Glossary · Term
Yoga
Yoga helps some people with back pain about as much as other exercise does, no more and no less. Whether it suits you is mostly a question of what you will keep doing.
Yoga is a mind-body practice that combines physical postures with breathing and relaxation. In the trials of yoga for back pain, most classes used Iyengar, hatha or viniyoga styles (Wieland et al., 2022). NICE’s guideline on low back pain lists mind-body exercise among the types of group exercise programme that can be considered for a flare-up of back pain (NICE).
Does yoga help back pain?
A little, and about as much as other exercise. The Cochrane review of yoga for chronic non-specific low back pain included 21 trials with 2,223 people, most of them women in their 40s or 50s (Wieland et al., 2022):
- Compared with no exercise, yoga led to small improvements in back-related function (low-certainty evidence) and pain (moderate-certainty evidence) at 3 months. On average both fell short of the size usually considered clinically important.
- Compared with other back-focused exercise, such as physiotherapy, there was probably little or no difference in function at 3 months.
None of the trials could blind people to whether they were doing yoga, which the authors counted as a high risk of bias. Their conclusion was practical: the choice between yoga and other exercise may come down to availability, cost and preference.
A US trial showed the same pattern. In 228 adults with chronic low back pain, 12 weekly yoga classes improved function and symptoms more than a self-care book, but no more than classes of conventional stretching (Sherman et al., 2011). The longer look at these studies is in Is yoga good for back pain?
Yoga for neck pain
The evidence is thinner. A meta-analysis found 3 trials with 188 people with chronic non-specific neck pain, comparing yoga with usual care; yoga had short-term effects on pain, disability, quality of life and mood (Cramer et al., 2017). Three small trials are a modest base, and the review could only report short-term effects.
Is yoga safe for your back?
Broadly, yes. A review of 94 randomised trials with 8,430 participants found no difference in serious or non-serious adverse events between yoga and usual care or other exercise (Cramer et al., 2015). In the Cochrane review, yoga did cause more adverse events than no exercise, mostly increased back pain (about 43 per 1,000 people compared with 9 per 1,000), but a similar number to other exercise (Wieland et al., 2022).
Two cautions apply. If you have osteoporosis, a UK consensus advises avoiding postures with a high degree of spinal flexion, which matters for some deep forward bends (Brooke-Wavell et al., 2022). And with any exercise for back pain, the NHS advice is to stop if the pain gets worse and see a GP (NHS).
Yoga for people who sit all day
The NHS lists yoga alongside walking, swimming and pilates as activities that may help ease back pain (NHS). For a desk worker, the research points to choosing by preference and practicality, whether that means a weekly class, pilates, qigong or short movement breaks during the day.
Several stretches physiotherapists use also come from yoga, such as the cat-cow stretch, child’s pose and cobra stretch. Each of those pages shows one exercise from the Bavelu app, designed and filmed by physiotherapists. For desk-related back pain more generally, see lower back pain from sitting.
Questions people ask
Is yoga good for lower back pain?
It can help a little. A Cochrane review of 21 trials found small improvements in pain and function compared with no exercise, too small to count as clinically important on average, and little or no difference compared with other back-focused exercise.
Is yoga better than stretching for back pain?
Not in the main trial that compared them. In 228 adults with chronic low back pain, 12 weekly yoga classes were better than a self-care book but no better than conventional stretching classes.
Can yoga make back pain worse?
Sometimes. In the Cochrane review, yoga led to more adverse events than no exercise, mostly increased back pain, but about the same as other exercise. A review of 94 trials found yoga about as safe as usual care and other exercise.
Does yoga help neck pain?
There is less research. A meta-analysis of 3 trials with 188 people with chronic neck pain found short-term improvements in pain, disability, quality of life and mood compared with usual care.
Terms on this page
- Non-specific low back painLow back pain without an identifiable specific cause, which covers about nine in ten cases.
- QigongA Chinese practice combining slow movement, breathing and focused attention; tai chi is one form of it.
- OsteoporosisA long-term condition that makes bones weak and easier to break, often without symptoms.
Sources
- Wieland LS, Skoetz N, Pilkington K, Harbin S, Vempati R, Berman BM. Yoga for chronic non-specific low back pain. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2022.
- NICE. Low back pain and sciatica in over 16s: assessment and management (NG59). Recommendations.
- Sherman KJ, Cherkin DC, Wellman RD, Cook AJ, Hawkes RJ, Delaney K, Deyo RA. A randomized trial comparing yoga, stretching, and a self-care book for chronic low back pain. Archives of Internal Medicine, 2011.
- Cramer H, Klose P, Brinkhaus B, Michalsen A, Dobos G. Effects of yoga on chronic neck pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Rehabilitation, 2017.
- Cramer H, Ward L, Saper R, Fishbein D, Dobos G, Lauche R. The safety of yoga: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. American Journal of Epidemiology, 2015.
- Brooke-Wavell K et al. Strong, steady and straight: UK consensus statement on physical activity and exercise for osteoporosis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2022.
- NHS. Back pain.
This page explains a topic in general terms. It is not a diagnosis and does not replace a doctor or physiotherapist. If something hurts badly, keeps getting worse or comes with numbness, weakness or fever, see a doctor.
