# Feasibility of At Home Telehealth Yoga for Treating Chronic Pain

> **NIH NIH R34** · PALO ALTO VETERANS INSTIT FOR RESEARCH · 2021 · $106,707

## Abstract

Abstract: Between 50-75% of veterans in primary care report experiencing chronic pain (1, 2). Chronic pain is
treatment-resistant, and medications often include the risk of addiction or overdose. In recognition of the scope
of this problem, the VA has promoted complementary and integrative health (CIH) for use in conjunction with
conventional pain treatments. Yoga is a popular CIH approach and is effective in treating many types of
chronic pain. A recent literature review (3) concluded that evidence is particularly strong for yoga as a
treatment for chronic musculoskeletal-type pain, which is the most common type of chronic pain. Accordingly,
this proposal focuses on yoga treatment for chronic musculoskeletal pain. The VA Palo Alto Health Care
System runs a clinical yoga program for veterans using two modalities; traditional in-person yoga, and clinic-
based teleyoga in which a yoga instructor communicates with veterans at VA clinics using real-time interactive
video conferencing. Our pilot data suggest that clinic-based teleyoga is as safe and effective as in-person yoga
for treating chronic musculoskeletal pain. However, this telehealth model does not overcome barriers such as
the time, cost and difficulty of travel to a clinic. Very recently, the VA launched a new web-based telehealth
system called VA Video Connect (VVC), which allows veterans to communicate with their health care providers
from home via a tablet computer. VVC can be used for group or individual sessions and has immense potential
for delivering treatments at home. Earlier attempts by other research groups to develop at-home teleyoga have
been met with technical problems. VVC offers an exciting opportunity to overcome these problems using a
well-resourced, scalable, and technically advanced system. Ideally, a randomized controlled trial would be
performed to rigorously compare at-home teleyoga to in-person yoga for treating chronic musculoskeletal pain.
Before such a trial can be considered, we need to evaluate and overcome the technical barriers of delivering
at-home teleyoga using VVC. Phase 1 of this proposal focuses on refining an existing yoga protocol to make it
suitable for treating musculoskeletal pain using at-home teleyoga delivered via VVC (n=20). Each veteran will
be given a tablet computer and we will use an iterative process to identify and overcome the technical
limitations imposed by the technology. The product of this phase will be a 12-week yoga intervention. Phase 2
will demonstrate the feasibility of conducting a randomized controlled trial involving at-home teleyoga using the
yoga protocol developed in Phase 1. We will enroll and randomize veterans with chronic musculoskeletal pain
to one of two treatment groups: in-person yoga and at-home teleyoga (n=15 per group). Primary feasibility
outcomes will include rates of recruitment, retention, protocol adherence, participant satisfaction, fidelity of
treatment delivery, and adverse events. We will also assess t...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10212246
- **Project number:** 5R34AT010364-03
- **Recipient organization:** PALO ALTO VETERANS INSTIT FOR RESEARCH
- **Principal Investigator:** Peter J. Bayley
- **Activity code:** R34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $106,707
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-07-15 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10212246

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10212246, Feasibility of At Home Telehealth Yoga for Treating Chronic Pain (5R34AT010364-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10212246. Licensed CC0.

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