TY - JOUR
T1 - Yoga and disc degenerative disease in cervical and lumbar spine
T2 - An MR imaging-based case control study
AU - Jeng, Chin Ming
AU - Cheng, Tzu Chieh
AU - Kung, Ching Huei
AU - Hsu, Hue Chen
PY - 2011/3/1
Y1 - 2011/3/1
N2 - The objective of the current study was to find out whether yoga practice was beneficial to the spine by comparing degenerative disc disease in the spines of long-time yoga practitioners and non-yoga practicing controls, using an objective measurement tool, magnetic resonance imaging. This matched case-control study comprised 18 yoga instructors with teaching experience of more than 10 years and 18 non-yoga practicing asymptomatic individuals randomly selected from a health checkup database. A validated grading scale was used to grade the condition of cervical and lumbar discs seen in magnetic resonance imaging of the spine, and the resulting data analyzed statistically. The mean number of years of yoga practice for the yoga group was 12.9 ± 7.5. The overall (cervical + lumbar) disc scores of the yoga group were significantly lower (indicating less degenerative disc disease) than those of the control group (P<0.001). The scores for the cervical vertebral discs of the yoga group were also significantly lower than those of the control group (P<0.001), while the lower scores for the yoga group in the lumbar group approached, but did not reach, statistical significance (P = 0.055). The scores for individual discs of yoga practitioners showed significantly less degenerative disease at three disc levels, C3/C4, L2/L3 and L3/L4 (P<0.05). Magnetic resonance imaging showed that the group of long-term practitioners of yoga studied had significantly less degenerative disc disease than a matched control group.
AB - The objective of the current study was to find out whether yoga practice was beneficial to the spine by comparing degenerative disc disease in the spines of long-time yoga practitioners and non-yoga practicing controls, using an objective measurement tool, magnetic resonance imaging. This matched case-control study comprised 18 yoga instructors with teaching experience of more than 10 years and 18 non-yoga practicing asymptomatic individuals randomly selected from a health checkup database. A validated grading scale was used to grade the condition of cervical and lumbar discs seen in magnetic resonance imaging of the spine, and the resulting data analyzed statistically. The mean number of years of yoga practice for the yoga group was 12.9 ± 7.5. The overall (cervical + lumbar) disc scores of the yoga group were significantly lower (indicating less degenerative disc disease) than those of the control group (P<0.001). The scores for the cervical vertebral discs of the yoga group were also significantly lower than those of the control group (P<0.001), while the lower scores for the yoga group in the lumbar group approached, but did not reach, statistical significance (P = 0.055). The scores for individual discs of yoga practitioners showed significantly less degenerative disease at three disc levels, C3/C4, L2/L3 and L3/L4 (P<0.05). Magnetic resonance imaging showed that the group of long-term practitioners of yoga studied had significantly less degenerative disc disease than a matched control group.
KW - Disc degenerative disease (DDD)
KW - Low back pain
KW - MRI
KW - Neck pain
KW - Yoga
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79955939282&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=79955939282&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00586-010-1547-y
DO - 10.1007/s00586-010-1547-y
M3 - Article
C2 - 20711844
AN - SCOPUS:79955939282
SN - 0940-6719
VL - 20
SP - 408
EP - 413
JO - European Spine Journal
JF - European Spine Journal
IS - 3
ER -