Barriers and facilitators to yoga use in a population of individuals with self-reported chronic low back pain: a qualitative approach

Abstract

Yoga has been found to be efficacious in treating chronic low back pain, yet biomedical treatments are most commonly used for pain. Promoting yoga as part of integrative care would reduce exclusive reliance on high-cost, higher-risk biomedical treatments. Attitudes toward yoga play a role in consideration of it as a treatment. The current study examined attitudes toward yoga in adults with chronic low back pain and compared these results to those found in a 2009 general population study. Participants completed a semi-structured interview where they responded to items about perceptions of potential barriers and facilitators to trying yoga. Participant responses were analyzed qualitatively and several common themes emerged. Themes identified by participants indicated there is mixed information about yoga in the public domain and that clarification of what yoga is, how it can be beneficial, and what it requires one to do physically may help promote its use.

Keywords: Attitudes; Chronic low back pain; Yoga.