How yoga could beat arthritis pain

Regular sessions lessened pain, boosted energy levels and made it easier to carry out everyday tasks.

Regular sessions lessened pain, boosted energy levels and made it easier to carry out everyday tasks.

Published Oct 12, 2015

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London - Yoga could calm the pain of the two most common forms of arthritis.

Regular sessions lessened pain, boosted energy levels and made it easier to carry out everyday tasks. Importantly, the benefits were still evident months after the classes ended.

All of those involved in the study either had osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis is caused by wear and tear of cartilage that helps the joints take the strain of bending, lifting, gripping and kneeling, and affects more than eight million Britons.

Another 400 000 people in the UK have rheumatoid arthritis, in which the immune system attacks the joints by mistake, making them painful and swollen. Neither can be cured and the long-term use of powerful painkillers carries the risk of heart problems and dangerous stomach bleeds.

US researchers from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore studied 75 sufferers. Half did two yoga classes a week, plus a practice at home, the others went about life as usual. After two months, those doing yoga experienced a 20 percent improvement in pain, energy levels, mood and physical function.

Their walking speed also increased and the effects were still apparent nine months later, the Journal of Rheumatology reports.

Researcher Clifton Bingham advised arthritis patients thinking of taking up yoga to speak to their doctors first.

Daily Mail

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