1 2719 124 YOGA MEDITATION ENHANCES PROPRIOCEPTION AND BALANCE IN INDIVIDUALS DIAGNOSED WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE. THIS STUDY COMPARED THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TWO PROPRIOCEPTIVE EXERCISE PROGRAMS FOR PERSONS DIAGNOSED WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE (PD). THIRTY-THREE PATIENTS WITH MILD TO MODERATE PD WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO A YOGA MEDITATION PROGRAM (YOMED) OR TO AN ESTABLISHED PROPRIOCEPTIVE TRAINING PROGRAM (PRO). BOTH INTERVENTIONS INCLUDED TWICE WEEKLY SESSIONS (45 MINUTES EACH), SPANNING A 12-WEEK PERIOD. OUTCOME MEASURES INCLUDED: JOINT POSITION SENSE (JPS45 DEGREES , JPS55 DEGREES , JPS65 DEGREES ) AND JOINT KINESTHESIA (JKFLEX AND JKEXT), THE TINETTI BALANCE ASSESSMENT TOOL (TIN), FALLS EFFICACY SCALE (FES), BALANCE ERROR SCORING SYSTEM (BESS), DYNAMIC POSTUROGRAPHY (DMA AND TIME) AND THE TIMED UP-AND-GO TEST (TUG). TEST ADMINISTRATORS WERE BLINDED TO GROUP AFFILIATION. SIGNIFICANT BETWEEN-GROUP DIFFERENCES FAVORING THE YOMED GROUP WERE OBSERVED FOR TIN (P = 0.01, D = 0.77) AND JKFLEX (P = 0.05, D = -0.72). DMA AND TIME SCORES SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED FOR BOTH GROUPS, AND NO ADVERSE EVENTS WERE REPORTED. THESE FINDINGS INDICATE THAT THE YOMED PROGRAM IS SAFE AND EFFECTIVE FOR PATIENTS WITH PD. RESEARCHERS SHOULD CONTINUE TO EXAMINE THE CLINICAL EFFICACY OF MIND-BODY TECHNIQUES TO IMPROVE MOVEMENT CONTROL AND BODY AWARENESS IN THIS POPULATION. 2021 2 782 32 EFFECT OF YOGA BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION ON PATIENTS WITH KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVE: TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF INTEGRATED APPROACH OF YOGA THERAPY (IAYT) INTERVENTION IN INDIVIDUAL WITH KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS. DESIGN: RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED CLINCIAL TRAIL. PARTICIPANTS: SIXTY-SIX INDIVIDUAL PREDIAGNOSED WITH KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS AGED BETWEEN 30 AND 75 YEARS WERE RANDOMIZED INTO TWO GROUPS, I.E., YOGA (N = 31) AND CONTROL (N = 35). YOGA GROUP RECEIVED IAYT INTERVENTION FOR 1 WEEK AT YOGA CENTER OF S-VYASA WHEREAS CONTROL GROUP MAINTAINED THEIR NORMAL LIFESTYLE. OUTCOME MEASURES: THE FALLS EFFICACY SCALE (FES), HANDGRIP STRENGTH TEST (LEFT HAND LHGS AND RIGHT HAND RHGS), TIMED UP AND GO TEST (TUG), SIT-TO-STAND (STS), AND RIGHT & LEFT EXTENSION AND FLEXION WERE MEASURED ON DAY 1 AND DAY 7. RESULTS: THERE WERE A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN TUG (P < 0.001), RIGHT (P < 0.001), AND LEFT FLEXION (P < 0.001) WHEREAS SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN LHGS (P < 0.01), AND RIGHT EXTENSION (P < 0.05) & LEFT EXTENSION (P < 0.001) FROM BASELINE IN YOGA GROUP. CONCLUSION: IAYT PRACTICE SHOWED AN IMPROVEMENT IN TUG, STS, HGS, AND GONIOMETER TEST, WHICH SUGGEST IMPROVED MUSCULAR STRENGTH, FLEXIBILITY, AND FUNCTIONAL MOBILITY. CTRI REGISTRATION NUMBER: HTTP://CTRI.NIC.IN/CLINICALTRIALS, IDENTIFIER CTRI/2017/10/010141. 