Yoga may be more effective than standard treatment for reducing chronic low back pain in minority populations, according to new research.

Boston Medical Center (BMC) said that individuals from low-income, minority backgrounds may be worse affected by chronic low back pain (CLBP) due to disparities in access to treatment.

These individuals are also currently less likely than other groups to don their ladies yoga wear and use complementary therapies such as yoga, according to BMC.

Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and BMC researchers recruited adults with CLBP from two community health centres that serve racially diverse, low-income neighbourhoods of Boston.

They were randomly assigned to either a standardised 12-week series of hatha yoga classes or standard treatment including doctor's visits and medications.

Robert B Saper, lead author of the study, said: "Our pilot study showed that yoga is well-received in these communities and may be effective for reducing pain and pain medication use."

According to abc-of-yoga.com, hatha is the most popular system of yoga and was introduced by Yogi Swatmarama, a yogic sage in the 15th century in India. ADNFCR-2569-ID-19445058-ADNFCR

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