Yoga for People With Chronic Pain in a Community-Based Setting: A Feasibility and Pilot RCT

• Published in: Journal of evidence-based integrative medicine Vol. 24; p. 2515690X19863763
• Main Authors: Schmid, Arlene A., Fruhauf, Christine A., Sharp, Julia L., Van Puymbroeck, Marieke, Bair, Matthew J., Portz, Jennifer Dickman
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01-01-2019; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC; SAGE Publishing
• Subjects: Activities of daily living; Adult; Chronic pain; Chronic Pain - therapy; Feasibility; Feasibility Studies; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Original; Pain; Pain Management; Pilot Projects; Responsiveness; Yoga; feasibility; yoga; chronic pain; alternative therapies
• ISSN: 2515-690X; 2515-690X
• DOI: 10.1177/2515690X19863763

The purpose of this feasibility pilot study was to assess benefits of 8 weeks of yoga in people with chronic pain. Participants completed baseline assessments and were randomized to yoga or usual care. Yoga was offered twice a week for 8 weeks. We assessed feasibility and the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) was the primary outcome, assessing pain-severity and pain interference on daily activities. Eighty-three people were recruited; 67 people completed the study and were included in the analyses. Average age of participants was 50.78 ± 10.43 years and most participants had pain >10 years. The intervention appeared feasible and there were significant improvements (P < .05) in multiple measures for the yoga group, including a decrease in BPI interference scores from 7.15 ± 1.70 to 6.14 ± 2.21 (P = .007). There was a significant difference in body responsiveness and pain management scores between groups at 8 weeks. It appears that yoga was feasible and positively influenced multiple outcome measures for people with chronic pain.