Yoga For Your Pain
25% to 30% of americans suffer from chronic pain. Most turn to medication for relief. A new study shows there is a more natural way to find relief. As Deborah Linz shows us, your body may already have what it takes to be pain-free.
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SHOULD ERIC SMALL EVER NEED PROOF HE'S MAKING A DIFFERENCE, HE COULD FIND IT IN THE BACK ROW OF HIS 7:00 am YOGA CLASS.
Mary Jean Scheuer
Yoga Student
"But, I'll tell you, you can see it in the hands. They'd swell up like little hams. I do the yoga. And see my hands? I couldn't do that before."
71-YEAR-OLD MARY JEAN SCHEUER SAYS HER ARTHRITIS PAIN DISSAPEARED WHEN SHE MET ERIC AND STARTED PRACTICING IYENGER YOGA, A TYPE OF YOGA THAT COMBINES BREATHING EXERCISES WITH DIFFICULT POSES.
DOCTOR SONIA GAUR IS NOT SURPRISED. SHE PRACTICES THE SAME TYPE OF YOGA, AND RECENTLY PUT IT TO THE TEST. 18 CHRONIC PAIN PATIENTS TOOK A 90-MINUTE YOGA CLASS THREE TIMES A WEEK. FOUR WEEKS LATER...
Sonia Gaur, M.D.
Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist
Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
Torrance, CA
"They managed to decrease their medication and actually, you know, improve their quality of life."
THEY ALSO REPORTED A DECREASE IN ANXIETY AND MEDICATION. IT HASN'T CURED GERRIE WORMSER'S FIBROMYALGIA, BUT IT'S MAKING HER PAIN EASIER TO LIVE WITH.
Gerrie Wormser
Yoga Student
"The thumb pains are still there, the knees, the back. It's still there, but I can manage it."
POPPING A PILL MAY BE EASIER, BUT FEWER SIDE EFFECTS AND MORE PERMANENT RESULTS MAKE THIS TOUGH MEDICINE WORTH SWALLOWING FOR SOME.
DOCTOR GAUR SAYS IYENGAR YOGA CAN ALSO IMPROVE YOUR MOOD AND INCREASE YOUR RESISTANCE TO DISEASE. SHE SAYS A LARGER STUDY IS NEEDED TO DETERMINE WHETHER IT CAN ACTUALLY CURE CHRONIC PAIN.
IYENGAR YOGA: Yoga originated in India and has been practiced for centuries. A rigid, strict form of the discipline is called Iyengar yoga. Iyengar yoga focuses on developing strength, flexibility, stability and poise through learning precise alignment in poses. Many are done in the standing position but students also learn poses in the sitting, twisting, inverted, forward bending, backward bending and supine positions. "Timing" is everything. Students are taught to stay for a longer duration of time in each position in order to experience it. A feature of this style of yoga is the use of props. The use of props also helps the aged and disabled perform the classical poses and get the same benefits -- something they would never be able to do independently. Regular practice of yoga can develop strength, flexibility, and endurance - physically, psychologically, mentally and emotionally. Cardiovascular fitness improves, as does the health of the circulatory, nervous, and endocrine systems. Using a combination of yoga poses and meditative breathing exercises, students learn to control the emotions of the mind. This brings the mind and body into a relaxed state wiping away tension that can harm the body.
STUDY: Nearly 30 percent of Americans suffer from chronic pain. It costs our country vast amounts of money each year in disability income and lost wages. Two percent of all work-related injuries account for 86 percent of all disability costs. Sonia Gaur, M.D., of Harbor UCLA Medical Center, knew through personal experience that yoga helped ease her chronic back problems. She decided to test her theory on a small group of patients. Eighteen patients between ages 18 and 65 enrolled in her study: 11 with low back pain, two with carpal tunnel syndrome, one each with migraines, dermatomyositis, hip pain, neck pain and osteoarthritis. All patients had been experiencing persistent pain for more than three months. They attended 90-minute yoga sessions three times a week. The volunteers filled out questionnaires each week focusing on mood states, pain severity, and the amount of pain medication used. After just four weeks, all 18 patients experienced some type of improvement. No one suffered any deterioration. All the patients showed a decrease in pain medication, decreased levels of anxiety, an improved mood, and were more likely to be able to participate in home and family activities. Dr. Gaur says a larger study is needed to determine whether yoga can actually cure chronic pain, but she says it's clear yoga can help some people who suffer from chronic pain when all other avenues are exhausted.
PAIN RELIEVER: Dr. Gaur believes yoga heals by combing transcendental meditation with a variety of isometric exercises. The combination of the two leads to increased self-awareness which can increase resistance to disease. Yoga has provided relief for patients with a variety of chronic problems:
Skeleto-muscular Disorders: Arthritis, Spondylosis, Lower back pain, Slipped disc, Sciatica
Circulatory Disorders: Heart problems, Angina pain, Hypertension
Digestive Disorders: Constipation, Flatulence, Diabetes, Colitis, Hernia
Respiratory Disorders: Asthma, Sinusitis, Bronchitis
Nervous Disorders: Headaches, Migraines
Reproductive Disorders: Menstrual pain, Uterine displacement, Menopausal problems
AIDS -- Improves quality of life
Sonia Gaur, M.D.
Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
ypain2000@yahoo.com
Copyright © 2002 Ivanhoe Broadcast News, Inc.
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