The Effect of Yoga Practice on Chronic Back Pain

NCT ID: NCT04270617

Last Updated: 2025-07-29

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

200 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2019-12-01

Study Completion Date

2027-01-01

Brief Summary

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Chronic low back pain is notoriously difficult to treat and is a primary contributor to lost work days and excessive health expenditures, and whose treatment has, in part, contributed to the opioid crisis. Surgery is only an option in a minority of these patients, usually confined to those with structural instability. Yoga is an ancient modality whose benefits are currently being studied.

Detailed Description

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The purpose of this research study is to determine whether a 6 week standardized yoga practice is superior to usual conservative therapies in the treatment of chronic back pain at 6 months. There is enough data that the most recent ACP guidelines have included yoga as a treatment for chronic back pain, but more data needs to be generated regarding the efficacy of this modality in treating the chronic back pain population.

Conditions

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Chronic Back Pain

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Control arm

The control arm will involve usual care - 6 weeks of physical therapy, NSAIDs, and epidural steroid injections

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Yoga Arm

The study arm will involve a yoga protocol devised by Eddie Stern - a renowned Ashtanga yoga practitioner, and can include NSAIDs.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Yoga program

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

The intervention will be a 6-week ashtanga yoga program designed by world-renowned yogi Eddie Stern. Eddie Stern is an internationally known Ashtanga yoga teacher, in independent practice not affiliated with NYULH, who has done significant work exploring the physiology and science of yoga. He is not currently engaged in his own research. The yoga protocol for chronic back pain was designed with poses specific to addressing core strength but are gentle enough for patients in pain. The protocol is designed to be directed by a teacher initially but can be done at home and is only 18 minutes in duration.

Interventions

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Yoga program

The intervention will be a 6-week ashtanga yoga program designed by world-renowned yogi Eddie Stern. Eddie Stern is an internationally known Ashtanga yoga teacher, in independent practice not affiliated with NYULH, who has done significant work exploring the physiology and science of yoga. He is not currently engaged in his own research. The yoga protocol for chronic back pain was designed with poses specific to addressing core strength but are gentle enough for patients in pain. The protocol is designed to be directed by a teacher initially but can be done at home and is only 18 minutes in duration.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Willingness to and ability to participate in study procedures
* Chronic back pain (pain above the gluteal cleft of at least 3 months duration)

Exclusion Criteria

* Indication for surgery (i.e., fracture, infection, scoliosis, spondylolisthesis)
* Cardiac, pulmonary or other medical comorbidities that preclude participation in yoga practice
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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NYU Langone Health

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Erich Anderer

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

NYU Langone Health

Locations

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NYULangone

New York, New York, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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United States

Central Contacts

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Erich Anderer, MD

Role: CONTACT

(718) 630-6580

Facility Contacts

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Erich Anderer

Role: primary

718-630-6580

Other Identifiers

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19-00824

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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