Iyengay Yoga Relieves Back Pain

US researchers studying people with chronic lower back problems found that those who did Iyengar Yoga were better at overcoming pain and depression than those who followed conventional treatments for lower back pain.

The study, which was funded by the US National Institutes of Health to the tune of 400,000 dollars, was the work of Dr Kimberly Williams, research assistant professor in the Department of Community Medicine at West Virginia University in Morgantown, and colleagues, and can be read online in the 1 September issue of the journal Spine.

Low-back pain is the largest category for medical reimbursements in the US, accounting for 34 billion dollars of medical costs every year, said the researchers.

The three-year study showed that the group that did yoga had lifted mood, less pain and improved function compared to the control group that received standard medical therapy.

Proponents of yoga have often described how it helps back pain, but not everyone was convinced so Williams and colleagues conducted this research, which they say is the biggest and most rigorous evaluation ever done.

Williams told the media that:

“The yoga group had less pain, less functional disability and less depression compared with the control group.”

“These were statistically significant and clinically important changes that were maintained six months after the intervention,” she explained.

For the study, Williams and colleagues recruited 90 people who had mild to moderate functional disability due to chronic lower back pain.

The participants were randomly assigned to have either yoga instruction or conventional medical therapy.

The yoga group were taught by Iyengar certified instructors for 90 minutes twice a week for 24 weeks. During the classes they did postures that targeted chronic low back pain.

The researchers continued to monitor the participants for 6 months after finishing yoga or medical therapy.

The researchers took outcome measures using the Oswestry Disability Questionnaire, a Visual Analog Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, and a pain medication-usage questionnaire half way through the treatment phase (12 weeks), immediately after (24 weeks) and at week 48 (6 months after treatment finished).

The results showed that:

Williams and colleagues concluded that:

“Yoga improves functional disability, pain intensity, and depression in adults with CLBP [chronic low-back pain].”

“There was also a clinically important trend for the yoga group to reduce their pain medication usage compared to the control group,” they added.

Iyengar Yoga is the most popular form of yoga in the US: it can be practised by anyobody no matter what their physical or mental ability, say its proponents.

Iyengar Yoga emphasizes postures and breathing that promote strength, flexibility and balance.

The underpinning philosophy of Iyengar Yoga is the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, an Indian sage who lived about 1700 years ago. While the goal of the postures is to create peace of mind and harmony and prepare for meditation, many people, particularly in the Western world, use Iyengar Yoga to improve physical and emotional fitness and wellbeing.

The name Iyengar comes from Yogacharya Sri B.K.S. Iyengar who was born in India in 1918 and has been studying and practising Yoga continuously for over 70 years. He is based at and runs the Ramamani Memorial Iyengar Yoga Institute in Pune, India with his son and daughter.

There are over 2,000 qualified Iyengar Yoga teachers in the world, in over 40 countries.

Articles and Answers

1. Adopt Yoga and Meditation- Avoid Chronic Lower Back PainYoga and meditation are considered ideal for curing chronic lower back pain, with multitudes of people following it to stay fit and healthy all over the world. Yoga and meditation are holistic approaches that emphasize on the mind-body-soul connection. A centuries old technique that promotes mental and physical health, Yoga can relieve the body of [...]...


2. Yoga For Lower Back PainWith the stressful lifestyles of today and poor posture becoming increasingly common, people are turning to the practice of yoga for lower back pain reduction. Hatha yoga is the most common type of yoga because certain poses target specific trouble spots and help to relieve such ailments as back pain. Holding a yoga pose anywhere [...]...


3. Practicing Yoga For Back PainIf practicing yoga for back pain doesn’t rid you of the pain, it will certainly help to reduce its intensity and frequency. Among the few options available for back pain sufferers is physical therapy. Yoga, although not primarily a therapy, is often offered as a part of the therapy regimen and has proven effective in [...]...


4. Yoga for back pain reliefThe back is a well-designed body part that is made up of bones, muscles, nerves, and soft body tissues. It is a very important part of the human body because the bones of the back acts as a supporting frame for the back and the whole body. The back muscles work with abdominal muscles to [...]...


5. Memory Foam Mattresses For Back PainIn today’s life, most of us are busy and don’t have time to relax as much as we want.  The only time to relax is at night when we sleep.  We need to sleep to refresh our mind and body for the new day.  However, for some people, back pain can be caused by sleeping [...]...