Re-Branding Yoga: The Development of a ‘High Intensity Stretching’ Program for Veterans with Chronic Low Back Pain

Research Objectives Yoga is a front-line treatment for low back pain, however, yoga adoption among Veterans remains low. One potential barrier to adoption may be Veteran perceptions of yoga, including often inaccurate beliefs of what engaging in yoga entails and how participation may be viewed by others. Our objective was to develop an alternative yoga program for Veterans with chronic low back pain, to facilitate their uptake and sustained use of yoga. Design Rooted in Veteran feedback, we developed the Rage Against the Pain (RAP) ‘High Intensity Stretching’. Setting Activities were completed at a large Midwestern Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Participants RAP development, including its name and branding, reflects direct Veteran feedback, and was inspired by “rage yoga.” RAP was developed by a multidisciplinary team, which encompassed physical, occupational, and recreational therapists; pain psychologists; primary care providers; psychiatrists; and researchers with expertise in pain management, user-centered design and implementation. Interventions RAP is designed to impart the same pain management benefits as traditional yoga in a way that may better align with Veteran preferences and interests. RAP follows the same yoga sequences as hatha yoga, however, cues and poses are in plain language (vs. Sanskrit) and is set to alternative/rock/metal music. Main Outcome Measures Development process and feasibility of RAP. Results We have developed the curriculum for our RAP intervention, including a home practice manual, yoga sequencing and music playlists for 12 weekly sessions, and scripts to translate Sanskrit cuing to plain language. We piloted a 12-week RAP session with 9 Veterans, and are in the process of piloting another session with an additional 9 Veterans. Conclusions Our team has successfully developed the RAP intervention, and will refine it based on an initial pilot of the program. Author(s) Disclosures This work was supported by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Research and Development, Health Services Research and Development Service (PPO 19-362). The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position and/or policy of the VA or the US Government.