Yoga?...Your chiropractor's perspective.

Let's shed some light on yoga and how it relates to patients receiving chiropractic care.

Yoga has been benefiting health for thousands of years.  Relatively recently, there have been many research studies addressing yoga for back pain or yoga versus rehabilitative exercises.  Yoga has consistently performed as well as exercise for rehabilitation.  In these studies, the exercise intervention is virtually always done for an hour, several times per week, with the supervision of a physical therapist or trainer.  In real life this protocol for rehabilitation becomes expensive compared to yoga.  When it comes to low back rehabilitation, most exercise/rehab programs borrow heavily from yoga postures. 

Yogic philosophy has eight limbs, three of which directly relate to physical health.  First, the postures (Asanas) are the stretching and mild strengthening aspect of yoga that most people think of and associate with yoga.  Second, a focus on control of breath and proper breathing (pranayama) has direct health benefits and is very overlooked throughout healthcare.  Third, meditation (Dhyana) has been shown to help lower blood pressure, decrease pain, help sleep and improve immune system function. Considering these thee limbs of yoga, one may be quick to recommend yoga; yet, there are some cautions.

Yoga postures can be done to a point where they are excessive and detrimental to health. They can create instability and hypermobility; to address this, we recommend a yoga practice that is alignment based and recommend only taking classes form certified yoga instructors.  

If you have a condition that includes ligament sprains or muscle strains yoga may cause damage, especially in the acute phase of healing.  It is not recommended that a person do yoga while in acute pain.

Additionally, a recent (2013) meta-analysis of research regarding yoga for low back pain found, through high quality research, that they could only recommend Vini-yoga styles of yoga and that lesser quality research also showed benefit for low back pain with Hatha and Iyengar styles of yoga (these are issues with quality of research, not necessarily quality of yoga).  According to the meta-analysis, other styles of yoga could not be confidently recommended for low back rehabilitation.

Your doctors at Gallatin Valley Chiropractic recommend a healthy lifestyle full of movement and regular exercise.  When patients have progressed out of the acute phase of pain, rehabilitation is recommended.  Rehabilitation typically includes stretching of tight muscles and core strengthening. Yoga can accomplish these goals with some added benefits when the mentioned cautions are attended to.  

If you need help deciding whether yoga may be a good option for you, call the doctors at Gallatin Valley Chiropractic for a consultation.  406-551-2177

Reference:
 Cramer, et al.  A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Yoga for Low Back Pain.  Clin J Pain 2013;29:450–460