Tackle sleep disturbance and back pain with yoga and physical therapy (PT), a new study suggests. Researchers say implementing these strategies to treat these issue may limit the need for medication.
A team of researchers that included some from the Boston Medical Center in the US conducted the study. The findings lead researchers to conclude that one can take non-pharmacologic approaches to gain long-term benefits.
Many people with chronic low back pain (cLBP) also tend to suffer from sleep disturbance and insomnia. Previous studies have shown close to 60 per cent of people with cLBP have poor sleep quality and a large percentage of the group are diagnosed with insomnia.
Medication prescribed for back pain and sleep issues can have side effects that are fatal, like drug overdose and death, according to the researchers.
"Identifying holistic ways to treat these conditions could help decrease the reliance on these medications as well as keep patients safer and more comfortable," study co-author Eric Roseen from the Boston Medical Center, told a news portal.
For the study, 320 adult participants with cLBP were selected from various community health centres, including Boston Medical Center. At the beginning of the study, researchers discovered that the majority of the participants had issues with sleep. Patients were selected at random to participate in one of three types of treatment for the medical condition -weekly yoga, reading educational materials, or physical therapy.
The results showed 12 weeks of yoga classes or a one-on-one PT session proved to help improve sleep quality 52 weeks. Those who started to show improvements within six weeks of treatment for pain were more likely to improve sleep quality by the end of treatment. "The high prevalence of sleep problems in adults with chronic low back pain can have detrimental effects on a person's overall health and well-being,"Roseen told a news portal.
Another study conducted at the Boston Medical Center also found these two strategies can work effectively to tackle pain and improve a person's physical function. "This really emphasizes the need for providers to ask patients with chronic low back pain about the quality of their sleep. Given the serious risks of combining pain and sleep medications, nonpharmacologic approaches should be considered for these patients," Roseen told a news portal.
The study's findings were originally published in theJournal of General Internal Medicine.
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