1 963 108 EFFECTS OF A YOGA PROGRAM ON MENSTRUAL CRAMPS AND MENSTRUAL DISTRESS IN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WITH PRIMARY DYSMENORRHEA: A SINGLE-BLIND, RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVES: TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF A YOGA PROGRAM ON MENSTRUAL CRAMPS AND MENSTRUAL DISTRESS IN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WITH PRIMARY DYSMENORRHEA. DESIGN: SINGLE-BLIND, RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. PARTICIPANTS: 40 RANDOMLY SELECTED UNDERGRADUATE NURSING STUDENTS, WITH 20 EACH ASSIGNED TO AN EXERCISE OR A CONTROL GROUP. INTERVENTION: THE PARTICIPANTS ENGAGED IN A YOGA PROGRAM FOR 60 MINUTES ONCE A WEEK FOR 12 WEEKS. THE PROGRAM CONSISTED OF PHYSICAL EXERCISE COMBINED WITH RELAXATION AND MEDITATION. OUTCOME MEASURES: MENSTRUAL CRAMPS AND MENSTRUAL DISTRESS LEVELS WERE MEASURED BY USING THE VISUAL ANALOGUE SCALE FOR PAIN AND THE MENSTRUAL DISTRESS QUESTIONNAIRE, RESPECTIVELY. DATA WERE ANALYZED BY USING THE KOLMOGOROV-SMIRNOV AND SHAPIRO-WILK NORMALITY TESTS, T-TEST, CHI-SQUARE TEST, LOGISTIC REGRESSION ANALYSIS, AND MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE (SPSS PROGRAM). RESULTS: MENSTRUAL PAIN INTENSITY (GROUP DIFFERENCE, -0.94; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL [CI], -1.47 TO -0.42; P = 0.001) AND MENSTRUAL DISTRESS (GROUP DIFFERENCE, -1.13; 95% CI, -1.43 TO -0.82; P < 0.0001) SCORES DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: THESE FINDINGS INDICATE THAT YOGA INTERVENTIONS MAY REDUCE MENSTRUAL CRAMPS AND MENSTRUAL DISTRESS IN FEMALE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WITH PRIMARY DYSMENORRHEA. 2016 2 2415 41 YOGA AND MEDITATION FOR MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS-A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS HAVE ONLY VERY LIMITED TREATMENT OPTIONS FOR MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS TRIAL WAS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF A 12-WEEK TRADITIONAL HATHA YOGA AND MEDITATION INTERVENTION ON MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS. METHODS: PATIENTS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED EITHER TO A 12-WEEK YOGA AND MEDITATION INTERVENTION OR TO USUAL CARE. THE PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE WAS TOTAL MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS (MENOPAUSE RATING SCALE [MRS] TOTAL SCORE). SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES INCLUDED MRS SUBSCALES, QUALITY OF LIFE (FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF CANCER THERAPY-BREAST), FATIGUE (FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF CHRONIC ILLNESS THERAPY-FATIGUE), DEPRESSION, AND ANXIETY (HOSPITAL ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SCALE). OUTCOMES WERE ASSESSED AT WEEK 12 AND WEEK 24 AFTER RANDOMIZATION. RESULTS: IN TOTAL, 40 WOMEN (MEAN AGE +/- STANDARD DEVIATION, 49.2 +/- 5.9 YEARS) WERE RANDOMIZED TO YOGA (N = 19) OR TO USUAL CARE (N = 21). WOMEN IN THE YOGA GROUP REPORTED SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER TOTAL MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS COMPARED WITH THE USUAL CARE GROUP AT WEEK 12 (MEAN DIFFERENCE, -5.6; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL, -9.2 TO -1.9; P = .004) AND AT WEEK 24 (MEAN DIFFERENCE, -4.5; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL, -8.3 TO -0.7; P = .023). AT WEEK 12, THE YOGA GROUP REPORTED LESS SOMATOVEGETATIVE, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND UROGENITAL MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS; LESS FATIGUE; AND IMPROVED QUALITY OF LIFE (ALL P < .05). AT WEEK 24, ALL EFFECTS PERSISTED EXCEPT FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS. SHORT-TERM EFFECTS ON MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS REMAINED SIGNIFICANT WHEN ONLY WOMEN WHO WERE RECEIVING ANTIESTROGEN MEDICATION (N = 36) WERE ANALYZED. SIX MINOR ADVERSE EVENTS OCCURRED IN EACH GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA COMBINED WITH MEDITATION CAN BE CONSIDERED A SAFE AND EFFECTIVE COMPLEMENTARY INTERVENTION FOR MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS. THE EFFECTS SEEM TO PERSIST FOR AT LEAST 3 MONTHS. 2015 3 167 35 A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED BICENTER TRIAL OF YOGA FOR PATIENTS WITH COLORECTAL CANCER. OBJECTIVE: THE AIM OF THIS TRIAL WAS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH COLORECTAL CANCER. METHODS: PATIENTS WITH NON-METASTATIC COLORECTAL CANCER WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO A 10-WEEK YOGA INTERVENTION (90 MIN ONCE WEEKLY) OR A WAITLIST CONTROL GROUP. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE WAS DISEASE-SPECIFIC QUALITY OF LIFE (FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF CANCER THERAPY - COLORECTAL [FACT-C]) AT WEEK 10. SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES INCLUDED FACT-C SUBSCALES: SPIRITUAL WELL-BEING (FACT - SPIRITUALITY); FATIGUE (FACT - FATIGUE); SLEEP DISTURBANCES (PITTSBURGH SLEEP QUALITY INVENTORY); DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY (HOSPITAL ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SCALE); BODY AWARENESS (SCALE OF BODY CONNECTION); AND BODY-EFFICACY EXPECTATIONS (BODY-EFFICACY EXPECTATIONS SCALE). OUTCOMES WERE ASSESSED AT WEEK 10 AND WEEK 22 AFTER RANDOMIZATION. RESULTS: FIFTY-FOUR PATIENTS (MEAN AGE 68.3 +/- 9.7 YEARS) WERE RANDOMIZED TO YOGA (N = 27; ATTRITION RATE 22.2%) AND CONTROL GROUP (N = 27; ATTRITION RATE 18.5%). PATIENTS IN THE YOGA GROUP ATTENDED A MEAN OF 5.3 +/- 4.0 YOGA CLASSES. NO SIGNIFICANT GROUP DIFFERENCES FOR THE FACT-C TOTAL SCORE WERE FOUND. GROUP DIFFERENCES WERE FOUND FOR EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING AT WEEK 22 ( = 1.59; 95% CI = 0.27,2.90; P = 0.019), SLEEP DISTURBANCES AT WEEK 22 ( = -1.08; 95% CI = -2.13, -0.03; P = 0.043), ANXIETY AT WEEK 10 ( = -1.14; 95% CI = -2.20, -0.09; P = 0.043), AND DEPRESSION AT WEEK 10 ( = -1.34; 95% CI = -2.61, -0.8; P = 0.038). NO SERIOUS ADVERSE EVENTS OCCURRED IN THE YOGA GROUP, WHILE LIVER METASTASES WERE DIAGNOSED IN ONE PATIENT IN THE CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSION: THIS RANDOMIZED TRIAL FOUND NO EFFECTS OF YOGA ON HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH COLORECTAL CANCER. GIVEN THE HIGH ATTRITION RATE AND LOW INTERVENTION ADHERENCE, NO DEFINITE CONCLUSIONS CAN BE DRAWN FROM THIS TRIAL. 