Yoga Dosing Study for chronic low back pain

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) affects 5-10% of U.S. adults annually and costs over $50 billion per year in direct health care expenditures. Several recent studies suggest yoga may be effective for the treatment of CLBP. However, no studies have directly compared different doses (classes per week) of yoga for CLBP, and it is unknown if there is a meaningful dose-response effect for this therapy.

To assess the impact of yoga dose, we are conducting a Pilot Yoga Dosing Study for 96 adults from six Community Health Centers serving racially diverse low-income neighborhoods in Boston, Massachusetts. The study is a 12-week randomized controlled trial for adults with nonspecific chronic low back pain comparing once per week to twice per week 75-minute yoga classes. We are utilizing a previously piloted standardized hatha yoga protocol for CLBP (Saper et al, 2009). There are three points of data collection (baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks) addressing pain intensity, back-related function, use of pain medication, patient satisfaction, and treatment adherence.

The Yoga Dosing Study is the first part of a 4 year NIH/NCCAM funded comparative effectiveness randomized controlled trial of yoga vs. physical therapy vs. education for CLBP in underserved populations. This oral presentation will offer preliminary results from the Yoga Dosing Study. The final results will inform the design of the larger randomized controlled trial. Together, these studies will help determine whether it is justifiable for yoga, currently a “complementary” therapy, to become an acceptable “mainstream” treatment for chronic low back pain.