Yoga therapy being used to treat chronic pain

(WJBK) - Researchers are experimenting with a "new" kind of therapy for those with chronic pain, but it's a practice that's quite timeless. 

When Jenny Mateer's doctor recommended yoga to treat her chronic pain, she didn't hesitate.

"I'm willing to do almost anything to not have pain all the time," she says. She joined a 10-week study by the Health Partners Institute trying to establish yoga as an effective pain management therapy.

"It's not new, right?  It's been around for 3,000 years and there's actually already been a ton of studies chronic pain, lower back pain, insomnia, anxiety," says clinical nurse specialist Sara Hall. But it only works if people actually perform the yoga.

Traditional yoga classes are intimidating to many patients, so Hall created adaptive poses people could use at home.

"One of the things I found is that some of the poses are the same movements or exercises as I have learned through physical therapy over the years not knowing that I was doing yoga," says Mateer. And that's why it seems to work for many of the patients.

"People said their sleep improved, they were able to breathe easier, they had less pain overall," says Hall. 

"But it helps me relax a little bit, which relieves some of that tension with relieves some of that source pain," says Mateer. 

The Health Partners Institute is still compiling its research results.
            
Jenny knows at least for her, though, it has helped.