Yoga may have health benefits for people with chronic non-specific lower back pain

An updated  Cochrane Review,published in the Cochrane Library, suggests that yoga may lead to a small reduction in pain in people with chronic non-specific lower back pain over the short term, and that improvements in back function may be similar to those seen with other types of back-focused exercise. However, researchers advise that more studies are needed to provide information on long-term effects.What is non-specific low back pain?Low back pain is a common health problem. In many cases, there is no known cause for the pain and it is termed ' non-specific ' back pain. For some people, the pain may last for three months or more and at this point it is termed ' chronic. ' Non-specific low back pain is usually treated with over-the-counter pain medicines and exercise and does not require surgery or other invasive procedures. Yoga is sometimes used to help treat or manage low back pain.What did we want to find out?We wanted to find out if yoga improves function (for example, ability to walk, do jobs around the house, getting dressed), pain and quality of life associated with low back pain.What did we do?We searched medical databases for clinical trials comparing yoga practices using physical postures (often called ' hatha yoga ' ) to any other treatment, sham (pretend) yoga, or to no treatment in adults (aged 18 years or older). We also included trials comparing yoga added to other treatments, versus those other treatments alone.  What did we find?We included 21 trials with...
Source: Cochrane News and Events - Category: Information Technology Authors: Source Type: news