2018 3 2718 53 YOGA MEDITATION (YOMED) AND ITS EFFECT ON PROPRIOCEPTION AND BALANCE FUNCTION IN ELDERS WHO HAVE FALLEN: A RANDOMIZED CONTROL STUDY. OBJECTIVE: YOGA HAS BEEN SHOWN TO IMPROVE MUSCLE STRENGTH, FLEXIBILITY, AND BALANCE. HOWEVER, THE IMPACT OF MEDITATION ON DYNAMIC FACTORS SUCH AS GAIT, REACTIVE BALANCE AND PROPRIOCEPTION HAS YET TO BE EXAMINED. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO TEST IF A NOVEL YOGA MEDITATION PROGRAM (YOMED) IS AS EFFECTIVE AS A STANDARD PROPRIOCEPTIVE TRAINING IN IMPROVING PROPRIOCEPTION, BALANCE AND POWER IN OLDER INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE FALLEN. DESIGN: SIXTEEN OLDER PERSONS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EITHER THE YOMED GROUP (YM) OR PROPRIOCEPTION TRAINING GROUP (PT). EACH GROUP RECEIVED 45MIN OF TRAINING, 3DAYS PER WEEK, FOR 6 WEEKS. PRETEST AND POST-TEST OUTCOME MEASURES WERE USED TO QUANTIFY THE COMPARATIVE EFFECTS OF THE INTERVENTIONS. SETTING: RESEARCH LABORATORY. INTERVENTIONS: YOGA MEDITATION AND PROPRIOCEPTIVE TRAINING. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: THE BALANCE ERROR SCORING SYSTEM (BESS), THE TENETTI BALANCE AND GAIT ASSESSMENT, DYNAMIC POSTUROGRAPHY, JOINT POSITION SENSE, JOINT KINESTHESIA AND LEG EXTENSOR POWER. RESULTS: THE PRIMARY FINDINGS OF THE STUDY WERE THAT NEITHER THE YM OR PT INTERVENTION GROUPS SHOWED STATISTICAL IMPROVEMENTS IN ANY VARIABLE WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE DYNAMIC POSTUROGRAPHY OVERALL SCORE (DMA), WHICH SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT BY THE YM GROUP (D=1.238; P=0.049). ADDITIONALLY CHANGES IN A NUMBER OF VARIABLES THAT DID NOT REACH SIGNIFICANCE DEMONSTRATED EFFECT SIZES IN THE MEDIUM TO HIGH RANGE. CONCLUSION: THESE RESULTS INDICATE THE POTENTIAL FOR THE YOMED PROGRAM TO BE USED AS A CLINICAL INTERVENTION IN OLDER INDIVIDUALS. GIVEN THESE RESULTS A LONGER STUDY USING A LARGER SAMPLE SIZE AND INDIVIDUALS AT HIGHER RISK OF FALLING IS WARRANTED. 2018 4 2099 30 THE EFFECT OF YOGA MEDITATION PRACTICE ON YOUNG ADULTS' INHIBITORY CONTROL: AN FNIRS STUDY. OBJECTIVES: THE PRESENT STUDY AIMED TO TEST THE EFFECT OF YOGA MEDITATION (YOMED) PRACTICE ON INHIBITORY CONTROL OF YOUNG ADULTS. METHODS: A TOTAL OF 50 PARTICIPANTS (23 MALE, 21-28 YEARS OLD) FROM A UNIVERSITY IN JINAN, SHANDONG PROVINCE WERE ENROLLED IN THIS STUDY. PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO A YOMED GROUP OR A CONTROL GROUP. PARTICIPANTS' BASIC INFORMATION, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, AND INHIBITORY CONTROL WERE MEASURED. A MULTI-CHANNEL CONTINUOUS-WAVE NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROMETER WAS USED TO MONITOR THE BRAIN'S HEMODYNAMIC RESPONSES. RESULTS: AFTER THE INTERVENTION, WE FOUND SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN FLANKER TASKS BETWEEN THE YOMED GROUP AND CONTROL GROUP. THE ACCURACY IN THE YOMED GROUP WAS HIGHER THAN THOSE IN THE CONTROL GROUP (P < 0.05). ANALYSIS OF FNIRS DATA SHOWED THAT OXYHEMOGLOBIN (OXY-HB) LEVELS IN THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX (PFC) INCREASED IN THE YOMED GROUP DURING THE FLANKER TASKS AFTER THE YOMED INTERVENTION. CONCLUSION: YOMED HAS A TEMPORARILY PROMOTING EFFECT ON THE BRAIN ACTIVATION OF YOUNG ADULTS. IT IS AN EFFECTIVE AND APPROPRIATE EXERCISE TO IMPROVE THE INHIBITORY CONTROL OF YOUNG ADULTS. 