Impact of a Course on Stress Reduction (YOGA)

This project seeks to measure the effectiveness of a course in self-management strategies (including yoga, mindfulness, and breathing exercises). The course will be provided by a certified yoga instructor to patients being followed at the Pain Management Centre, Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS).

The Pain Management Centre at Hamilton Health Sciences is organizing a course in stress reduction techniques for patients with chronic pain. The Pain Centre has arranged for a local certified yoga instructor to lead a 6-week course that she has developed for our specific patient population. The course will include self-management strategies for pain control, such as breathing exercises, yoga poses, and mindfulness meditation. Standardized questionnaires and a semi-structured interview to record baseline and post-course outcomes. The study will involve the following questionnaires/surveys/interviews: 1) Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, 2) Perceived Stress Scale, 3) Burckhardt Quality of Life Scale, 4) Visual Analog Score, and 5) written questions concerning patient demographics, the patient's chronic pain condition, and their satisfaction with the course. The participants would be asked to fill out questionnaires at three different times: 1) baseline data collected within two weeks of starting course, 2) short-term outcome data within two weeks of completing course, and 3) long-term outcome data four to six months after the course.

Inclusion Criteria:

• patients have a history of moderate to severe chronic pain

Exclusion Criteria:

• non-English speaking patients