Low back pain is a leading cause of disability everywhere. If you are human, there is a good chance you will have an episode of low back pain at some point in your life. Further, there is a good chance that you will have it again. Then there is chronic low back pain. This is recognized as low back pain that lasts for 12 weeks or longer.

There are various treatments for low back pain. Sometimes too many…if you take a search you will find quite the variety. The most widely recognized, evidence based, reimbursable, and non-pharmacologic treatment is physical therapy. 

However, physical therapy is not always widely available or affordable, particularly for rural or low income families. A recent study looking at yoga as a “non-inferior” alternative found that yoga is a great option!

This is good news-we will tell you why:

1. A yoga program can be done AT HOME. No fancy studio or gym is needed. You can learn a basic routine and continue with that routine at home. The first few times it is helpful to have a yoga teacher to outline poses, answer questions, and help to make sure you are correctly doing the poses but after that you can take it from there! This is fantastic news as the industrial athlete needs skills like these that they can take self care initiatives on.
2. Consistency is key. Those that did yoga multiple times per week were successful. Can one yoga class change your low back pain? Sure. It’s not likely to change it for good though. That’s okay because developing a consistent yoga routine has a variety of other benefits like controlling blood pressure, reducing stress, and lowering inflammation.
3. Those that practiced used less medications. Do we need to spell out the reasons why this is a WIN? Hopefully not. 

Take a look at this simple yoga series. Try it out. Take a class. Or, take OUR routine for the industrial athlete.