2021 5 185 29 A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL TO STUDY THE EFFECT OF YOGA THERAPY ON CARDIAC FUNCTION AND N TERMINAL PRO BNP IN HEART FAILURE. AIMS: THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE WHETHER YOGA TRAINING IN ADDITION TO STANDARD MEDICAL THERAPY CAN IMPROVE CARDIAC FUNCTION AND REDUCE N TERMINAL PRO B-TYPE NATRIURETIC PEPTIDE (NT PRO BNP) IN HEART FAILURE (HF). METHODS: 130 PATIENTS WERE RECRUITED AND RANDOMIZED INTO TWO GROUPS: CONTROL GROUP (CG) (N = 65), YOGA GROUP (YG). IN YG, 44 PATIENTS AND IN CG, 48 PATIENTS COMPLETED THE STUDY. CARDIAC FUNCTION USING LEFT VENTRICULAR EJECTION FRACTION (LVEF), MYOCARDIAL PERFORMANCE INDEX (TEI INDEX), AND NT PRO BNP, A BIOMARKER OF HF, WAS ASSESSED AT BASELINE AND AFTER 12 WEEKS. RESULT: IMPROVEMENT IN LVEF, TEI INDEX, AND NT PRO BNP WERE STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT IN BOTH THE GROUPS. FURTHERMORE, WHEN THE CHANGES IN BEFORE AND AFTER 12 WEEKS WERE IN PERCENTAGE, LVEF INCREASED 36.88% IN THE YG AND 16.9% IN THE CG, TEI INDEX WAS REDUCED 27.87% IN THE YG AND 2.79% IN THE CG, NT PRO BNP WAS REDUCED 63.75% IN THE YG AND 10.77% IN THE CG. THE BETWEEN GROUP COMPARISONS FROM PRE TO POST 12 WEEKS WERE SIGNIFICANT FOR YG IMPROVEMENTS (LVEF, P < 0.01, TEI INDEX, P < 0.01, NT PRO BNP, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: THESE RESULTS INDICATE THAT THE ADDITION OF YOGA THERAPY TO STANDARD MEDICAL THERAPY FOR HF PATIENTS HAS A MARKEDLY BETTER EFFECT ON CARDIAC FUNCTION AND REDUCED MYOCARDIAL STRESS MEASURED USING NT PRO BNP IN PATIENTS WITH STABLE HF. 2014 6 506 39 COMPARATIVE EFFECT OF POWER TRAINING AND HIGH-SPEED YOGA ON MOTOR FUNCTION IN OLDER PATIENTS WITH PARKINSON DISEASE. OBJECTIVES: TO COMPARE THE EFFECTS OF POWER TRAINING (PWT) AND A HIGH-SPEED YOGA PROGRAM ON PHYSICAL PERFORMANCES IN OLDER PATIENTS WITH PARKINSON DISEASE (PD), AND TO TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT BOTH TRAINING INTERVENTIONS WOULD ATTENUATE PD SYMPTOMS AND IMPROVE PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE. DESIGN: RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. SETTING: A LABORATORY OF NEUROMUSCULAR RESEARCH AND ACTIVE AGING. PARTICIPANTS: PATIENTS WITH PD (N=41; MEAN AGE +/- SD, 72.2 +/- 6.5Y). INTERVENTIONS: TWO HIGH-SPEED EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS (SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED YOGA PROGRAM AND PWT) WERE GIVEN FOR 12 WEEKS (TWICE A WEEK), AND 1 NONEXERCISE CONTROL GROUP. