The effectiveness of Yoga in reducing chronic low back pain

Abstract

Topic overview: Apart from CLBP being a public health concern it is a primary cause of ill health. It affects people's quality of life and work performance. Patients that receive traditional treatments might opt for alternative treatment due to side-effects associated with traditional treatments. Yoga and physical therapy exercises are suggested as alternative therapies. The aim of this project is to study the effectiveness of yoga in reducing CLBP. The research question: “In patients that have chronic low back pain, is yoga effective in reducing pain?” PICO elements: The population comprises adult patients who suffer from CLBP, with the intervention being yoga and the comparison usual treatment. Elements that enhance reduction in CLBP were looked as the outcome. Methods: Keywords, boolean operators and truncations were used to search academic databases for literature systematically. An audit trail was kept, including any limitations found. Articles that used usual treatment as an intervention were not clear on the type of care provided in the intervention, and since the main body of research contained numerous articles on physical therapy exercise it was decided that physical exercise therapy would be considered as the comparison. Inclusions and exclusions criterias were followed, and a rationale was also provided. This search resulted in eight studies for appraisal. CASP tools were used to appraise the systematic review, six RCT and one RCD. Results: The evidence presented in the results lack common ground. Some studies have shown that the improvements achieved through yoga as an intervention to CLBP are superior to improvements in exercise. Most of the same studies also showed that the overall difference between yoga and exercise is not significant. Concluding that despite evidence presented is inconclusive, more research is needed within the area. Implications and important recommendations: One of the recommendations was the use of larger sample sizes along with longitudinal studies. Local research with input from health professionals, yoga instructors as well as management can help in reaching a solid conclusion regarding the effectiveness of yoga on reducing CLBP. Protocols, policies and procedures can be formulated during multidisciplinary team meetings.