Islamabad (Pakistan Point News / Online - 23rd February, 2020) Researchers say mind-body exercises such as yoga can strengthen your body as well as ease your mind. Getty ImagesThe chief of orthopedic spine surgery at UCLA says those hours he spent craning his neck to operate on patients were giving him grief.Two decades ago, he found a solution: yoga."I had some neck pain from all the long hours of leaning over the patient when I'm operating and I saw that in my case yoga was very helpful because there are parts of yoga where you actually exercise your neck also, and that helped me as a form of exercise to maintain my spine health.
Yoga is my Primary form of exercise these days," he told Healthline.What researchers foundPeople with lower back pain are often encouraged to initially try nonpharmacological treatments, such as exercise, to manage their pain.The Florida researchers evaluated the efficacy of three such mind-body exercises: yoga, tai chi (which involves gentle physical exercises and stretches together with mindfulness), and qigong (a Chinese meditation therapy that's centered on body awareness during slow and repetitive body movements).
"Back pain is a major public health issue often contributing to emotional distress such as depression and anxiety, as well as sleep issues and even social isolation," JuYoung Park, PhD, a corresponding study author and an associate professor in the Phyllis and Harvey Sandler school of Social Work at the Florida university, said in a press release.How yoga, tai chi workDr. Pamela Peeke, MPH, FACP, FACSM, is a fitness expert and national spokesperson for the American College of sports Medicine who practices both yoga and a form of tai chi.
"In my opinion, yoga and tai chi are highly beneficial to a large population of people with back pain," she told Healthline. "Of course, first always have a credible medical professional perform an assessment to rule out any problem that may be critical� start slowly with some form of recovery yoga, and then gradually increase the intensity. The same is true for tai chi."Finding a treatmentReasons behind lower back pain are numerous, and Donaldson says in the case of chronic lower back pain, the cause is often unknown."There is no single best treatment for chronic low back pain," he said. "Even if a definite anatomical problem can be repaired surgically, recovery is complicated, and proper exercise can help. Analgesics, particularly non-opioid analgesics that also reduce inflammation are also helpful."