2016 4 944 32 EFFECTS OF A 12-WEEK HATHA YOGA INTERVENTION ON METABOLIC RISK AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN HONG KONG CHINESE ADULTS WITH AND WITHOUT METABOLIC SYNDROME. OBJECTIVE: TO DETERMINE THE EFFICACY OF A 12-WEEK HATHA YOGA INTERVENTION TO IMPROVE METABOLIC RISK PROFILES AND HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (HRQOL) IN CHINESE ADULTS WITH AND WITHOUT METABOLIC SYNDROME (METS). METHODS: WE CONDUCTED A CONTROLLED TRIAL WITHIN AN UNIVERSITY-AFFILIATED HOSPITAL. 173 CHINESE MEN AND WOMEN AGED 18 OR ABOVE WERE ASSIGNED TO EITHER THE YOGA INTERVENTION GROUP (N = 87) OR THE CONTROL GROUP (N = 86). PRIMARY OUTCOMES INCLUDED 12-WEEK CHANGE IN METABOLIC RISK FACTORS AND METS Z SCORE. SECONDARY OUTCOME WAS HRQOL (MEDICAL OUTCOMES SHORT FORM SURVEY AT 12 WEEKS). RESULTS: THE MEAN AGE OF PARTICIPANTS WAS 52.0 (SD 7.4, RANGE 31-71) YEARS. ANALYSIS INVOLVING THE ENTIRE STUDY POPULATION REVEALED THAT THE YOGA GROUP ACHIEVED GREATER DECLINE IN WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE (P<0.001), FASTING GLUCOSE (P<0.01), TRIGLYCERIDES (P<0.05), AND METS Z SCORE (P<0.01). YOGA TRAINING ALSO IMPROVED GENERAL HEALTH PERCEPTIONS (P<0.01), PHYSICAL COMPONENT SCORE (P<0.01), AND SOCIAL FUNCTIONING (P<0.01) DOMAINS SCORE OF HRQOL. HOWEVER, NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GROUPS WERE OBSERVED IN THE MEAN CHANGE OF SYSTOLIC/DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURES OR HIGH-DENSITY LIPID PROTEIN CHOLESTEROL (ALL P>0.05). THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN THE INTERVENTION EFFECTS ON WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE AND METS Z SCORE BETWEEN THE METS SUBGROUPS (BOTH P>0.05). CONCLUSION: A 12-WEEK HATHA YOGA INTERVENTION IMPROVES METABOLIC RISK PROFILES AND HRQOL IN CHINESE ADULTS WITH AND WITHOUT METS. TRIAL REGISTRATION: AUSTRALIAN NEW ZEALAND CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRY ACTRN12613000816752. 2015 5 521 36 COMPARING YOGA, EXERCISE, AND A SELF-CARE BOOK FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN: A RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN IS A COMMON PROBLEM THAT HAS ONLY MODESTLY EFFECTIVE TREATMENT OPTIONS. OBJECTIVE: TO DETERMINE WHETHER YOGA IS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN CONVENTIONAL THERAPEUTIC EXERCISE OR A SELF-CARE BOOK FOR PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN. DESIGN: RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED TRIAL. SETTING: A NONPROFIT, INTEGRATED HEALTH CARE SYSTEM. PATIENTS: 101 ADULTS WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN. INTERVENTION: 12-WEEK SESSIONS OF YOGA OR CONVENTIONAL THERAPEUTIC EXERCISE CLASSES OR A SELF-CARE BOOK. MEASUREMENTS: PRIMARY OUTCOMES WERE BACK-RELATED FUNCTIONAL STATUS (MODIFIED 24-POINT ROLAND DISABILITY SCALE) AND "BOTHERSOMENESS" OF PAIN (11-POINT NUMERICAL SCALE). THE PRIMARY TIME POINT WAS 12 WEEKS. CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT CHANGE WAS CONSIDERED TO BE 2.5 POINTS ON THE FUNCTIONAL STATUS SCALE AND 1.5 POINTS ON THE BOTHERSOMENESS SCALE. SECONDARY OUTCOMES WERE DAYS OF RESTRICTED ACTIVITY, GENERAL HEALTH STATUS, AND MEDICATION USE. RESULTS: AFTER ADJUSTMENT FOR BASELINE VALUES, BACK-RELATED FUNCTION IN THE YOGA GROUP WAS SUPERIOR TO THE BOOK AND EXERCISE GROUPS AT 12 WEEKS (YOGA VS. BOOK: MEAN DIFFERENCE, -3.4 [95% CI, -5.1 TO - 1.6] [P < 0.001]; YOGA VS. EXERCISE: MEAN DIFFERENCE, -1.8 [CI, -3.5 TO - 0.1] [P = 0.034]). NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN SYMPTOM BOTHERSOMENESS WERE FOUND BETWEEN ANY 2 GROUPS AT 12 WEEKS; AT 26 WEEKS, THE YOGA GROUP WAS SUPERIOR TO THE BOOK GROUP WITH RESPECT TO THIS MEASURE (MEAN DIFFERENCE, -2.2 [CI, -3.2 TO - 1.2]; P < 0.001). AT 26 WEEKS, BACK-RELATED FUNCTION IN THE YOGA GROUP WAS SUPERIOR TO THE BOOK GROUP (MEAN DIFFERENCE, -3.6 [CI, -5.4 TO - 1.8]; P < 0.001). LIMITATIONS: PARTICIPANTS IN THIS STUDY WERE FOLLOWED FOR ONLY 26 WEEKS AFTER RANDOMIZATION. ONLY 1 INSTRUCTOR DELIVERED EACH INTERVENTION. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA WAS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN A SELF-CARE BOOK FOR IMPROVING FUNCTION AND REDUCING CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN, AND THE BENEFITS PERSISTED FOR AT LEAST SEVERAL MONTHS. 