Recent evidence suggests that yoga can be effective for reducing back pain. One recent randomised controlled\ntrial (RCT) reported that yoga was cost-effective, from a societal perspective, for reducing back pain. Our study will\nbe the first RCT to investigate the cost-effectiveness of yoga, from the perspective of the employer, for preventing\nand reducing back pain at work.\nOur study population will include 120 NHS staff members recruited from three hospital sites. Participants who\nmeet the inclusion criteria will be randomised to receive either an eight-week yoga programme or an education\nprogramme consisting of evidence-based back care information. The yoga group will attend a weekly sixty minute\nyoga session and then practise at home using a back care DVD and an illustrated yoga booklet.\nOutcome measures will be collected at baseline, at eight weeks, and at six months. The Roland Morris Disability\nQuestionnaire (RMDQ) will be the primary outcome measure for back pain. Sickness absence data, the EQ5D-5L\nand ICECAP-A will be used for the economic evaluation. Secondary outcome measures will assess back pain,\nwellbeing, quality of life, mood and resilience.\nThe economic evaluation will be calculated using return-on-investment analysis (ROI) for the employer\nperspective and cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) for the societal perspective. Qualitative data will be collected to\ndetermine the facilitators and barriers for successfully implementing a yoga programme at work.
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