General yoga can often resolve mild back pain caused by stress and tense muscles. However, it can exacerbate conditions involving joint problems, such as prolapsed disc, facet joint strain and severe spondylosis. There are of course limits to the range of applicability of yoga therapy, and other therapies can sometimes be more appropriate. For instance, we recently found osteopathy greatly to help a severe case of scoliosis in the mid-thoracic region, where yoga therapy had failed. Equally, we have had cases who have responded to yoga but not osteopathy.
Yoga therapy can often complement other therapies.
For instance, after osteopathic treatment, a yoga therapist can provide exercises to strengthen the back and help prevent recurrence of the pain. The Yoga Biomedical Trust runs a training course for yoga therapists. The course provides a grounding in anatomy, physiology and pathology, clinical assessment, and application of yoga practices to a range of chronic conditions. For those who are not already yoga teachers, there is a foundation course in yoga teaching, which runs concurrently with the yoga therapy course. 1990 Yoga for Common Ailments.