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: UNIFIED PARKINSON DISEASE RATING SCALE MOTOR SCORE (UPDRSMS), BERG BALANCE SCALE (BBS), MINI-BALANCE EVALUATION SYSTEMS TEST (MINI-BESTEST), TIMED UP AND GO, FUNCTIONAL REACH, SINGLE LEG STANCE (SLS), POSTURAL SWAY TEST, 10-M USUAL AND MAXIMAL WALKING SPEED TESTS, 1 REPETITION MAXIMUM (RM), AND PEAK POWER (PPW) FOR LEG PRESS. RESULTS: FOR THE POSTTESTS, BOTH TRAINING GROUPS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS (P<.05) IN ALL PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS EXCEPT FUNCTIONAL REACH ON THE MORE AFFECTED SIDE, SLS, AND POSTURAL SWAY COMPARED WITH THE PRETESTS, AND SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER SCORES FOR UPDRSMS, BBS, MINI-BESTEST, TIMED UP AND GO, FUNCTIONAL REACH ON THE LESS AFFECTED SIDE, 10-M USUAL AND MAXIMAL WALKING SPEED TESTS, 1RM, AND PPW THAN CONTROLS, WITH NO DIFFERENCES DETECTED BETWEEN THE YOGA PROGRAM AND PWT. CONCLUSIONS: BOTH THE SPECIALLY DESIGNED YOGA PROGRAM AND PWT PROGRAMS CAN SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE IN OLDER PERSONS WITH PD. 2016 7 2143 41 THE EFFECTS OF M2M AND ADAPTED YOGA ON PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOSOCIAL OUTCOMES IN PEOPLE WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS. OBJECTIVE: TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF TWO 12-WEEK EXERCISE TRAINING INTERVENTIONS, MOVEMENT-TO-MUSIC (M2M) AND ADAPTED YOGA (AY), ON PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOSOCIAL OUTCOMES IN PEOPLE WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS). DESIGN: THREE-ARM RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED PROOF-OF-CONCEPT TRIAL. SETTING: A COMMUNITY-BASED FITNESS FACILITY. PARTICIPANTS: PARTICIPANTS (N=81) WITH MS (PATIENT DETERMINED DISEASE STEPS [PDDS] SELF-REPORTED DISEASE STATUS SCORES: 0-6) BETWEEN AGES OF 18 AND 65 YEARS WERE RANDOMIZED TO M2M (N=27), AY (N=26), OR WAITLIST CONTROL (N=28). INTERVENTIONS: BOTH M2M AND AY COMPLETED THREE 60-MINUTE EXERCISE SESSIONS PER WEEK FOR 12 WEEKS. WAITLIST CONTROLS RECEIVED BIWEEKLY NEWSLETTERS VIA MAIL THAT CONTAINED EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION ON LIVING WITH MS. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: PRIMARY MEASURES WERE TIMED UP AND GO (TUG, S) TEST, 6-MINUTE WALK TEST (6MWT, M), AND 5 TIMES SIT-TO-STAND TEST (FTSST, S). SECONDARY MEASURES WERE SELF-REPORTED OUTCOMES ASSESSED USING PATIENT-REPORTED OUTCOMES MEASUREMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM FATIGUE AND PAIN INTERFERENCE SHORT FORM 8A. PARTICIPANTS WERE EVALUATED AT BASELINE AND POSTINTERVENTION. PRIMARY ANALYSES WERE PERFORMED USING AN INTENT-TO-TREAT MIXED MODEL ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE. RESULTS: COMPARISONS ACROSS ALL 3 GROUPS REVEALED SIGNIFICANT GROUP DIFFERENCES IN TUG AND 6MWT. POST HOC ANALYSES INDICATED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN TUG (LEAST SQUARE MEAN DIFFERENCE [95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL] = -1.9S [-3.3 TO -0.5], P=.01, D=0.7) AND 6MWT (41.0M [2.2-80.0], P=.04, D=0.6; CONTROLLED FOR PDDS) IN M2M COMPARED TO CONTROLS, WHILE NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WERE OBSERVED WHEN COMPARED AY TO CONTROLS. NO SIGNIFICANT GROUP DIFFERENCES WERE FOUND IN FTSST, FATIGUE, AND PAIN INTERFERENCE. CONCLUSIONS: M2M MAY BE A USEFUL AND ENJOYABLE EXERCISE FORM FOR PEOPLE WITH MS IN IMPROVING MOBILITY AND WALKING ENDURANCE AND MERITS LONG-TERM STUDY IN LARGER STUDY POPULATIONS. 