“Have You Tried Yoga?” — Chronic Pain Puts Yoga to the Test
I was sick of hearing about yoga, so I dug a little deeper.
“Have you tried yoga?”
This phrase was a commonly heard, and often unsolicited, piece of advice that was given to me whenever I mentioned that I suffered from chronic pain. I’ve heard it from the mouths of my doctors, coworkers, relatives, and what seems to be every single human being alive.
I completely understand that the suggestion is offered out of kindness, but allow me to be frank — individuals with chronic pain are sick of hearing it. Yoga is a fantastic way to gently stretch and move the body, but in this day and age, it is often suggested as a cure-all to constant pain. So what does research show? After hearing my friend suggest yoga to me for the hundredth time, I decided to scour research-based articles to determine what the big deal was.
But first, how is chronic pain different?
The difference between chronic pain and the pain most individuals experience is that chronic pain is persistent. The National Institutes of Health regards chronic pain as a condition where an individual’s pain signals continually fire in the nervous system for an extended period of time. I myself suffer from various types of allodynia, which range from pain to temperature, movement, and even touch. Chronic pain is constant and reoccurring, and it often requires a complex method of treatment. So how does yoga fair as a method of treatment?
The results were expected yet pleasantly surprising.
A review article by McCall et al. in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine suggested improved levels of psychological functioning and back pain following the implementation of a yoga therapy. From my perspective, this makes sense. My chronic pain is co-morbid with various types of psychological disorders, such as depression and anxiety, since reoccurring pain can take quite a mental toll. Chronic pain is just as isolating as it is exhausting, especially since the quality of life and enjoyable activities diminish quickly.
According to an article from Mental Health America, individuals with chronic pain are four times more likely to possess a mental health condition. Everyday life becomes a stressful environment when pain is present, and the stress only makes things worse. Yoga is a low impact and low risk exercise that can be done alone or with another person, which can benefit the mental health of those who are constantly hurting.
Can yoga eliminate pain then?
As for the effects of yoga on physical pain, yoga therapy can reduce stiffness and promote both flexibility and strength. This is beneficial for those with limited movement or restrictions due to pain, but McCall et al. also indicate that there are unclear or insufficient data that yoga reduces physical pain aside from the lower back.
I must admit, I was utterly jubilant as I read this. I couldn’t help but giggle triumphantly knowing that yoga was not some magical technique that could cure chronic pain.
I personally found yoga to be a great way to stretch my stiff and rigid body, but it did not relieve any of the stabbing and throbbing pain I feel on a daily basis. But to refrain from leaning into my own confirmation bias, I want to point out that there is a plethora of research demonstrating the positive effects of yoga on mental health. A recent 2017 study observed the effects of yoga on women with breast cancer. The study concluded that yoga was a supportive intervention that improved health-related quality of life in comparison to no therapy.
The study points out, however, that yoga is often a supportive intervention that is most effective when paired with other treatments. Research indicates that yoga can assist with how individuals perceive their illness, but it is not nearly as effective as a stand alone remedy for chronic pain. The results in this study are similarly observed in a variety of other studies, which support the notion that yoga can improve the perception of pain as an adjunct treatment. So where does this leave us?
Yoga is beneficial for body and mind, but alone it may not fully treat chronic pain.
Yoga therapy is a gentle exercise that, when paired with other interventions, can produce positive effects for the mind, body, and chronic pain. It cannot eliminate all physical pain for everyone, but it can provide relief to some varying degree. And as I have come to realize, it is useful to try every little thing that can help with the management of pain. Pairing yoga therapy with medication, alterations in diet, efficient sleep, and other treatments will more likely be successful than solely engaging in yoga techniques.
With that being said — before you go around suggesting yoga to everyone, just remember that someone else’s pain may not be such an easy fix.
