An estimated 70% of people will experience low back pain at some point in their lives, and recurrence rates\r\ncan be as high as 85%. Recent studies suggest that yoga ââ?¬â?? a widely practiced physical/mental discipline ââ?¬â?? may\r\nrelieve back pain and reduce functional disability. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review and\r\nmeta-analysis of the existing research on the effects of yoga on chronic low back pain and function. Our literature\r\nsearch began April 2011 and continued through October 2011. Cochrane, PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, ProQuest\r\nDissertations and Theses, Google Scholar, and Clinicaltrials.gov databases were searched electronically. The search\r\nterms used were: yoga AND back pain. A total of 58 relevant studies were originally identified through the database\r\nsearches. Of those, 45 were excluded on the basis of the title and/or review of the abstract. The 13 remaining studies\r\nwere fully evaluated via a careful review of the full text. On the basis of the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 6 studies\r\nwere excluded, leaving a total of 7 studies to be included in the meta-analyses of the impact of yoga on low back pain\r\nand function. Effect sizes were calculated as the standardized mean difference and meta-analyses were completed\r\nusing a random-effects model. Overall, yoga was found to result in a medium, beneficial effect on chronic low back\r\npain [overall effect size (ES) = 0.58, p<0.001], indicating that subjects practicing yoga reported significantly less pain\r\nthan control subjects. Yoga subjects also reported significantly less functional disability after the intervention (overall\r\nES = 0.53, p<0.001). Moreover, the improvements in pain and function for yoga subjects remained statistically\r\nsignificant 12-24 weeks after the end of the intervention (overall ES = 0.44-0.54, p=0.002). In conclusion, yoga\r\npractice can significantly reduce pain and increase functional ability in chronic low back pain patients.
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