美国国家公共电台 NPR Study Finds Yoga Can Help Back Pain, But Keep It Gentle, With These Poses

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

We're going to talk about back pain now because it afflicts¹ a whole lot of people. About 1 in 4 adults in the U.S. have experienced some form of it. Pain medication is usually the first thing people turn to for relief. But new research says you might want to strike a yoga pose before you reach for the pills. Here's NPR's Allison Aubrey.

ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE²: Back pain can come on all at once with no specific trigger. Floretta Francis (ph) remembers waking up one morning with pain that lingered for months.

FLORETTA FRANCIS: Sometimes it was hard for me to come out of bed. This is no joke.

AUBREY: Francis started taking ibuprofen several times a day, but still the pain nagged³ at her. When she went to see her doctor, she was recruited to participate in a study to see if yoga could be an effective way to ease the pain. Francis was very skeptical⁴. She thought of yoga as exercise for fit people, not a treatment for back pain.

Rob Saper is a physician at Boston Medical Center and the leader of the new study. He says he's used to the skepticism, which is why he wanted to see how yoga stacked up, in an objective way, against something that's known to help, physical therapy.

ROBERT SAPER: Physical therapy is accepted. It's reimbursed⁵. It's offered in most hospitals. So given my interest in yoga, I wanted to see how it compared in its effectiveness to PT.

AUBREY: Saper worked with a group of yoga and medical experts to design a class specifically for back pain. It's extremely gentle and includes basic stretching poses like cat cow and child's pose. It also includes breathing and relaxation⁶ techniques. Floretta Francis says when she walked into the first class, after a hectic⁷ day of work and a long commute⁸, this is what greeted her.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

FRANCIS: They played very calm and soothing⁹ music. You were doing the yoga exercises listening to the sound of the ocean, which was remarkable¹⁰.

AUBREY: Francis was part of one group of study participants who took the yoga class once a week for three months. Another group received physical therapy. Then, Saper says, all the participants were assessed to see if they felt any better. Not everyone improved, but many did.

SAPER: What we found was in three months, yoga improved as well as physical therapy in terms of pain intensity¹¹ and also how well people were functioning.

AUBREY: Saper says the findings fit with what a few prior studies have found. And what's significant about this study is that the participants were not the Lululemon set. About 80 percent of them live on low incomes. Some don't have as much access to health care or time to exercise. Now, since this study shows yoga can be as effective as physical therapy, Saper says...

SAPER: Maybe yoga should be considered as a potential therapy that could be more widely disseminated¹² and covered.

AUBREY: At the end of the study, the researchers gave out yoga mats and guidebooks and encouraged participants to keep up the practice at home. Floretta Francis says she feels better these days.

FRANCIS: I'm no longer taking ibuprofen, and I'm very much happy.

AUBREY: Now, she says, when she feels a little tweak in her back, she rolls out her yoga mat. Allison Aubrey, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF FRAN6'S "HYPERION")

1 afflicts   

使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Level 3-Afflicts a target with the Curse of the Silent. 三级-用静默诅咒折磨一个目标。
• Level 1-Afflicts a target with the Curse of the Silent. 一级-用静默诅咒折磨一个目标。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 nagged   

adj.经常遭责怪的；被压制的；感到厌烦的；被激怒的v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的过去式和过去分词 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责

参考例句：

• The old woman nagged (at) her daughter-in-law all day long. 那老太婆一天到晚地挑剔儿媳妇的不是。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She nagged him all day long. 她一天到晚地说他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

5 reimbursed   

v.偿还，付还( reimburse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Any out-of-pocket expenses incurred on the firm's business will be reimbursed. 由公司业务产生的开销都可以报销。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Employees are reimbursed for any legal fees incurred when they relocate. 员工调往异地工作时，他们可以报销由此产生的所有法律服务费用。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 relaxation   

n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐

参考例句：

• The minister has consistently opposed any relaxation in the law.部长一向反对法律上的任何放宽。
• She listens to classical music for relaxation.她听古典音乐放松。

7 hectic   

adj.肺病的；消耗热的；发热的；闹哄哄的

参考例句：

• I spent a very hectic Sunday.我度过了一个忙乱的星期天。
• The two days we spent there were enjoyable but hectic.我们在那里度过的两天愉快但闹哄哄的。

8 commute   

vi.乘车上下班；vt.减(刑)；折合；n.上下班交通

参考例句：

• I spend much less time on my commute to work now.我现在工作的往返时间要节省好多。
• Most office workers commute from the suburbs.很多公司的职员都是从郊外来上班的。

9 soothing   

adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的

参考例句：

• Put on some nice soothing music.播放一些柔和舒缓的音乐。
• His casual, relaxed manner was very soothing.他随意而放松的举动让人很快便平静下来。

10 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

11 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

12 disseminated   

散布，传播( disseminate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their findings have been widely disseminated . 他们的研究成果已经广为传播。
• Berkovitz had contracted polio after ingesting a vaccine disseminated under federal supervision. 伯考维茨在接种了在联邦监督下分发的牛痘疫苗后传染上脊髓灰质炎。