Effect of selected group of asana when used as an adjunct in management of cervical spondylosis of mild to moderate severity: An observational study

BACKGROUND: “Cervical spondylosis” (CS) is a collective term used for non-specific neck pain post 30 age group. Management of CS is mainly non-surgical, particularly in mild to moderate severity that includes the oral anti-inflammatory drugs, exercises, manipulation, mobilization, or combination of these. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study is to assess the possible benefit of a selected group of asana in a group of patients over a short time frame and assess their functional outcome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An observational study of cohort of patients having mild to moderate CS, who visited the AYUSH department between May 2016 and November 2016 were included. “Selected group of Asana (SGOA)” was practiced for 30 min supervised and then home-based for a period of 8 weeks with usual standard treatment. Patients followed up fortnightly, and their degree of severity & disability assessed. RESULTS: Thirty patients with 19 males and 11 females having ages mean ± SD 45.61 ± 8.3 and 44.18 ± 9.78 having NDI score of mean ± SD 17.83 ± 4.749 at baseline (0 weeks) were included. Patients showed an improvement in NDI score to finally 7.40 ± 3.180, p-value = 0.0001. This improvement was also noted at various time intervals (p-value = 0.0001 each time), as seen in the post hoc analysis. CONCLUSION: Yogic practices “Specific Group of Asana” done for eight weeks on a home-based program could be useful in reducing pain and disability in people suffering from CS of mild to a moderate degree. However, more extensive, comparative, and multi-centric trials are required for establishing this as a treatment modality.