2005 6 1794 39 PRENATAL YOGA FOR BACK PAIN, BALANCE, AND MATERNAL WELLNESS: A RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED PILOT STUDY. BACKGROUND: THE OBJECTIVE WAS TO ASSESS THE FEASIBILITY OF A PRENATAL YOGA RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL (RCT) FOR GESTATIONAL LOW BACK PAIN (LBP), MOBILITY, AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING. METHODS: IN THIS PILOT, WOMEN AGED 18 TO 39 YEARS WITH UNCOMPLICATED PREGNANCIES AT 12 TO 26 WEEKS WERE RANDOMIZED, STRATIFIED BY PRESENCE OF LBP, TO ATTEND A WEEKLY YOGA CLASS OR A TIME-MATCHED EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT GROUP FOR 12 WEEKS. SAMPLE SIZE WAS BASED ON ANTICIPATED ENROLLMENT OF 2 SUBJECTS PER MONTH. PRIMARY OUTCOMES WERE MEASURES OF FEASIBILITY AND ACCEPTABILITY. SECONDARY OUTCOMES INCLUDED LBP DISABILITY, PREGNANCY SYMPTOM BURDEN, CHILDBIRTH SELF-EFFICACY, INSTRUMENTED GAIT, BALANCE, AND FALLS AT BASELINE, EVERY 4 WEEKS, AND 6 WEEKS POSTPARTUM. RESULTS: FROM APRIL 2015 TO DECEMBER 2015, 168 WOMEN WERE CONTACTED AND 115 (68%) WERE ELIGIBLE. TWENTY WOMEN ENROLLED (N = 11 YOGA; N = 9 CONTROL; MEAN GESTATIONAL AGE 20.2 WEEKS). RETENTION AT 12 WEEKS WAS 81% IN YOGA AND 77% IN CONTROL. THERE WERE NO YOGA-RELATED ADVERSE EVENTS. EXPLORATORY ANALYSES SHOW NO DIFFERENCES IN BACK PAIN DISABILITY BETWEEN GROUPS. SIGNIFICANT GROUPS EFFECTS WERE FOUND ON BIOMECHANICAL ASSESSMENTS, INCLUDING PERCENTAGE CHANGE IN GAIT SPEED (F = 4.4, P = .04), DOUBLE SUPPORT TIME (F = 23.6, P < .01), INSTRUMENTED TIMED-UP-AND-GO (F = 8.6, P < .01), AND TURN TIME (F = 5.7, P = .02) SUGGESTING CLINICALLY RELEVANT IMPROVEMENTS WITH YOGA. PREGNANCY SYMPTOM INVENTORY (PSI) SCORES IMPROVED (13.1 POINT DIFFERENCE, 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL, 5.1-21.1) AT 12 WEEKS IN YOGA COMPARED TO CONTROL, ADJUSTED FOR BASELINE GESTATIONAL AGE. CONCLUSION: CONDUCTING AN RCT OF PRENATAL YOGA TO IMPROVE GESTATIONAL LBP AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING IS FEASIBLE AND SAFE. WHILE NO DIFFERENCES IN BACK PAIN WERE OBSERVED, BIOMECHANICAL MEASURES WERE SENSITIVE ASSESSMENTS FOR EVALUATING GESTATIONAL LBP-RELATED MOBILITY IMPAIRMENT AND SHOWED GROUP DIFFERENCES. ADDITIONALLY, THE PSI SHOWED SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN SYMPTOM BURDEN OVER 12 WEEKS, SUPPORTING THE ONGOING CLAIMS THAT YOGA IMPROVES A PREGNANT WOMAN'S OVERALL WELL-BEING. 2019 7 2518 43 YOGA COMPARED TO NON-EXERCISE OR PHYSICAL THERAPY EXERCISE ON PAIN, DISABILITY, AND QUALITY OF LIFE FOR PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. BACKGROUND: CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN (CLBP) IS A COMMON AND OFTEN DISABLING MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITION. YOGA HAS BEEN PROVEN TO BE AN EFFECTIVE THERAPY FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN. HOWEVER, THERE ARE STILL CONTROVERSIES ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF YOGA AT DIFFERENT FOLLOW-UP PERIODS AND COMPARED WITH OTHER PHYSICAL THERAPY EXERCISES. OBJECTIVE: TO CRITICALLY COMPARE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA FOR PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN ON PAIN, DISABILITY, QUALITY OF LIFE WITH NON-EXERCISE (E.G. USUAL CARE, EDUCATION), PHYSICAL THERAPY EXERCISE. METHODS: THIS STUDY WAS REGISTERED IN PROSPERO, AND THE REGISTRATION NUMBER WAS CRD42020159865. RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) OF ONLINE DATABASES INCLUDED PUBMED, WEB OF SCIENCE, COCHRANE CENTRAL REGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS, EMBASE WHICH EVALUATED EFFECTS OF YOGA FOR PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN ON PAIN, DISABILITY, AND QUALITY OF LIFE WERE SEARCHED FROM INCEPTION TIME TO NOVEMBER 1, 2019. STUDIES WERE ELIGIBLE IF THEY ASSESSED AT LEAST ONE IMPORTANT OUTCOME, NAMELY PAIN, BACK-SPECIFIC DISABILITY, QUALITY OF LIFE. THE COCHRANE RISK OF BIAS TOOL WAS USED TO ASSESS THE METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY OF INCLUDED RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. THE CONTINUOUS OUTCOMES WERE ANALYZED BY CALCULATING THE MEAN DIFFERENCE (MD) OR STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCE (SMD) WITH 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS (CI) ACCORDING TO WHETHER COMBINING OUTCOMES MEASURED ON DIFFERENT SCALES OR NOT. RESULTS: A TOTAL OF 18 RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS WERE INCLUDED IN THIS META-ANALYSIS. YOGA COULD SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE PAIN AT 4 TO 8 WEEKS (MD = -0.83, 95% CI = -1.19 TO -0.48, P<0.00001, I2 = 0%), 3 MONTHS (MD = -0.43, 95% CI = -0.64 TO -0.23, P<0.0001, I2 = 0%), 6 TO 7 MONTHS (MD = -0.56, 95% CI = -1.02 TO -0.11, P = 0.02, I2 = 50%), AND WAS NOT SIGNIFICANT IN 12 MONTHS (MD = -0.52, 95% CI = -1.64 TO 0.59, P = 0.36, I2 = 87%) COMPARED WITH NON-EXERCISE. YOGA WAS BETTER THAN NON-EXERCISE ON DISABILITY AT 4 TO 8 WEEKS (SMD = -0.30, 95% CI = -0.51 TO -0.10, P = 0.003, I2 = 0%), 3 MONTHS (SMD = -0.31, 95% CI = -0.45 TO -0.18, P<0.00001, I2 = 30%), 6 MONTHS (SMD = -0.38, 95% CI = -0.53 TO -0.23, P<0.00001, I2 = 0%), 12 MONTHS (SMD = -0.33, 95% CI = -0.54 TO -0.12, P = 0.002, I2 = 9%). THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE ON PAIN, DISABILITY COMPARED WITH PHYSICAL THERAPY EXERCISE GROUP. FURTHERMORE, IT SUGGESTED THAT THERE WAS A NON-SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE ON PHYSICAL AND MENTAL QUALITY OF LIFE BETWEEN YOGA AND ANY OTHER INTERVENTIONS. CONCLUSION: THIS META-ANALYSIS PROVIDED EVIDENCE FROM VERY LOW TO MODERATE INVESTIGATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN PATIENTS AT DIFFERENT TIME POINTS. YOGA MIGHT DECREASE PAIN FROM SHORT TERM TO INTERMEDIATE TERM AND IMPROVE FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY STATUS FROM SHORT TERM TO LONG TERM COMPARED WITH NON-EXERCISE (E.G. USUAL CARE, EDUCATION). YOGA HAD THE SAME EFFECT ON PAIN AND DISABILITY AS ANY OTHER EXERCISE OR PHYSICAL THERAPY. YOGA MIGHT NOT IMPROVE THE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL QUALITY OF LIFE BASED ON THE RESULT OF A MERGING. 2020 8 829 29 EFFECT OF YOGA ON MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS. OBJECTIVES: TO OBSERVE THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS USING A PROSPECTIVE, RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED AND INTERVENTIONAL STUDY. