For many people, yoga is more than just exercise: Studies show it is one of the most commonly used forms of alternative therapy in the country. Many rely on yoga to relieve chronic and acute pain.

The reasons for this are varied. Some researchers believe that yoga may alleviate pain through relaxation and the release of endorphins. Others say it may reduce inflammation and promote positive emotions.

Plenty of studies have tried to determine whether taking up yoga can actually help lessen pain. In a recent report, a team of researchers sifted through the science and identified 10 randomized clinical trials on the subject involving hundreds of patients.

The studies looked at yoga’s effect on pain stemming from ailments like arthritis, low back problems, pregnancy symptoms and migraines. The control conditions were standard treatments and exercise, diet and lifestyle changes.

Nine out of the 10 clinical trials found yoga could help provide relief from pain, which the authors called “encouraging.” But they also noted that no definitive conclusion could be reached, for a number of reasons.

The studies involved patients experiencing pain from a wide variety of conditions, and they looked at several types of yoga that had some similarities, like breathing, stretching and relaxation exercises — but also many differences. Complicating matters was that the intensity, amount of time and frequency of the yoga sessions differed from one study to the next.

While the evidence suggests that yoga has the potential to alleviate pain, they wrote, the science is not firm enough to say for certain.

THE BOTTOM LINE

A review of the research on yoga suggests that it may have some usefulness in relieving pain, but more research is needed.

Dr. Sean McCance(ARA) - Back pain is a common complaint of Americans. Sixty to eighty percent of the U.S. population reports they suffer from some kind of back pain and five percent suffer from chronic back pain. It is the most frequent cause of activity limitation for people under the age of 45. A common cause of back pain is often a slipped disc (also called a herniated disc).

That's what recently afflicted Leandro Carvalho, a fitness trainer to the stars in Manhattan. He had long suffered from leg and lower back pain, but figured it was an occupational hazard. Until one day, while teaching a group class, he felt a sharp pain and fell to the ground, temporarily paralyzed from the waist down.

The first surgeon he visited warned him the operation he needed may leave him permanently paralyzed and that he would never return to his full physical performance. Carvalho's devoted clientele suggested he get a second opinion from Sean McCance, M.D., co-director of Orthopedic Spine Surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. It was a second opinion that changed Carvalho's life.

Dr. McCance performed spine surgery to repair severe disc degeneration, a herniated disc and a collapse of the disc space. Today, Carvalho is back in the game - dancing and reshaping the bodies and minds of hundreds of clients. In fact, he says, he is stronger than ever thanks to Dr. McCance.

Dr. McCance explains that a slipped disc happens when the cushiony disc between the vertebrae ruptures or bulges into the spinal canal putting pressure on the nerves, which can cause a great deal of pain. Back and spinal pain doesn't just afflict those with high impact jobs. In fact, any occupation that requires long periods of time in stationary positions, like sitting or standing, have a very high incidence of people with chronic back pain.

How do you know if you're experiencing this problem and not just everyday aches and pains? Symptoms of a slipped disc include:

* Sudden pain in the back or neck
* Pain down the back of one leg, sometimes into the foot
* Weakness and a feeling of "pins and needles"
* In severe cases, foot drop or bowel and bladder problems may develop.

Physicians recommend you seek medical attention for any back problem. For minor back pain, rest, heat and an over-the-counter pain reliever are often prescribed. For more serious back conditions, prescription pain medications and muscle relaxants, injections and even surgery may be in order.

Before a sore back requires surgery, however, Dr. McCance recommends the following ways to help prevent serious back problems, like a slipped disc:

* Exercise regularly and use proper body mechanics. A healthy back and neck exercise regimen includes cardiovascular -- treadmill, water aerobics and recumbent bike are all gentle on the back -- and light weights. Physical therapy is often prescribed

* Work to maintain a healthy weight. Excess weight strongly contributes to lower back pain and nearly every spinal condition.

* Rest after any injury. Waiting for the pain to completely subside can actually make it worse, but walking a mile or two each day while recovering is a low-impact way to keep the spine strong.

* If you smoke, quit. If you don't smoke, don't start. Spine patients who smoke have been identified to have a higher risk of back pain. Also, smokers often have a more unpredictable surgery outcome and a longer recovery time after surgery.

Study Suggests Role for Genes in Painful Disc Disorders

If you suffer from persistent low back pain, your genes may bear some of the blame.

Just like eye color and baldness, the likelihood of developing low back pain from disc disease may be inherited, a new study shows.

When researchers analyzed health and family history data for 2 million Utah residents, they identified 1,264 with a diagnosis of lower spine disease associated with herniated or degenerating discs. Disc disease is one of  the most common causes of persistent low back pain.

People with an immediate family member, such as a parent, sibling, or child, with disc-related low back pain were more than four times more likely to have low-back pain themselves.