2019 8 1365 30 IMPACT OF 10-WEEKS OF YOGA PRACTICE ON FLEXIBILITY AND BALANCE OF COLLEGE ATHLETES. BACKGROUND: WITH CLEARER EVIDENCE OF ITS BENEFITS, COACHES, AND ATHLETES MAY BETTER SEE THAT YOGA HAS A ROLE IN OPTIMIZING PERFORMANCE. AIMS: TO DETERMINE THE IMPACT OF YOGA ON MALE COLLEGE ATHLETES (N = 26). METHODS: OVER A 10-WEEK PERIOD, A YOGA GROUP (YG) OF ATHLETES (N = 14) TOOK PART IN BIWEEKLY YOGA SESSIONS; WHILE A NONYOGA GROUP (NYG) OF ATHLETES (N = 12) TOOK PART IN NO ADDITIONAL YOGA ACTIVITY. PERFORMANCE MEASURES WERE OBTAINED IMMEDIATELY BEFORE AND AFTER THIS PERIOD. MEASUREMENTS OF FLEXIBILITY AND BALANCE, INCLUDED: SIT-REACH (SR), SHOULDER FLEXIBILITY (SF), AND STORK STAND (SS); DYNAMIC MEASUREMENTS CONSISTED OF JOINT ANGLES (JA) MEASURED DURING THE PERFORMANCE OF THREE DISTINCT YOGA POSITIONS (DOWNWARD DOG [DD]; RIGHT FOOT LUNGE [RFL]; CHAIR [C]). RESULTS: SIGNIFICANT GAINS WERE OBSERVED IN THE YG FOR FLEXIBILITY (SR, P = 0.01; SF, P = 0.03), AND BALANCE (SS, P = 0.05). NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WERE OBSERVED IN THE NYG FOR FLEXIBILITY AND BALANCE. SIGNIFICANTLY, GREATER JA WERE OBSERVED IN THE YG FOR: RFL (DORSIFLEXION, L-ANKLE; P = 0.04), DD (EXTENSION, R-KNEE, P = 0.04; R-HIP; P = 0.01; FLEXION, R-SHOULDER; P = 0.01) AND C (FLEXION, R-KNEE; P = 0.01). SIGNIFICANT JA DIFFERENCES WERE OBSERVED IN THE NYG FOR: DD (FLEXION, R-KNEE, P = 0.01: R-HIP, P = 0.05; R-SHOULDER, P = 0.03) AND C (FLEXION R-KNEE, P = 0.01; EXTENSION, R-SHOULDER; P = 0.05). A BETWEEN GROUP COMPARISON REVEALED THE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES FOR: RFL (L-ANKLE; P = 0.01), DD (R-KNEE, P = 0.01; R-HIP; P = 0.01), AND C (R-SHOULDER, P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: RESULTS SUGGEST THAT A REGULAR YOGA PRACTICE MAY INCREASE THE FLEXIBILITY AND BALANCE AS WELL AS WHOLE BODY MEASURES OF MALE COLLEGE ATHLETES AND THEREFORE, MAY ENHANCE ATHLETIC PERFORMANCES THAT REQUIRE THESE CHARACTERISTICS. 2016 9 2095 32 THE EFFECT OF YOGA ASANA "VRKSASANA (TREE POSE)" ON BALANCE IN PATIENTS WITH POSTMENOPAUSAL OSTEOPOROSIS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVE: IN THIS STUDY, THE EFFECT OF THE ADD-ON EFFECT OF THE TREE POSE (VRKSASANA) ON THE BALANCE OF PATIENTS WITH POSTMENOPAUSAL OSTEOPOROSIS WAS INVESTIGATED. DESIGN: THIRTY-TWO PATIENTS WITH POSTMENOPAUSAL OSTEOPOROSIS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO CONSERVATIVE EXERCISE GROUP (30 MINS/D FOR 12 WKS) OR TREE POSE-ADDED EXERCISE GROUP (30-MIN CONVENTIONAL EXERCISE + 2-MIN TREE POSE/D FOR 12 WKS) BY MICROSOFT EXCEL RANDOMIZATION OPTION. THE BALANCE