EC Orthopaedics

Introduction: Low back pain (LBP) is quite common worldwide. In 2019, there were an estimated 223.5 million cases of LBP. [1] As a result, clinicians are always looking for options in treating this malady. A novel yoga pant, Nadi X, has been developed to help yoga practitioners to more easily attain alignment in 30 yoga positions. It is well known that yoga can be of benefit for low back pain sufferers, and as a result, Nadi X was used in this pilot study to determine if pain can be reduced with the use of these pants to help guide the wearer into the proper pose.

Method: The seven chronic low back pain participants underwent four weekly Physical Therapy low back evaluations and filled out the Oswestry Low Back Pain Scale (Oswestry) and NPRS at each session, in addition to performing a yoga pose three times a day for 21 days.

Results: A decrease in Oswestry scores was found along with an improved sense of pose alignment. This points to the advantage of having haptic guidance and sensor-based posture evaluation to help with proper exercise form.

Conclusion: Further, more rigorous study should be undertaken to confirm these pilot study results, possibly establishing a protocol of yoga exercises specifically targeting chronic low back pain.

Keywords: Haptics; IMU; Posture; Yoga; Alignment; Wearable Technology

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