain study touts yoga's benefits
Remedy seemed to work best for sufferers

By JULIE DAVIDOW
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Susana Schuarzberg thinks lifting her 2-year-old grandson in and out of his car seat did it.

The stinging pain in her lower back shot down her leg and wouldn't go away after a year, even with prescription pain medication.

So, when Schuarzberg found out about a study measuring yoga's potential for soothing lower back pain, she didn't hesitate to sign up.


		Karen Ducey / P-I
	"The effect of these yoga classes on my back pain was incredible," says Susana Schuarzberg, practicing a pose in her apartment.

"I used to do yoga before I moved to Seattle, and it was always a very good experience," said the Buenos Aires native. Setting up her Queen Anne apartment might also have contributed to the strain, she said.

Researchers at Group Health Cooperative and the University of Washington compared three remedies for people with chronic back pain: a gentle yoga program, a self-care book and an exercise regimen developed by a physical therapist.

The researchers analyzed participants' responses to a questionnaire about pain and mobility before, during and after the study.

At 26 weeks, they found the yoga participants were less likely to take pain medication than the other two groups and reported less pain and more mobility than the group that relied on the book alone. The yoga group also reported less pain than those who stuck to a more standard exercise routine.

"I think it's one of the big winners out there in terms of something that might be useful for people if they're willing to practice it," said Karen Sherman, a researcher at Group Health and lead author of the study published in this month's issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Almost every adult will experience back pain at some point, said Dr. Rick Deyo, an internist and co-author of the study. But only about 10 percent develop chronic pain that lasts for more than three months. For some, it's a minor annoyance. For others, it means lost work time and restricted activity.

The study recruited 101 men and women between the ages of 20 and 64 who had visited the doctor at least once for back pain within the past three to 15 months. Researchers excluded anyone with pain related to cancer or other diseases.

Schuarzberg and 35 others assigned to the yoga group attended 75-minute sessions with an instructor once a week for 12 weeks and were asked to practice at home every day. The type of yoga used in the study, called viniyoga, emphasizes repeating rather than holding poses such as the cobra, wheel and warrior postures.

"The effect of these yoga classes on my back pain was incredible," said Schuarzberg, 61. "I improved significantly and very quickly."

Still, it's unclear why yoga seems to work for back pain sufferers.

"That's the $64,000 question," said Sherman. The salutary effect is likely due to a combination of strengthening movements and relaxation breathing, she said.

Experts, however, caution against jumping into any yoga class listed on your gym's workout schedule. Styles of yoga vary and some may be too strenuous for someone with back pain. Sherman suggests finding a therapeutic yoga class.

Deyo said he was surprised that the benefits of yoga appeared to surpass other types of exercise in the study; however the self-selected participants might have been more motivated to stick with yoga than other back pain patients.

"(The study) certainly suggests that this may have a real role for some patients," Deyo said.

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