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES TOTAL MENOPAUSE RATING SCALE (MRS) SCORE AND THREE SUBSCALE SCORES (SOMATOVEGETATIVE, PSYCHOLOGICAL AND UROGENITAL) WERE MEASURED ON DAY 1 AND DAY 90 IN THE STUDY GROUP WHICH PERFORMED YOGA (ASANA, PRANAYAM AND MEDITATION) UNDER SUPERVISION FOR THREE MONTHS, AND WERE COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP THAT DID NOT PERFORM YOGA. MRS HAS BEEN DESIGNED TO MEASURE HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE OF AGEING WOMEN. IT CONSISTS OF 11 SYMPTOMS AND THREE SUBSCALES. RESULTS: IT WAS OBSERVED THAT ON DAY 1 THE SCORES IN BOTH THE GROUPS WERE COMPARABLE. ON DAY 90, THE SCORES IN THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED A REDUCTION IN SCORE ON ALL THE SUBSCALES, WHICH WAS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE WAS NOTED IN THE CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSION: YOGA IS EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS AND SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS ALTERNATIVE THERAPY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS. 2011 9 1943 36 SAHAJA YOGA IN THE MANAGEMENT OF MODERATE TO SEVERE ASTHMA: A RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: SAHAJA YOGA IS A TRADITIONAL SYSTEM OF MEDITATION BASED ON YOGIC PRINCIPLES WHICH MAY BE USED FOR THERAPEUTIC PURPOSES. A STUDY WAS UNDERTAKEN TO ASSESS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THIS THERAPY AS AN ADJUNCTIVE TOOL IN THE MANAGEMENT OF ASTHMA IN ADULT PATIENTS WHO REMAINED SYMPTOMATIC ON MODERATE TO HIGH DOSES OF INHALED STEROIDS. METHODS: A PARALLEL GROUP, DOUBLE BLIND, RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL WAS CONDUCTED. SUBJECTS WERE RANDOMLY ALLOCATED TO SAHAJA YOGA AND CONTROL INTERVENTION GROUPS. BOTH THE YOGA AND THE CONTROL INTERVENTIONS REQUIRED THE SUBJECTS TO ATTEND A 2 HOUR SESSION ONCE A WEEK FOR 4 MONTHS. ASTHMA RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (AQLQ, RANGE 0-4), PROFILE OF MOOD STATES (POMS), LEVEL OF AIRWAY HYPERRESPONSIVENESS TO METHACHOLINE (AHR), AND A DIARY CARD BASED COMBINED ASTHMA SCORE (CAS, RANGE 0-12) REFLECTING SYMPTOMS, BRONCHODILATOR USAGE, AND PEAK EXPIRATORY FLOW RATES WERE MEASURED AT THE END OF THE TREATMENT PERIOD AND AGAIN 2 MONTHS LATER. RESULTS: TWENTY ONE OF 30 SUBJECTS RANDOMISED TO THE YOGA INTERVENTION AND 26 OF 29 SUBJECTS RANDOMISED TO THE CONTROL GROUP WERE AVAILABLE FOR ASSESSMENT AT THE END OF TREATMENT. THE IMPROVEMENT IN AHR AT THE END OF TREATMENT WAS 1.5 DOUBLING DOSES (95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL (CI) 0.0 TO 2.9, P=0.047) GREATER IN THE YOGA INTERVENTION GROUP THAN IN THE CONTROL GROUP. DIFFERENCES IN AQLQ SCORE (0.41, 95% CI -0.04 TO 0.86) AND CAS (0.9, 95% CI -0.9 TO 2.7) WERE NOT SIGNIFICANT (P>0.05). THE AQLQ MOOD SUBSCALE DID IMPROVE MORE IN THE YOGA GROUP THAN IN THE CONTROL GROUP (DIFFERENCE 0.63, 95% CI 0.06 TO 1.20), AS DID THE SUMMARY POMS SCORE (DIFFERENCE 18.4, 95% CI 0.2 TO 36.5, P=0.05). THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS AT THE 2 MONTH FOLLOW UP ASSESSMENT. CONCLUSIONS: THIS RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL HAS SHOWN THAT THE PRACTICE OF SAHAJA YOGA DOES HAVE LIMITED BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON SOME OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE MEASURES OF THE IMPACT OF ASTHMA. FURTHER WORK IS REQUIRED TO UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISM UNDERLYING THE OBSERVED EFFECTS AND TO ESTABLISH WHETHER ELEMENTS OF THIS INTERVENTION MAY BE CLINICALLY VALUABLE IN PATIENTS WITH SEVERE ASTHMA. 2002 10 193 30 A RANDOMIZED TRIAL COMPARING YOGA, STRETCHING, AND A SELF-CARE BOOK FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN. BACKGROUND: CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN IS A COMMON PROBLEM LACKING HIGHLY EFFECTIVE TREATMENT OPTIONS. SMALL TRIALS SUGGEST THAT YOGA MAY HAVE BENEFITS FOR THIS CONDITION. THIS TRIAL WAS DESIGNED TO DETERMINE WHETHER YOGA IS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN CONVENTIONAL STRETCHING EXERCISES OR A SELF-CARE BOOK FOR PRIMARY CARE PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN. METHODS: A TOTAL OF 228 ADULTS WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN WERE RANDOMIZED TO 12 WEEKLY CLASSES OF YOGA (92 PATIENTS) OR CONVENTIONAL STRETCHING EXERCISES (91 PATIENTS) OR A SELF-CARE BOOK (45 PATIENTS). BACK-RELATED FUNCTIONAL STATUS (MODIFIED ROLAND DISABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE, A 23-POINT SCALE) AND BOTHERSOMENESS OF PAIN (AN 11-POINT NUMERICAL SCALE) AT 12 WEEKS WERE THE PRIMARY OUTCOMES. OUTCOMES WERE ASSESSED AT BASELINE, 6, 12, AND 26 WEEKS BY INTERVIEWERS UNAWARE OF TREATMENT GROUP. RESULTS: AFTER ADJUSTMENT FOR BASELINE VALUES, 12-WEEK OUTCOMES FOR THE YOGA GROUP WERE SUPERIOR TO THOSE FOR THE SELF-CARE GROUP (MEAN DIFFERENCE FOR FUNCTION, -2.5 [95% CI, -3.7 TO -1.3]; P < .001; MEAN DIFFERENCE FOR SYMPTOMS, -1.1 [95% CI, -1.7 TO -0.4]; P < .001). AT 26 WEEKS, FUNCTION FOR THE YOGA GROUP REMAINED SUPERIOR (MEAN DIFFERENCE, -1.8 [95% CI, -3.1 TO -0.5]; P < .001). YOGA WAS NOT SUPERIOR TO CONVENTIONAL STRETCHING EXERCISES AT ANY TIME POINT. CONCLUSION: YOGA CLASSES WERE MORE EFFECTIVE THAN A SELF-CARE BOOK, BUT NOT MORE EFFECTIVE THAN STRETCHING CLASSES, IN IMPROVING FUNCTION AND REDUCING SYMPTOMS DUE TO CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN, WITH BENEFITS LASTING AT LEAST SEVERAL MONTHS. TRIAL REGISTRATION: CLINICALTRIALS.GOV IDENTIFIER: NCT00447668. 2011 11 507 42 COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF PILATES AND YOGA GROUP EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS FOR CHRONIC MECHANICAL NECK PAIN: QUASI-RANDOMISED PARALLEL CONTROLLED STUDY. OBJECTIVES: TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PILATES AND YOGA GROUP EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH CHRONIC NECK PAIN (CNP). DESIGN: QUASI-RANDOMISED PARALLEL CONTROLLED STUDY. SETTING: COMMUNITY, UNIVERSITY AND PRIVATE PRACTICE SETTINGS IN FOUR LOCATIONS. PARTICIPANTS: FIFTY-SIX INDIVIDUALS WITH CNP SCORING >/=3/10 ON THE NUMERIC PAIN RATING SCALE FOR >3 MONTHS (CONTROLS N=17, PILATES N=20, YOGA N=19). INTERVENTIONS: EXERCISE PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED 12 SMALL-GROUP SESSIONS WITH MODIFICATIONS AND PROGRESSIONS SUPERVISED BY A PHYSIOTHERAPIST. