Journal of Yoga & Physical Therapy
Open Access

Abstract

Effect of Yoga Therapy and Conventional Treatment in the Management of Common Neck Pain - A Comparative Study

Bali Yogitha and John Ebnezar

Background: Neck pain is one of the very common complaints. Conventional treatment methods with drugs, physiotherapy & exercises are some of the options in treating neck pain. Yoga techniques have been found to be effective complimentary therapies in chronic low back pain and also for stress reduction in other diseases.
Objective: The aim of the study was to examine the complimentary role of a yogic relaxation called mind sound resonance technique (MSRT) in non-surgical management of CNP.
Methods: In this randomized controlled study, 60 patients with CNP were assigned to two groups (yoga, n = 30) and (control, n = 30). The yoga group received yogic MSRT for 20 minutes in supine position after the conventional physiotherapy program for 30 minutes using pre-recorded audio CD and the control group had non-guided supine rest for 20 minutes (after physiotherapy), for 10 days. MSRT provides deep relaxation for both mind and body by introspective experience of the sound resonance in the whole body while repeating the syllables A, U, M and Om and a long chant (Mahamrityunjaya mantra) several times in a meaningful sequence. Both the groups had pre and post assessments using visual pain analog scale, tenderness scoring key and neck disability score (NDS) questionnaire.
Results: Mann-Whitney U test showed significant difference between groups in pain (P < 0.01), tenderness (P < 0.01) and NDS (P < 0.01) with higher reduction in yoga (P < 0.01) than that in the control group. Wilcoxon’s test showed a significant improvement in both groups on all variables (P < 0.01).
Conclusions: Yoga relaxation through MSRT adds significa