LAUSR

BACKGROUND Hatha yoga programs have been shown to be effective at improving low back pain among a variety of populations; however, methods to decrease low back pain of university office employees have not been studied. OBJECTIVE To examine the impact of an 8-week hatha yoga intervention on measures of health among university office employees. METHOD Seven participants completed the 8-week yoga intervention. All measures, including anthropometric measures and online questionnaires, were completed at baseline and post-intervention. RESULTS Baseline pain intensity (6.6±3.1) and pain interference (15.6±4.7) reflected a moderate level of back pain and moderate to severe interference. Pain intensity showed a non-significant improvement with medium-to-large effect size [p = 0.07, (d = 0.7)]. There was a significant improvement with a large effect size [p = 0.002, (d = 2.4)] in pain interference. Baseline anxiety (7.4±3.6) reflected a borderline abnormal symptom level, but anxiety significantly reduced to normal levels at post-intervention with a medium effect size [p = 0.002 (d = 0.5)]. Focus group themes were improvements in health and development of a sense of community. CONCLUSIONS Hatha yoga may be an effective mode of low-impact physical activity to decrease pain and improve mental health while facilitating a sense of community for office workers employed by a university. This study demonstrates promising results with large effect sizes; however, more research with larger sample size and randomized treatment and control groups are needed for future study efforts.