SportsGeezer readers know what not to do for lower back pain: do not have an MRI. For back pain at least, that diagnostic procedure is deemed by the American College of Physicians more costly than useful. Now, from a study done at the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle comes another practice that won’t help: book reading. OK, not exactly, but researchers at the institute did divide a group of 228 long-back-pain-suffering people into three groups, one of which attended weekly yoga classes, one of which went to stretching classes, and one of which read a book about how to treat back pain. The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that 60 percent of people in the yoga group reported improvements in pain, compared to 46 percent in the stretching classes. And the readers? Only 16 percent of people said the pain had been reduced. More on that from Reuters.
Health, fitness and lifestyle tips for people over 50 who still like to play hard
Sunday, June 1, 2025
I firmly believe that yoga does the trick of releasing the back pain. I had been suffering back pain for many years before I started yoga. Now I am pain free most of the time. Of course I also do other things as well such as swimming.
Thanks.
Matt
In 1986 after bailing off a horse that was pulled down by a 2 yr colt I was leading around a track: I landed on my wallet full of cards and such.I had broken my right hip in four places. Later I was diagnosed as having a rupetured disk between L4 and L5 of my spine. My Doctor told me Ihad to have a fision of the two affected discs of my spine. I was already familiar with the procedure. Aproximately 66 per cent of the people I had observed had a worse condition with even more pain than before. I was told by my employer 4 months after my accident, that my p0sition had been terminated and would have to have the procedure done. Instead I took medical retirement instead. Before the accident sometimes during the winter months I had to let my body down to the floor from my bed and wiggle like a snake in order to get to the bathroom and fill the tub with hot water so that my body could loosen up enough to cloth myself and go to work. This condition happened :after a headon colision with a gentleman who was passing a vehicle while going over a hill and around a turn.My injurys consisted of: A skull fracture from going thru the windshield and back into the car,a broken left arm and a broken right hand, plus 5 broken bones, above the right ankle and almost severing it.I can only tell you, the Lord GOD whom I serve was not ready for me just yet. These injuries and another wreck in 1964 gave me another skull fracrure and a broken right ankle. Needless to say:These injurys and back situation combined together to give me a goodly amount of arthiritic pain as well as the daily back pain My medical retirement began in Jan of l986. Oh by the way I never had the laminecty(sp) and today percentage wise, I woul say , daily have approximately 25 to 30 per cent of the daily pain that I experienced in l986. I do daily streching excerizes and have to take pain pills periodically,but not every day. I count myself blessed!! Sincerely yours Joe A. Schwartz
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