The Benefits of Therapeutic Virtual Yoga for Chronic Low Back Pain

A new study from the Cleveland Clinic demonstrates that a 12-week therapeutic virtual yoga program may offer effective relief for individuals suffering from chronic low back pain, along with added benefits like improved sleep quality and reduced reliance on pain medications. The study’s findings, published in JAMA Network Open, underscore the potential of virtual yoga as a viable alternative to in-person classes for managing chronic pain.

According to the study, chronic low back pain is widespread, impacting up to 20 percent of adults globally and often disrupting daily activities, sleep, and quality of life. While clinical guidelines encourage non-pharmacologic treatments such as physical therapy or in-person yoga, this study aimed to determine whether virtual yoga classes could provide similar benefits.

“Attending yoga classes in person can be challenging,” explained Robert Saper, MD, chair of the Department of Wellness and Preventive Medicine at Cleveland Clinic and senior author of the study. “This research shows that a virtual yoga class program can be a safe and effective therapeutic option for the treatment of chronic low back pain.”

The study involved a 24-week randomized clinical trial with 140 participants, mostly female, averaging 48 years old. All were members of the Cleveland Clinic’s Employee Health Plan in Northeast Ohio and Florida. Participants were randomly assigned to either a “yoga now” group or a “yoga later” control group, with the yoga now group participating in live-streamed virtual yoga sessions for 12 weeks.

The virtual yoga program was tailored specifically for participants with chronic low back pain, focusing on maximizing safety and therapeutic effectiveness in a virtual setting. Assessments were conducted at six weeks, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks to measure changes in pain intensity, back function, pain medication use, and sleep quality.

Results revealed significant benefits for the yoga now group. By the end of the 12-week program, participants in this group experienced pain intensity reductions six times greater and improvements in back-related function 2.7 times greater than those in the control group. Additionally, 34 percent fewer patients in the yoga group reported using pain medications, and they showed a tenfold improvement in sleep quality compared to the control group. These benefits were sustained at the 24-week follow-up.

“Yoga offers a comprehensive approach to managing low back pain, a condition for which traditional treatments often fall short,” explained Hallie Tankha, PhD, research faculty in the Department of Wellness and Preventive Medicine at Cleveland Clinic and first author of the study. “Now we must work to increase access to this safe and effective treatment.”

The success of this program indicates a promising path forward for accessible, non-pharmacologic options in pain management. Dr. Saper said he plans to expand this research with a larger, more diverse patient sample from multiple health care systems, seeking to further validate the effectiveness of virtual therapeutic yoga for chronic low back pain.

For integrative practitioners, this study highlights virtual yoga’s potential as an accessible, effective option for patients with chronic pain, particularly for those who may find in-person classes challenging to attend.