How Yoga Helps with Chronic Pain
The quality of your life diminishes in unexpected ways when you have chronic pain. Hobbies and sports may no longer be worth the pain they bring. Worries about controlling pain can lead to stress, which only makes pain worse. Luckily, yoga offers an effective way to reduce and control chronic pain.
How Yoga Helps You Manage Chronic Pain
Yoga is more than just a form of exercise. Mediation and deep yogic breathing complement yoga poses and enhance the healing effects of the practice. Yoga benefits include:
- Less Pain. As you move from pose to pose, your body releases serotonin and endorphins. These hormones, known as nature's painkillers, ease pain naturally. Yoga also relieves discomfort naturally by activating centers in the brain responsible for pain control.
- Better Flexibility. Muscles stiffen in response to pain, which only worsens and prolongs symptoms. Yoga gently stretches tight tissues, improving the flexibility and mobility of joints and muscles, while easing pain.
- Lower Inflammation. Inflammation helped protect your body when you first experienced pain. Unfortunately, long-term inflammation, common with arthritis, fibromyalgia, and other painful conditions, can make symptoms worse. Yoga lowers inflammation naturally. As inflammation decreases, pain decreases.
- Stronger Muscles. Strong muscles are needed to support your joints. Weakness can lead to joint instability and misalignments, two key factors in pain. Yoga strengthens muscles, reducing pain and preventing painful flare-ups. Poses use your body weight to improve strength. For example, planks target core muscles, while the Warrior 1 pose and other standing poses strengthen muscles in the legs and hips.
- Improved Posture. It's only natural to favor a limb if you have a painful condition. Over time, these changes can lead to poor posture and muscle imbalances. As one muscle grows stronger due to overuse, the corresponding muscle weakens. This can lead to pain and increased risk of injury. Yoga's focus on all muscle groups restorin balance and improving your posture.
- Calmer Nervous System. Your nervous system can become overly sensitive after months or years of living with chronic pain. Stress and anxiety may enhance sensitivity, increasing pain. The combination of poses, yogic breathing, and meditation relaxes your body and calms your mind, reducing pain and promoting healing.
- Better Sleep. Does your pain keep you up at night? If you don't get enough sleep or experience poor sleep quality, healing may be delayed. By reducing pain and stress, yoga can help you get the sleep you need.
Could Yoga Improve Your Chronic Pain?
Do you wish you could find a natural solution to control your pain? According to a systematic review published in the Journal of Physiotherapy in 2019, you're not alone. In fact, several studies the researchers reviewed noted that participants were interested in self-management strategies, including specific exercises.
Yoga is an excellent choice if you've been looking for an effective exercise program. Practicing yoga can help you manage chronic pain caused by a variety of conditions, including arthritis (any type), fibromyalgia, headaches, back and neck conditions, migraines, injuries, aging, multiple sclerosis, menstrual pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, endometriosis, multiple sclerosis, digestive issues, inflammatory bowel disorders, strains, and sprains.
Yoga offers proven results for chronic pain. A 24-week clinical trial published in JAMA Network in 2024 evaluated the effects of yoga on healthcare workers with chronic low back pain. Participants were assigned to a waiting list or a livestreamed yoga class. Those who attended the livestreamed class had a greater reduction in pain and used less pain medication than participants on the waiting list.
Tired of living in pain? Control your chronic pain symptoms with yoga classes. Get in touch with us for information about our current class schedule.
Sources:
JAMA Network: Effectiveness of Virtual Yoga for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial, 11/1/2024
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2825746
Science Direct: Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Why Patients Visit Their Doctors: Assessing the Most Prevalent Conditions in a Defined American Population, 1/2013
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0025619612010361
Science Direct: Journal of Physiotherapy: People with Low Back Pain Want Clear, Consistent and Personalized Information on Prognosis, Treatment Options and Self-Management Strategies: A Systematic Review, 7/2019
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1836955319300578
Yoga Journal: Yoga for Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain, 1/20/2025