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: THE PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE WAS THE NECK DISABILITY INDEX (NDI). SECONDARY OUTCOMES WERE PAIN RATINGS, RANGE OF MOVEMENT AND POSTURAL MEASUREMENTS COLLECTED AT BASELINE, 6 WEEKS AND 12 WEEKS. FOLLOW-UP WAS PERFORMED 6 WEEKS AFTER COMPLETION OF THE EXERCISE CLASSES (WEEK 18). RESULTS: NDI DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE PILATES {BASELINE: 11.1 [STANDARD DEVIATION (SD) 4.3] VS WEEK 12: 6.8 (SD 4.3); MEAN DIFFERENCE -4.3 (95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL -1.64 TO -6.7); P<0.001} AND YOGA GROUPS [BASELINE: 12.8 (SD 7.4) VS WEEK 12: 8.1 (SD 5.6); MEAN DIFFERENCE -4.7 (95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL -2.1 TO -7.4); P<0.00], WITH NO CHANGE IN THE CONTROL GROUP. PAIN RATINGS ALSO IMPROVED SIGNIFICANTLY. MODERATE-TO-LARGE EFFECT SIZES (0.7 TO 1.8) AND LOW NUMBERS NEEDED TO TREAT WERE FOUND. THERE WERE NO DIFFERENCES IN OUTCOMES BETWEEN THE EXERCISE GROUPS OR ASSOCIATED ADVERSE EFFECTS. NO IMPROVEMENTS IN RANGE OF MOVEMENT OR POSTURE WERE FOUND. CONCLUSIONS: PILATES AND YOGA GROUP EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS WITH APPROPRIATE MODIFICATIONS AND SUPERVISION WERE SAFE AND EQUALLY EFFECTIVE FOR DECREASING DISABILITY AND PAIN COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH MILD-TO-MODERATE CNP. PHYSIOTHERAPISTS MAY CONSIDER INCLUDING THESE APPROACHES IN A PLAN OF CARE. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: CLINICALTRIALS.GOV NCT01999283. 2016 12 2660 37 YOGA IN ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION. BACKGROUND: YOGA SEEMS TO EXERT ITS EFFECT AGAINST ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION MAINLY THROUGH THE ASSOCIATED BREATHING AND MEDITATION TECHNIQUES, AND LESS SO THROUGH YOGA POSTURES. THE GOAL OF THIS TRIAL WAS TO COMPARE THE BLOOD PRESSURE-LOWERING EFFECT OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS WITH AND WITHOUT YOGA POSTURES IN PATIENTS WITH ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION. METHODS: 75 PATIENTS TAKING MEDICATIONS FOR ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION (72% WOMEN, MEAN AGE 58.7 +/- 9.5 YEARS) WERE RANDOMIZED INTO THREE GROUPS: A YOGA INTERVENTION GROUP WITH YOGA POSTURES (25 PATIENTS, OF WHOM 5 DROPPED OUT OF THE TRIAL BEFORE ITS END), A YOGA INTERVENTION GROUP WITHOUT YOGA POSTURES (25 PATIENTS, 3 DROPOUTS), AND A WAIT LIST CONTROL GROUP (25 PATIENTS, ONE DROPOUT). THE INTERVENTIONS CONSISTED OF 90 MINUTES OF YOGA PRACTICE PER WEEK FOR TWELVE WEEKS. THE DATA COLLECTORS, WHO WERE BLINDED TO THE INTERVENTION RECEIVED, ASSESSED THE PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES "SYSTOLIC 24-HOUR BLOOD PRESSURE" AND "DIASTOLIC 24-HOUR BLOOD PRESSURE" BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION. IN THIS REPORT, WE ALSO PRESENT THE FINDINGS ON SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES, INCLUDING FOLLOW-UP DATA. RESULTS: AFTER THE INTERVENTION, THE SYSTOLIC 24-HOUR BLOOD PRESSURE IN THE YOGA INTERVENTION GROUP WITHOUT YOGA POSTURES WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN IN THE CONTROL GROUP (GROUP DIFFERENCE [DELTA]= -3.8 MMHG; [95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL (CI): (-0.3; -7.4) P = 0.035]); IT WAS ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN IN THE YOGA INTERVENTION GROUP WITH YOGA POSTURES (DELTA = -3.2 MMHG; 95% CI: [-6.3; -0.8]; P = 0.045). DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURES DID NOT DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY ACROSS GROUPS. NO SERIOUS ADVERSE EVENTS WERE ENCOUNTERED IN THE COURSE OF THE TRIAL. CONCLUSION: IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FINDINGS OF EARLIER STUDIES, WE FOUND THAT ONLY YOGA WITHOUT YOGA POSTURES INDUCED A SHORT-TERM LOWERING OF AMBULATORY SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE. YOGA IS SAFE AND EFFECTIVE IN PATIENTS TAKING MEDICATIONS FOR ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION AND THUS CAN BE RECOMMENDED AS AN ADDITIONAL TREATMENT OPTION FOR PERSONS IN THIS CATEGORY. 2018 13 2607 44 YOGA FOR PRENATAL DEPRESSION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. BACKGROUND: PRENATAL DEPRESSION CAN NEGATIVELY AFFECT THE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH OF BOTH MOTHER AND FETUS. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA AS AN INTERVENTION IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PRENATAL DEPRESSION. METHODS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) WAS CONDUCTED BY SEARCHING PUBMED, EMBASE, THE COCHRANE LIBRARY AND PSYCINFO FROM ALL RETRIEVED ARTICLES DESCRIBING SUCH TRIALS UP TO JULY 2014. RESULTS: SIX RCTS WERE IDENTIFIED IN THE SYSTEMATIC SEARCH. THE SAMPLE CONSISTED OF 375 PREGNANT WOMEN, MOST OF WHOM WERE BETWEEN 20 AND 40 YEARS OF AGE. THE DIAGNOSES OF DEPRESSION WERE DETERMINED BY THEIR SCORES ON STRUCTURED CLINICAL INTERVIEW FOR DSM-IV AND THE CENTER FOR EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES DEPRESSION SCALE. WHEN COMPARED WITH COMPARISON GROUPS (E.G., STANDARD PRENATAL CARE, STANDARD ANTENATAL EXERCISES, SOCIAL SUPPORT, ETC.), THE LEVEL OF DEPRESSION STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED IN YOGA GROUPS (STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCE [SMD], -0.59; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL [CI], -0.94 TO -0.25; P = 0.0007). ONE SUBGROUP ANALYSIS REVEALED THAT BOTH THE LEVELS OF DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN PRENATALLY DEPRESSED WOMEN (SMD, -0.46; CI, -0.90 TO -0.03; P = 0.04) AND NON-DEPRESSED WOMEN (SMD, -0.87; CI, -1.22 TO -0.52; P < 0.00001) WERE STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER IN YOGA GROUP THAN THAT IN CONTROL GROUP. THERE WERE TWO KINDS OF YOGA: THE PHYSICAL-EXERCISE-BASED YOGA AND INTEGRATED YOGA, WHICH, BESIDES PHYSICAL EXERCISES, INCLUDED PRANAYAMA, MEDITATION OR DEEP RELAXATION. THEREFORE, THE OTHER SUBGROUP ANALYSIS WAS CONDUCTED TO ESTIMATE EFFECTS OF THE TWO KINDS OF YOGA ON PRENATAL DEPRESSION. THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT THE LEVEL OF DEPRESSION WAS SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED IN THE INTEGRATED YOGA GROUP (SMD, -0.79; CI, -1.07 TO -0.51; P < 0.00001) BUT NOT SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED IN PHYSICAL-EXERCISE-BASED YOGA GROUP (SMD, -0.41; CI, -1.01 TO -0.18; P = 0.17). CONCLUSIONS: PRENATAL YOGA INTERVENTION IN PREGNANT WOMEN MAY BE EFFECTIVE IN PARTLY REDUCING DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS. 2015 14 2549 41 YOGA FOR CANCER SURVIVORS WITH CHEMOTHERAPY-INDUCED PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY: HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE OUTCOMES. BACKGROUND: YOGA IS A MEDITATIVE MOVEMENT THERAPY FOCUSED ON MIND-BODY AWARENESS. THE IMPACT OF YOGA ON HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (HRQOL) OUTCOMES IN PATIENTS WITH CHEMOTHERAPY-INDUCED PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY (CIPN) IS UNCLEAR. METHODS: WE CONDUCTED A PILOT RANDOMIZED WAIT-LIST CONTROLLED TRIAL OF 8 WEEKS OF YOGA (N = 21) VERSUS WAIT-LIST CONTROL (N = 20) FOR CIPN IN 41 BREAST AND GYNECOLOGICAL CANCER SURVIVORS WITH PERSISTENT MODERATE TO SEVERE CIPN. HRQOL ENDPOINTS WERE HOSPITAL ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SCALE (HADS), BRIEF FATIGUE INVENTORY (BFI), AND INSOMNIA SEVERITY INDEX (ISI). THE TREATMENT EXPECTANCY SCALE (TES) WAS ADMINISTERED AT BASELINE. WE ESTIMATED MEAN CHANGES AND 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS (CIS) FROM BASELINE TO WEEKS 8 AND 12 AND COMPARED ARMS USING CONSTRAINED LINEAR MIXED MODELS. RESULTS: AT WEEK 8, HADS ANXIETY SCORES DECREASED -1.61 (-2.75, -0.46) IN THE YOGA ARM AND -0.32 (-1.38, 0.75) POINTS IN THE WAIT-LIST CONTROL ARM (P = 0.099). AT WEEK 12, HADS ANXIETY SCORES DECREASED -1.42 (-2.57, -0.28) IN YOGA COMPARED TO AN INCREASE OF 0.46 (-0.60, 1.53) IN WAIT-LIST CONTROL (P = 0.017). THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN HADS DEPRESSION, BFI, OR ISI SCORES BETWEEN YOGA AND WAIT-LIST CONTROL. BASELINE TES WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN YOGA THAN IN WAIT-LIST CONTROL (14.9 VS. 12.7, P = 0.019). TES WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH HADS ANXIETY REDUCTION AND HADS ANXIETY REDUCTION WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH CIPN PAIN REDUCTION. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA MAY REDUCE ANXIETY IN PATIENTS WITH CIPN. FUTURE STUDIES ARE NEEDED TO CONFIRM THESE FINDINGS. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: CLINICALTRIALS.GOV IDENTIFIER: NCT03292328. 2021 15 2560 41 YOGA FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN: A RANDOMIZED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: PREVIOUS STUDIES INDICATE THAT YOGA MAY BE AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT FOR CHRONIC OR RECURRENT LOW BACK PAIN. OBJECTIVE: TO COMPARE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA AND USUAL CARE FOR CHRONIC OR RECURRENT LOW BACK PAIN. DESIGN: PARALLEL-GROUP, RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED TRIAL USING COMPUTER-GENERATED RANDOMIZATION CONDUCTED FROM APRIL 2007 TO MARCH 2010. OUTCOMES WERE ASSESSED BY POSTAL QUESTIONNAIRE. (INTERNATIONAL STANDARD RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL NUMBER REGISTER: ISRCTN 81079604) SETTING: 13 NON-NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE PREMISES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. PATIENTS: 313 ADULTS WITH CHRONIC OR RECURRENT LOW BACK PAIN. INTERVENTION: YOGA (N = 156) OR USUAL CARE (N = 157). ALL PARTICIPANTS RECEIVED A BACK PAIN EDUCATION BOOKLET. THE INTERVENTION GROUP WAS OFFERED A 12-CLASS, GRADUALLY PROGRESSING YOGA PROGRAM DELIVERED BY 12 TEACHERS OVER 3 MONTHS. MEASUREMENTS: SCORES ON THE ROLAND-MORRIS DISABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE (RMDQ) AT 3 (PRIMARY OUTCOME), 6, AND 12 (SECONDARY OUTCOMES) MONTHS; PAIN, PAIN SELF-EFFICACY, AND GENERAL HEALTH MEASURES AT 3, 6, AND 12 MONTHS (SECONDARY OUTCOMES). RESULTS: 93 (60%) PATIENTS OFFERED YOGA ATTENDED AT LEAST 3 OF THE FIRST 6 SESSIONS AND AT LEAST 3 OTHER SESSIONS. THE YOGA GROUP HAD BETTER BACK FUNCTION AT 3, 6, AND 12 MONTHS THAN THE USUAL CARE GROUP. THE ADJUSTED MEAN RMDQ SCORE WAS 2.17 POINTS (95% CI, 1.03 TO 3.31 POINTS) LOWER IN THE YOGA GROUP AT 3 MONTHS, 1.48 POINTS (CI, 0.33 TO 2.62 POINTS) LOWER AT 6 MONTHS, AND 1.57 POINTS (CI, 0.42 TO 2.71 POINTS) LOWER AT 12 MONTHS. THE YOGA AND USUAL CARE GROUPS HAD SIMILAR BACK PAIN AND GENERAL HEALTH SCORES AT 3, 6, AND 12 MONTHS, AND THE YOGA GROUP HAD HIGHER PAIN SELF-EFFICACY SCORES AT 3 AND 6 MONTHS BUT NOT AT 12 MONTHS. TWO OF THE 157 USUAL CARE PARTICIPANTS AND 12 OF THE 156 YOGA PARTICIPANTS REPORTED ADVERSE EVENTS, MOSTLY INCREASED PAIN. LIMITATION: THERE WERE MISSING DATA FOR THE PRIMARY OUTCOME (YOGA GROUP, N = 21; USUAL CARE GROUP, N = 18) AND DIFFERENTIAL MISSING DATA (MORE IN THE YOGA GROUP) FOR SECONDARY OUTCOMES. CONCLUSION: OFFERING A 12-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM TO ADULTS WITH CHRONIC OR RECURRENT LOW BACK PAIN LED TO GREATER IMPROVEMENTS IN BACK FUNCTION THAN DID USUAL CARE. