by Baxter
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| Roots and Water by Brad Gibson |
Earlier this summer, some good news was reported in the New York Times about recent study on the benefits of yoga asana for osteoporosis. Physiatrist Loren Fishman, MD (a physiatrist is an MD who works mostly with helping to rehabilitate those with chronic illnesses and injuries without the use of surgery) released the results of a study on the potential benefits of yoga on the progression, or course, of osteoporosis. Originally enlisting over 180 subjects, the study had participants attend a series of classes to learn a short 10-minute home yoga practice that they were then asked to do daily for two years. Knowing human nature, it is perhaps not surprising that only 11 participants were able to complete the study as required. But those who did had some very encouraging results: an increase in the bone density of hips and spine, while the seven controls with osteoporosis continued to lose bone mass. That’s right, the bones of the yoga practitioners actually got stronger. The downside to this result, of course, is the small number of folks who stuck to it, which means that additional larger studies will be required to confirm these initial encouraging results.
Sadly, we live in a culture that often is looking for the quick fix, the one-pill solution, or the single visit to the doc for the cure. The yoga tradition is pretty clear on how positive change occurs, and how goals are met through regular practice done over the long haul. And this ongoing active engagement concept seems supported by the results from this study. Got 10 minutes a day?
For more about this study and what it might mean for you, check out the New York Times article here. You can get complete information on the study (and see the poses included in the osteoporosis yoga practice) here.
Next week, my Rx for osteoporosis in your home practice. If you can’t wait till then, know that all of your yoga poses are “weight bearing,” so keep on doing some poses you love for now, and I will add in my favorite picks next time!
And remember to ask us questions for our Friday Q&A. Leave questions in a comment or email us at the address in the Contact Us page.
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Hi Baxter,
I would love a similar article on lower back disk compression. My 73 year old father's lumbar disks have compressed and are causing nerve problems which result in knee pain & effect his mobility. His western MD recommends surgery to fuse the disks but he is leery of this approach. Any recommendations on a more holistic approach?
I'm loving this blog. Thanks!
Thanks for the suggestion, Dori. We'll try to address this issue sometime in the next couple of weeks. –Nina
Dear Baxter and Readers,
I just saw this post, even though it was put up years ago. I think Dr. Bell was writing about the pilot study. We did it because so many yoga teachers warned us that we would hurt people, so I took the 180 people into my office and taught them after work for two years and found first, no injuries, and second, they gained bone mineral density in their spines and hips which was statistically significant compared to a control group. Since then I made a DVD to get a uniform practice and sent it to 741 people who requested it from all over the world. Eight years later we published that study, which had 241 people that actually gave us their bone density measures earlier in their lives, and when they started the study, and then 2 and 4 years later, when they were doing the yoga in the 12-minute DVD. Yi-Hsueh Lu of Rockefeller University, and Bernard Rosner of Harvard did the statistics, and they turned out even more impressively positive for spine and thigh bones than the pilot study. Out of more than 100,000 hours of doing the DVD, and more than 80% of the patients having osteopenia or osteoporosis, again, there were no fractures or serious injuries of any kind.
We are now doing a dose (of yoga) – response (bone mineral density) study and have put the 12-minute protocol on You-tube as well as in the DVD. For more info go to “sciatica.org.”
Loren
Dear Loren,
Thanks for updating our readers on all that you have been discovering through your recent research. For those that have not seen your most recent study, I highly recommend you read through it! Here is the link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4851231/ And we look forward to your next research results, whatever the focus may be! Namaste, Baxter