Yoga for Chronic Pain

Questions Answered Here

1. Why and how does yoga help those who suffer from chronic pain?
2. What are the teaching objectives when using yoga to address chronic pain?
3. Which yoga techniques tend to be effective with chronic pain?
4. What strategies can help in designing an effective class to address chronic pain?

Why Yoga Tends to Help Chronic Pain

• Stress is highly related to chronic pain and yoga has tools to address stress.
• Yoga promotes changes in the nervous system that cause a reduction in the experience of chronic pain.

Addressing Stress

Doctors typically underestimate the role of stress in causing and worsening chronic pain, and they often don’t know how to advise stressed-out patients. Yoga not only regards addressing stress as essential, but has the tools to do it. – Timothy McCall, MD

Promotes Changes in the Nervous System

Movement that is novel, variable and demands focus and concentration can promote changes in the nervous system… that are required to reduce the pain experience. – Shelly Prosko

Effect on Brain

There is compelling evidence from studies conducted at NIH/NCCIH and other sites that mind-body techniques, such as yoga and meditation, can counteract the brain anatomy affects of chronic pain. “Practicing yoga has the opposite effect on the brain as does chronic pain,” said Bushnell. She said the studies show yoga practitioners have more gray matter than controls in multiple brain regions, including those involved in pain modulation… “Brain anatomy changes may contribute to mood disorders and other affective and cognitive comorbidities of chronic pain. The encouraging news for people with chronic pain is mind-body practices seem to exert a protective effect on brain gray matter that counteracts the neuroanatomical effects of chronic pain,” Bushnell added. – American Pain Society

General Approach

• Objectives include relaxation, stress relief and reduction of muscle tension and postural issues.
• Yoga techniques that have proven effective include breath practices, meditation, sound vibration, asana and more.
• Effective strategies for designing a class for chronic pain include starting with relaxed breathing in a supported position, such as lying down; introducing movement slowly; structuring the class to include plenty of repetition and rest; and breaking down complicated classical yoga poses into simple movements and stretches.