• Clin J Pain · Mar 2013

    Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study

    Randomized-controlled trial comparing yoga and home-based exercise for chronic neck pain.

    • Holger Cramer, Romy Lauche, Claudia Hohmann, Rainer Lüdtke, Heidemarie Haller, Andreas Michalsen, Jost Langhorst, and Gustav Dobos.
    • Chair of Complementary and Integrative Medicine, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany. h.cramer@kliniken-essen-mitte.de
    • Clin J Pain. 2013 Mar 1; 29 (3): 216-23.

    ObjectivesChronic neck pain is a significant public health problem with only very few evidence-based treatment options. There is growing evidence for the effectiveness of yoga for relieving musculoskeletal disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Iyengar yoga compared with exercise on chronic nonspecific neck pain.MethodsPatients were randomly assigned to either yoga or exercise. The yoga group attended a 9-week yoga course and the exercise group received a self-care manual on home-based exercises for neck pain relief. The main outcome measure was the present neck pain intensity (100 mm visual analog scale). Secondary outcome measures included functional disability (Neck Disability Index), pain at motion (visual analog scale), health-related quality of life (Short Form-36 questionnaire), cervical range of motion, proprioceptive acuity, and pressure pain threshold.ResultsFifty-one patients (mean age 47.8 y ; 82.4% female) were randomized to yoga (n=25) and exercise (n=26) intervention. After the study period, patients in the yoga group reported significantly less neck pain intensity compared with the exercise group [mean difference: -13.9 mm (95% CI, -26.4 to -1.4), P=0.03]. The yoga group reported less disability and better mental quality of life. Range of motion and proprioceptive acuity were improved and the pressure pain threshold was elevated in the yoga group.DiscussionYoga was more effective in relieving chronic nonspecific neck pain than a home-based exercise program. Yoga reduced neck pain intensity and disability and improved health-related quality of life. Moreover, yoga seems to influence the functional status of neck muscles, as indicated by improvement of physiological measures of neck pain.

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