More modest increases in risk were associated with having a second- or even a third-degree relative with a diagnosis of herniated or degenerative disc disease.

This finding was particularly relevant because these more distant relatives were less likely than first-degree relatives to share the same environmental risk factors for low-back pain.

“While not 100% conclusive, this is very strong evidence that there is a genetic component to disc degeneration and disc herniation,” study researcher  Alpesh A. Patel, MD, of Salt Lake City’s University of Utah School of Medicine, tells WebMD.

Back Pain All in the Family

Just about everyone experiences sporadic back pain at some point in their lives, but most people get better with little treatment after a few days or weeks.

Patel says it is common for complaints of persistent back pain to run in families, but the reasons for this have not been clear.

“Patients with back pain often tell me that their dad or granddad had it too, but it may be that they were in the same line of work or played the same high-impact sports,” he says.

Patel and colleagues were able to track low-back-related disease within families thanks to a unique registry known as the Utah Population Database, which contains both health and genealogic information for 2.4 million residents of the state.

One puzzling aspect of disc-related low back disease is that some people with herniated or degenerating discs suffer excruciating pain and other people experience no pain at all.

Pain Perception May Be Driven by Genes

In the University of Utah study, there appeared to be a genetic component to whether disc disease caused symptoms.

“We really can’t say from this study if people who are genetically predisposed have more disc problems or if they just experience more pain,” Patel says.

A growing body of research suggests that susceptibility to pain is inherited, although no actual pain genes have been identified, he adds.

Back surgeon Daryll C. Dykes, MD, PhD, tells WebMD that he is not surprised by the findings from the Utah study.

Dykes is a spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and a surgeon with the Twin Cities Spine Center in Minneapolis.

“We have had strong suspicions that genes are a factor in low back pain, but we haven’t had good scientific studies to back that up,” he says.

He says people with a family history of low back pain can lower their risk by maintaining a healthy weight, performing cardiovascular and core strengthening exercises, and not smoking

Immune response found to be triggered by disc herniation

Researchers studying autoimmune disease have found a link between immune response and back pain. According to a study by Duke University Medical Center published in the July issue of the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism, a response by immune cells was observed when a herniated disc was present.

A herniated disc is a condition in which the annulus fibrosus (outer portion) of the vertebral disc is torn, enabling the nucleus pulposus (inner portion) to herniate or extrude through the fibers. The nucleus is not normally exposed to the immune system while it is within the spinal column. When it is exposed because of a tear in the outer portion of the disc, the body sees the nucleus as a foreign object, similar to an infection or a tumor, and an immune response is triggered. This can cause inflammation or damage to the nerve root of the disc.

The research done in this study identified cytokine molecule interleukin-17 (IL-17) as the immune component that identifies the nucleus as a foreign object and sets off the immune response. The researchers believe that by identifying the specific immune cells that are excited by IL-17, a treatment could be developed that would decrease the inflammation and damage done by the immune system to the nerve root for a herniated disc.

The key will be to create a treatment that suppresses the body’s response to the nucleus fibrosis but not compromise its ability to fight off infection or tumors. Several more studies will be needed before human testing would start on IL-17 blockers.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has been told by doctors to rest because he is suffering from a slipped disc, the state news agency reported on Friday.

King Abdullah, who took charge in the key U.S. ally in 2005, is estimated to be 86 or 87 years old, making a change of leadership likely in the not too distant future.

"The royal court said that the king is suffering from a health ailment in his back in that he was exposed to a slipped disc and doctors advised him to rest, according to a health plan," a brief statement on SPA said.

Crown Prince Sultan, the king's half-brother who is also in his 80s, has been abroad for unspecified health treatment for much of the last two years and diplomats in Riyadh say he has not resumed full duties. He is outside the country after leaving for what was described in August as a holiday in Morocco.

Political stability in the monarchy is of global concern. The Gulf Arab state controls more than a fifth of the world's crude reserves, is a vital U.S. ally in the region, a major holder of dollar assets and home to the biggest Arab bourse.

Analysts expect no change in Saudi oil policy in the event of a transfer of power.

Released late on Friday evening in Saudi Arabia, the news comes amid a Saudi holiday as some two million Muslim pilgrims gather in the holy city of Mecca for the haj pilgrimage.

Interior Minister Prince Nayef was appointed second deputy prime minister in 2009, a move which analysts said places him in a strong position to become crown prince or king one day.

Analysts say the king's appointment of Nayef to the post could also avert a power vacuum in the event of serious health problems afflicting the king and crown prince.

Prince Nayef, a half-brother of the king and full-brother of the crown prince, has been in Mecca this week, supervising security arrangements for the haj.

The king, who has led a U.S.-backed policy of social and economic reform in the strict Islamic state, did not take part in a summit of G20 nations in South Korea this week. He had been expected to make an appearance in Mecca next week towards the end of the haj, which begins on Sunday.