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: ARTHRITIS RESEARCH UK. 2011 16 1180 36 EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICACY OF IYENGAR YOGA THERAPY ON CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN. STUDY DESIGN: THE EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICACY OF IYENGAR YOGA FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN (CLBP) WERE ASSESSED WITH INTENTION-TO-TREAT AND PER-PROTOCOL ANALYSIS. NINETY SUBJECTS WERE RANDOMIZED TO A YOGA (N = 43) OR CONTROL GROUP (N = 47) RECEIVING STANDARD MEDICAL CARE. PARTICIPANTS WERE FOLLOWED 6 MONTHS AFTER COMPLETION OF THE INTERVENTION. OBJECTIVE: THIS STUDY AIMED TO EVALUATE IYENGAR YOGA THERAPY ON CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN. YOGA SUBJECTS WERE HYPOTHESIZED TO REPORT GREATER REDUCTIONS IN FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY, PAIN INTENSITY, DEPRESSION, AND PAIN MEDICATION USAGE THAN CONTROLS. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: CLBP IS A MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDER WITH PUBLIC HEALTH AND ECONOMIC IMPACT. PILOT STUDIES OF YOGA AND BACK PAIN HAVE REPORTED SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN CLINICALLY IMPORTANT OUTCOMES. METHODS: SUBJECTS WERE RECRUITED THROUGH SELF-REFERRAL AND HEALTH PROFESSIONAL REFERRALS ACCORDING TO EXPLICIT INCLUSION/EXCLUSION CRITERIA. YOGA SUBJECTS PARTICIPATED IN 24 WEEKS OF BIWEEKLY YOGA CLASSES DESIGNED FOR CLBP. OUTCOMES WERE ASSESSED AT 12 (MIDWAY), 24 (IMMEDIATELY AFTER), AND 48 WEEKS (6-MONTH FOLLOW-UP) AFTER THE START OF THE INTERVENTION USING THE OSWESTRY DISABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE, A VISUAL ANALOG SCALE, THE BECK DEPRESSION INVENTORY, AND A PAIN MEDICATION-USAGE QUESTIONNAIRE. RESULTS: USING INTENTION-TO-TREAT ANALYSIS WITH REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA (GROUP X TIME), SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER REDUCTIONS IN FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY AND PAIN INTENSITY WERE OBSERVED IN THE YOGA GROUP WHEN COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP AT 24 WEEKS. A SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER PROPORTION OF YOGA SUBJECTS ALSO REPORTED CLINICAL IMPROVEMENTS AT BOTH 12 AND 24 WEEKS. IN ADDITION, DEPRESSION WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER IN YOGA SUBJECTS. FURTHERMORE, WHILE A REDUCTION IN PAIN MEDICATION OCCURRED, THIS WAS COMPARABLE IN BOTH GROUPS. WHEN RESULTS WERE ANALYZED USING PER-PROTOCOL ANALYSIS, IMPROVEMENTS WERE OBSERVED FOR ALL OUTCOMES IN THE YOGA GROUP, INCLUDING AGREATER TREND FOR REDUCED PAIN MEDICATION USAGE. ALTHOUGH SLIGHTLY LESS THAN AT 24 WEEKS, THE YOGA GROUP HAD STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY, PAIN INTENSITY, AND DEPRESSION COMPARED TO STANDARD MEDICAL CARE 6-MONTHS POSTINTERVENTION. CONCLUSION: YOGA IMPROVES FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY, PAIN INTENSITY, AND DEPRESSION IN ADULTS WITH CLBP. THERE WAS ALSO A CLINICALLY IMPORTANT TREND FOR THE YOGA GROUP TO REDUCE THEIR PAIN MEDICATION USAGE COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP. 2009 17 1039 32 EFFECTS OF YOGA IN PATIENTS WITH PAROXYSMAL ATRIAL FIBRILLATION - A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY. BACKGROUND: PATIENTS WITH ATRIAL FIBRILLATION OFTEN HAVE AN IMPAIRED QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL). PRACTISING YOGA MAY DECREASE STRESS AND HAVE POSITIVE EFFECTS ON MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE WHETHER YOGA CAN IMPROVE QOL AND DECREASE BLOOD PRESSURE AND HEART RATE IN PATIENTS WITH PAROXYSMAL ATRIAL FIBRILLATION (PAF). METHODS: IN THIS PILOT STUDY, 80 PATIENTS DIAGNOSED WITH PAF WERE RANDOMIZED TO STANDARD TREATMENT (CONTROL GROUP, N=40) OR STANDARD TREATMENT IN COMBINATION WITH YOGA (YOGA GROUP, N=40) DURING A 12-WEEK PERIOD. QOL, BLOOD PRESSURE AND HEART RATE WERE EVALUATED AT BASELINE AND AT THE END OF THE STUDY (12 (+2) WEEKS). EUROQOL-5D (EQ-5D) VISUAL ANALOGUE SCALE (VAS) AND THE TWO DIMENSIONS IN SHORT-FORM HEALTH SURVEY (SF-36) WERE USED TO EVALUATE QOL. RESULTS: AT BASELINE THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN QOL BETWEEN THE GROUPS IN EQ-5D VAS- SCALE ( P=0.02) AND SF-36 MENTAL HEALTH SCORE ( P<0.001) IN WHICH THE CONTROL GROUP HAD HIGHER SCORES. AT THE END OF THE STUDY, THE YOGA GROUP AVERAGED HIGHER SF-36 MENTAL HEALTH SCORES. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS ( P=0.016), BUT NO DIFFERENCES IN EQ-5D VAS- SCALE AND PHYSIOLOGICAL HEALTH SCORE WAS SEEN BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS. AT THE END OF THE STUDY, THE YOGA GROUP HAD SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER HEART RATE ( P=0.024) AND SYSTOLIC ( P=0.033) AND DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE ( P<0.001) COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA WITH LIGHT MOVEMENTS AND DEEP BREATHING MAY LEAD TO IMPROVED QOL, LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE AND LOWER HEART RATE IN PATIENTS WITH PAF COMPARED TO A CONTROL GROUP. YOGA COULD BE A COMPLEMENTARY TREATMENT METHOD TO STANDARD THERAPY. 