Yoga helps as well as physiotherapy
Hope for back patients: A U.S. study shows that yoga exercises are as effective against back pain as physical therapy.
Every fourth Swiss suffers from back pain. This costs Switzerland more than 20 billion Swiss francs a year - for treatment and lost working hours.
A new U.S. study shows that regular yoga exercises can relieve back pain in the long term - just as well as physical therapy. The authors of the study, which was published in the renowned journal Annals of internal Medicine appeared, randomly divided 320 adults with chronic low back pain into three groups.
The first group received a weekly yoga lesson for three months. The second was allowed 15 visits with a physical therapist during the same time, and the third group received knowledge and practical tips to help alleviate pain - including a self-help book and a weekly newsletter.
After the three months, participants were encouraged to continue the exercises independently for nine months.
Exercise instead of medication
The results: All three groups reported that their suffering improved over time - and to roughly the same degree: pain levels decreased significantly, as did limitations in physical abilities. However, in the participants who received only knowledge, pain medication use did not decrease after the first three months - in contrast to the yoga and physical therapy groups. Also, the latter two groups reported significantly better quality of life after the end of the study.
The study authors conclude that yoga may be an equivalent alternative to physical therapy as a treatment option for back pain.
