12 Oct Yoga for Pain Down South: 85% of people better able to manage pain
Two years ago we saw a huge opportunity for Yoga for Pain Practitioners in regional Australia. We had given scholarships to teachers from Bunbury WA and Gippsland Victoria, and their communities loved it.
Pain services are pretty non-existent in country Australia. While Yoga for Pain Practitioners don’t replace specialist medical support, there’s a heap they can do to help people between appointments, and after health care has done its bit.
Practitioners at our first dedicated regional training program, Yoga for Pain Down South, recently finished 4-week pilot pain care yoga courses. Results were encouraging:
- Teachers’ pilot courses were full, with wait lists.
- 54 people with pain care enrolled in courses in Margaret River, Cowaramup, Harvey, Collie, Augusta and Northcliffe.
- 85% of participants said they felt better able to manage their pain.
When we asked participants what they found most valuable, there were five themes: realising yoga could help, specific techniques they learned, experiencing less pain, becoming more aware (of knowledge and themselves) and feeling more confident.
Visit the Yoga for Pain Practitioner Register to locate South West WA Practitioners. Thanks to GP down south and WA Primary Health Alliance, each Practitioner can provide a number of subsidised places for people in economic disadvantage. They also offer a range of classes and services to help you get started with yoga and your journey beyond health care.
Ms Julie Forsyth
Posted at 20:07h, 08 JanuaryJust a pilot study. Shall you send a questionaire out at 2 months then 6 months? Median age of participants?
admin
Posted at 14:26h, 10 JanuaryThanks for reading and commenting Julie.
Yoga for Pain Practitioners have to get regular feedback from their clients to make sure what they are doing is working, and to improve what they do.
If you’re interested particularly in formal research into the role yoga plays in pain management there is a heap! Check out our blog and new fact sheet for GPs for summaries. Because there is so much evidence for yoga in pain care, Yoga for Pain Care Australia is more interested in translating that research into clinical practice – which means finding ways to make sure people with persistent pain stick at it long enough to get the benefits. Unfortunately we know that, while the evidence says yoga works, for a whole heap of social and other reasons, people often drop out or don’t do it in a way that gives them benefits.
So if you’re interested in the broader picture of yoga and pain, our “impact page” has some interesting reads about how we look at the social impact of our work.
Hope that helps!