2017 18 1133 36 EFFICACY OF YOGA FOR VASOMOTOR SYMPTOMS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVE: THIS STUDY AIMS TO DETERMINE THE EFFICACY OF YOGA IN ALLEVIATING VASOMOTOR SYMPTOMS (VMS) FREQUENCY AND BOTHER. METHODS: THIS STUDY WAS A THREE-BY-TWO FACTORIAL, RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. ELIGIBLE WOMEN WERE RANDOMIZED TO YOGA (N = 107), EXERCISE (N = 106), OR USUAL ACTIVITY (N = 142), AND WERE SIMULTANEOUSLY RANDOMIZED TO A DOUBLE-BLIND COMPARISON OF OMEGA-3 FATTY ACID (N = 177) OR PLACEBO (N = 178) CAPSULES. YOGA INTERVENTION CONSISTED OF 12 WEEKLY 90-MINUTE YOGA CLASSES WITH DAILY HOME PRACTICE. PRIMARY OUTCOMES WERE VMS FREQUENCY AND BOTHER ASSESSED BY DAILY DIARIES AT BASELINE, 6 WEEKS, AND 12 WEEKS. SECONDARY OUTCOMES INCLUDED INSOMNIA SYMPTOMS (INSOMNIA SEVERITY INDEX) AT BASELINE AND 12 WEEKS. RESULTS: AMONG 249 RANDOMIZED WOMEN, 237 (95%) COMPLETED 12-WEEK ASSESSMENTS. THE MEAN BASELINE VMS FREQUENCY WAS 7.4 PER DAY (95% CI, 6.6 TO 8.1) IN THE YOGA GROUP AND 8.0 PER DAY (95% CI, 7.3 TO 8.7) IN THE USUAL ACTIVITY GROUP. INTENT-TO-TREAT ANALYSES INCLUDED ALL PARTICIPANTS WITH RESPONSE DATA (N = 237). THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INTERVENTION GROUPS IN THE CHANGE IN VMS FREQUENCY FROM BASELINE TO 6 AND 12 WEEKS (MEAN DIFFERENCE [YOGA--USUAL ACTIVITY] FROM BASELINE AT 6 WK, -0.3 [95% CI, -1.1 TO 0.5]; MEAN DIFFERENCE [YOGA--USUAL ACTIVITY] FROM BASELINE AT 12 WK, -0.3 [95% CI, -1.2 TO 0.6]; P = 0.119 ACROSS BOTH TIME POINTS). RESULTS WERE SIMILAR FOR VMS BOTHER. AT WEEK 12, YOGA WAS ASSOCIATED WITH AN IMPROVEMENT IN INSOMNIA SYMPTOMS (MEAN DIFFERENCE [YOGA - USUAL ACTIVITY] IN THE CHANGE IN INSOMNIA SEVERITY INDEX, 1.3 [95% CI, -2.5 TO -0.1]; P = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: AMONG HEALTHY WOMEN, 12 WEEKS OF YOGA CLASS PLUS HOME PRACTICE, COMPARED WITH USUAL ACTIVITY, DO NOT IMPROVE VMS FREQUENCY OR BOTHER BUT REDUCE INSOMNIA SYMPTOMS. 2014 19 2507 36 YOGA BASED CARDIAC REHABILITATION AFTER CORONARY ARTERY BYPASS SURGERY: ONE-YEAR RESULTS ON LVEF, LIPID PROFILE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL STATES--A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY. OBJECTIVE: TO COMPARE THE LONG TERM EFFECTS OF YOGA BASED CARDIAC REHABILITATION PROGRAM WITH ONLY PHYSIOTHERAPY BASED PROGRAM AS AN ADD-ON TO CONVENTIONAL REHABILITATION AFTER CORONARY ARTERY BYPASS GRAFTING (CABG) ON RISK FACTORS. METHODS: IN THIS SINGLE BLIND PROSPECTIVE RANDOMIZED PARALLEL TWO ARMED ACTIVE CONTROL STUDY, 1026 PATIENTS POSTED FOR CABG AT NARAYANA HRUDAYALAYA INSTITUTE OF CARDIAC SCIENCES, BENGALURU (INDIA) WERE SCREENED. OF THESE, 250 MALE PARTICIPANTS (35-65 YEARS) WHO SATISFIED THE SELECTION CRITERIA AND CONSENTED WERE RANDOMIZED INTO TWO GROUPS. WITHIN AND BETWEEN GROUP COMPARISONS WERE DONE AT THREE POINTS OF FOLLOW UP (I.E. 6TH WEEK, 6TH MONTH, AND 12TH MONTH) BY USING WILCOXON'S SIGNED RANKS TEST AND MANN WHITNEY U TEST RESPECTIVELY. RESULTS: YOGA GROUP HAD SIGNIFICANTLY (P = 0.001, MANN WHITNEY) BETTER IMPROVEMENT IN LVEF THAN CONTROL GROUP IN THOSE WITH ABNORMAL BASELINE EF (<53%) AFTER 1 YEAR. THERE WAS A BETTER REDUCTION IN BMI IN THE YOGA GROUP (P = 0.038, BETWEEN GROUPS) IN THOSE WITH HIGH BASELINE BMI (>/=23) AFTER 12 MONTHS. YOGA GROUP SHOWED SIGNIFICANT (P = 0.008, WILCOXON'S) REDUCTION IN BLOOD GLUCOSE AT ONE YEAR IN THOSE WITH HIGH BASELINE FBS >/=110 MG/DL. THERE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER IMPROVEMENT IN YOGA THAN THE CONTROL GROUP IN HDL (P = 0.003), LDL (P = 0.01) AND VLDL (P = 0.03) IN THOSE WITH ABNORMAL BASELINE VALUES. THERE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER IMPROVEMENT (P = 0.02, BETWEEN GROUPS) IN POSITIVE AFFECT IN YOGA GROUP. WITHIN YOGA GROUP, THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN PERCEIVED STRESS (P = 0.001), ANXIETY (P = 0.001), DEPRESSION (P = 0.001), AND NEGATIVE AFFECT (P = 0.03) WHILE IN THE CONTROL GROUP THERE WAS REDUCTION (P = 0.003) ONLY IN SCORES ON ANXIETY. CONCLUSION: ADDITION OF YOGA BASED RELAXATION TO CONVENTIONAL POST-CABG CARDIAC REHABILITATION HELPS IN BETTER MANAGEMENT OF RISK FACTORS IN THOSE WITH ABNORMAL BASELINE VALUES AND MAY HELP IN PREVENTING RECURRENCE. 2014 20 772 28 EFFECT OF YOGA AND EXERCISE ON GLYCEMIC CONTROL AND PSYCHOSOCIAL PARAMETERS IN TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY. CONTEXT BACKGROUND: TYPE 2 DIABETES HAS BEEN STRONGLY ASSOCIATED WITH PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS SUCH AS STRESS, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL). THERE IS NOT MUCH EVIDENCE WHETHER YOGA CAN IMPROVE THESE FACTORS AND MOTIVATE INDIVIDUALS TO ENGAGE IN ACTIVE LIFESTYLE. AIMS: THIS STUDY AIMS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF YOGA AND EXERCISE OVER GLYCEMIC CONTROL, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, EXERCISE SELF-EFFICACY (ESE), AND QOL AFTER 3-MONTH PROGRAM. METHODS: TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN INDIVIDUALS WERE RANDOMLY ALLOCATED TO YOGA GROUP (YG) AND EXERCISE GROUP. YG PRACTICED YOGA FOR 2 WEEKS UNDER SUPERVISION AND THEN CARRIED OUT PRACTICE AT HOME FOR 3 MONTHS. THE EXERCISE GROUP PRACTICED 30 MIN OF BRISK WALKING FOR 5 DAYS A WEEK. RESULTS: ON COMPARISON AMONG THE GROUPS, IN YG, THERE WAS A MEAN CHANGE OF 0.47 IN GLYCATED HEMOGLOBIN WHICH WAS GREATER THAN MEAN REDUCTION OF 0.28 IN THE EXERCISE GROUP WITH P < 0.05. STATE ANXIETY REDUCED BY 7.8 AND TRAIT ANXIETY REDUCED BY 4.4 IN YG (P < 0.05) IN 3 MONTHS AS COMPARED TO NONSIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS OF 3 AND 1 IN MEAN OF STATE AND TRAIT ANXIETY SCORES IN THE EXERCISE GROUP (P > 0.05). THERE WAS A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN DEPRESSION SCORE IN BOTH THE GROUPS, 8.6 IN YOGA AND 4.0 IN EXERCISE, WHICH WAS GREATER IN YG. ESE IMPROVED BY 19.2 IN YG (P < 0.05), WHEREAS IT IMPROVED ONLY 2.2 IN THE EXERCISE GROUP (P > 0.05). QOL IMPROVED BY 23.7 IN YG AND 3.0 IN THE EXERCISE GROUP WHICH WAS NONSIGNIFICANT IN THE EXERCISE GROUP AS COMPARED TO YG. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA IS SUPERIOR TO EXERCISE ALONE AS A LIFESTYLE MODIFICATION PROGRAM IN IMPROVING GLYCEMIC CONTROL, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND QOL AS WELL AS ESE. 2020