Using yoga to treat back pain could cut costs
RESEARCH by the University of York has shown that specialised group yoga classes could save NHS money when treating people with chronic back pain.
The study, funded by Arthritis Research UK, compared the effects of a specially-developed 12-week group yoga programme with conventional GP care.
They calculated that if the cost of 12 classes was kept below £300 per patient, yoga was likely to be cost effective for the NHS. The research, published in Spine, also found that patients had far fewer days off work.
Back pain is estimated to cost the NHS £1.37bn per year, and the health care sector £2.1bn, and is one of the most common conditions treated in primary care in the UK.