Yoga and physical therapy (PT) are effective approaches to treating co-occurring sleep disturbance and back pain while reducing the need for medication, according to a study from Boston Medical Center (BMC) published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Study participants demonstrated significant improvements in sleep quality lasting 52 weeks after 12 weeks of yoga classes or 1-on-1 PT. In addition, participants with early improvements in pain after 6 weeks of treatment were three and a half times more likely to have improvements in sleep after the full, 12-week treatment, per a media release from Boston Medical Center.

Sleep disturbance and insomnia are common among people with chronic low back pain (cLBP), but medication for both sleep and back pain can have serious side effects, along with the risk of opioid-related overdose and death.

“Identifying holistic ways to treat these conditions could help decrease the reliance on these medications as well as keep patients safer and more comfortable,” says Eric Roseen, DC, MSc, a researcher in the department of family medicine at BMC, who led the study.

The randomized controlled trial included 320 adults with cLBP from BMC and seven surrounding community health centers. At the beginning of the study, more than 90% of participants with cLBP were found to suffer from poor sleep.

Participants were assigned one of three different therapies for cLBP: physical therapy, weekly yoga, or reading educational materials. Sleep improvement results were then compared over a 12-week intervention period and after 1 year of follow-up.

“The high prevalence of sleep problems in adults with chronic low back pain can have detrimental effects on a person’s overall health and well-being,” adds Roseen, also an assistant professor of family medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, in the release.

“This really emphasizes the need for providers to ask patients with chronic low back pain about the quality of their sleep. Given the serious risks of combining pain and sleep medications, nonpharmacologic approaches should be considered for these patients.”

[Source(s): Boston Medical Center, EurekAlert]