Study: Yoga Helps With Lower Back Pain and Depression
A new study reports that yoga helps with depression and with lower back pain. Many people with chronic lower back pain suffer from depression and this study by the University of West Virginia indicates that yoga helps both conditions.
The three-year, $400,000 study by West Virginia University researchers is published in the September issue of the journal Spine.
The National Institutes of Health sponsored study showed yoga participants displayed lifted mood, less pain and improved function in the group that compared with a control group who received standard medical therapy.
"The yoga group had less pain, less functional disability and less depression compared with the control group," said Kimberly Williams, Ph.D., research assistant professor in the Department of Community Medicine.
"These were statistically significant and clinically important changes that were maintained six months after the intervention."
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"Proponents of yoga have long described its benefits in reducing back pain," Williams said. "But not everybody was convinced. This is a much bigger, much more rigorous evaluation than had been done before."
The classes were taught by certified Iyengar yoga instructors. A popular form of yoga in the United States, Iyengar yoga emphasizes postures that encourage strength, flexibility and balance.
Many Americans suffer from lower back pain. $34 billion dollars are spent each year in medical treatment for back pain. There are certain yoga poses that people with back injuries should not do, so be sure to check with your doctor before you start any new yoga or exercise program.
