Yoga for Back Pain: How Often Should You Practice?
Practicing yoga and Pilates has been shown to be beneficial to health, including reducing low-back pain. If you're interested in this natural, non-invasive option, you may be wondering how much time you will need to invest to experience the benefits.
Perhaps just one yoga class per week, according to researchers of a recent study. They found that one class seems to be equally beneficial on low-back pain to two classes per week.
The Boston research team studied 95 low-income adults with moderate to severe pain in their lower backs and assigned each to a group attending yoga class either once a week or twice a week. They followed participants through 12 weeks of yoga. Both groups were also prompted to do yoga at home.
The results demonstrated that yoga did indeed have effective pain-relief results, with all participants reporting lower back-pain levels, in addition to less need to take pain medications. Surprisingly, there were no substantial differences between the once-weekly group and the twice-weekly group.
Study authors cited possible reasons for these results. "Participants in the twice-likely group were less likely than once-weekly participants to be adherent. Secondly, home practice in both groups was similar," they wrote.
Because just one class is more convenient as well as more affordable, and considering this evidence that the improvement is similar, researchers concluded that back-pain patients who want to try yoga should attend a weekly therapeutic yoga class and practice regularly at home, too.
For more information about yoga, in addition to many other options available to you for reducing your back pain, your chiropractor is a great source.
References
Saper R, Boah A, et al. Comparing once- versus twice-weekly yoga classes for chronic low back pain in predominantly low income minorities: a randomized dosing trial. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2013. doi: 10.1155/2013/658030.
(2013, July 8). "Yoga For Back Pain: Researchers Find No Benefit Difference Between Once-Weekly And Twice-Weekly Classes". Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/08/yoga-back-pain-weekly-classes_n_3536517.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living.
