A BSTRACT Yoga, a complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) approach combining physical postures, breathing exercises, and meditation, has shown promise in managing nonspecific low back pain (NSLBP) by reducing pain, improving functional outcomes, and enhancing quality of life. This systematic review aimed to assess the effectiveness of yoga in reducing pain, improving functional outcomes, and enhancing the quality of life for individuals with NSLBP compared to nonexercise, physical therapy, and educational interventions. Databases Cochrane Library, Web of Science, PubMed, EMBASE, CBM, and CNKI were searched to find randomized controlled trials (RCTs) available from January 2014 to November 2024. Included were studies that looked at yoga as a primary treatment for NSLBP and reported on quality of life, functional impairment, and pain severity. The evaluation was done on 12 RCTs with 1597 participants. Compared to nonexercise controls, yoga significantly decreased pain and enhanced psychological outcomes like stress, anxiety, and sadness. Yoga produced comparable pain and disability reductions to physical therapy. Although functional improvements varied, yoga showed more pain alleviation than stabilization exercises. There was inconsistent evidence of superiority compared to general exercise and educational programs. Yoga is a potentially effective treatment for NSLBP, providing significant psychological benefits and advantages similar to those of physical therapy. However, methodological flaws, including biases, inconsistent results, and small sample sizes, make certain studies less reliable. It will take large-scale, high-quality RCTs with defined methods to validate yoga’s place in comprehensive NSLBP care strategies.
Singh et al. (Sun,) studied this question.