JULY 10, 2024
Data published in Pain Management Nursing indicate that community-based programs to alternatively manage pain may help address the uptick in opioid misuse and overdose among the Hispanic population in the United States.
Access to yoga for chronic pain in a Spanish-speaking community led to improved health of participants, according to researchers (Pain Manag Nurs 2024 May 11. doi:10.1016/j.pmn.2024.03.018).
“There is a need for increasing linguistically tailored
Data published in Pain Management Nursing indicate that community-based programs to alternatively manage pain may help address the uptick in opioid misuse and overdose among the Hispanic population in the United States.
Access to yoga for chronic pain in a Spanish-speaking community led to improved health of participants, according to researchers (Pain Manag Nurs 2024 May 11. doi:10.1016/j.pmn.2024.03.018).
“There is a need for increasing linguistically tailored integrative options for helping patients with chronic pain,” study author Angela R. Todd, DNP, AGNP-C, of the University of Minnesota, in Minneapolis, told Pain Medicine News. “This quality improvement [QI] project showed that a linguistically tailored yoga program improved self-reported overall pain, physical function, average intensity of pain and initiated an interest in participants in utilizing yoga practice for self-management of pain.”
The study enrolled 20 Spanish-speaking community center members to participate in a Spanish language yoga program over the course of 10 weeks. The course included educational, demonstration and practice videos. The researchers collected data in surveys from 16 participants before and after the 10-week period. They found participants’ mean average intensity of pain decreased by 33% after the course. Survey responses also indicated that nearly 60% of participants experienced an improvement in their overall impression of change in pain.
Based on a 10-point scale, study participants reported a likelihood of continuing yoga practice at home or another location of 6.8 and 7.4, respectively. Pain interference was unaffected during the course of the intervention. However, there was an improvement in markers of physical function, including a twofold improvement in general activity without limitations.
According to Todd, the self-reported study data in a small sample size made it challenging to define conclusions about the effect of the yoga program on outcome measures. However, she “hopes that this QI project is used for further implementation of initiatives in other Spanish-speaking venues and consideration for other languages and diverse populations.”
—Myles Starr
Todd reported no relevant financial disclosures.
