The Guardian 31st October 2011
Daily Mail 1st November 2011

Both The Guardian and the Daily Mail reported that Yoga may work better for lower back pain than conventional treatments and the Daily Mail reported that Yoga is better at treating a bad back than 'going to the doctor’.

Both articles, plus other press coverage, reported that a team from the university of York have looked at it's effects on about 300 patients with chronic lower back pain, a common condition which effects one in five adults in any given year, and 80% of adults at some point in their lives.

Patients who did three months of Yoga classes in the therapeutic discipline were able to do daily chores they previously would have found impossible, say scientists. The researchers claimed Yoga helped patients feel more confident in carrying out chores despite their back pain.

Professor Alan Silman, Medical Director of Arthritis Research UK, which funded the study said: ‘We’re delighted that our trial has shown that Yoga provides such positive benefits for people with chronic low back pain. This extremely common condition cannot be managed with painkillers alone and there is an urgent need to have non-drug therapies that sufferers can utilise in their own home'.