London - Regular yoga sessions can ease chronic neck pain, new research suggests.
Volunteers in a German study reported significantly less discomfort after doing a 90-minute yoga class every week for nine weeks. Those taking other forms of exercise, such as walking or stretching showed less improvement.
About two-thirds of people will experience neck pain at some time, triggered by injury or everyday activities, such as falling asleep in an awkward position. In the new trial, 76 patients signed up to a nine-week yoga course or followed an exercise programme given to them by the researchers.
The volunteers’ pain levels were then measured using a standard scoring system. The results, published in the Journal of Pain, showed neck pain was more than halved in the yoga group compared with a reduction of about a fifth in the exercise group. It’s thought that yoga strengthens neck muscles, reducing anxiety levels and improving flexibility. - Daily Mail