OF THE PATIENTS WAS EVALUATED WITH BERG BALANCE SCALE, TIMED UP AND GO TEST, SINGLE-LEG STANDING TEST, TANDEM WALK TEST, TANDEM STANCE TEST, AND KOREBALANCE STATIC&DYNAMIC BALANCE TESTS AT BASELINE, SIXTH WEEK, AND THIRD MONTH OF THE EXERCISE PROGRAM. RESULTS: THERE WAS NO STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE ON BASELINE DATA BETWEEN GROUPS. THERE WAS A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS IN THE SIXTH-WEEK MEASUREMENT OF SINGLE-LEG STANCE (P < 0.05). IN THE BERG BALANCE SCALE, STATIC BALANCE TEST, DYNAMIC BALANCE TEST, AND TANDEM WALK TEST, A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE WAS FOUND AMONG BASELINE, SIXTH-WEEK, AND 12TH WEEK MEASUREMENTS IN BOTH THE EXERCISE GROUP AND THE TREE POSE-ADDED EXERCISE GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: GAINS IN THE STATIC AND DYNAMIC BALANCE OF POSTMENOPAUSAL OSTEOPOROTIC PATIENTS CAN BE OBTAINED BY ADDING "VRKSASANA" TO CONVENTIONAL EXERCISES. 2022 10 2193 35 THE EFFECTS OF YOGA TRAINING AND A SINGLE BOUT OF YOGA ON DELAYED ONSET MUSCLE SORENESS IN THE LOWER EXTREMITY. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA TRAINING AND A SINGLE BOUT OF YOGA ON THE INTENSITY OF DELAYED ONSET MUSCLE SORENESS (DOMS). 24 YOGA-TRAINED (YT; N = 12) AND NON-YOGA-TRAINED (CON; N = 12), MATCHED WOMEN VOLUNTEERS WERE ADMINISTERED A DOMS-INDUCING BENCH-STEPPING EXERCISE. MUSCLE SORENESS WAS ASSESSED AT BASELINE, 24, 48, 72, 96, AND 120 HOURS AFTER BENCH-STEPPING USING A VISUAL ANALOG SCALE (VAS). GROUPS WERE ALSO COMPARED ON BODY AWARENESS (BA), FLEXIBILITY USING THE SIT-AND-REACH TEST (SR), AND PERCEIVED EXERTION (RPE). STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE WAS ACCEPTED AT P 0.05). IN THE AYT GROUP, ABSOLUTE COP SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED IN THE FOAMEO (T(8) = -3.66, P = 0.01) AND FOAMEC (T(8) = -3.90, P = 0.01) CONDITIONS. RELATIVE SOMATOSENSORY SIEO (T(8) = -2.42, P = 0.04) AND SIEC (T(8) = -3.96, P = 0.01), AND VESTIBULAR SIV (T(8) = -2.47, P = 0.04) CONTRIBUTIONS TO BALANCE INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY. AS EXPECTED, NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES FROM EO TO EC CONDITIONS WERE FOUND INDICATING AN ABSENCE OF VISUAL DEPENDENCY IN VI. NO SIGNIFICANT PRE-POST CHANGES WERE OBSERVED IN THE CONTROL GROUP (ALL P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: THESE PRELIMINARY RESULTS ESTABLISH THE POTENTIAL FOR AYT TRAINING TO DEVELOP THE REMAINING SOMATOSENSORY AND VESTIBULAR RESPONSES USED TO OPTIMIZE POSTURAL STABILITY IN A VI POPULATION. TRIAL REGISTRATION: WWW.CLINICALTRIALS.GOV NCT01366677. 2015 15 971 30 EFFECTS OF AN INTEGRATED APPROACH OF HATHA YOGA THERAPY ON FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY, PAIN, AND FLEXIBILITY IN OSTEOARTHRITIS OF THE KNEE JOINT: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY. OBJECTIVES: THE STUDY OBJECTIVES WERE TO EVALUATE THE EFFICACY OF INTEGRATING HATHA YOGA THERAPY WITH THERAPEUTIC EXERCISES FOR OSTEOARTHRITIS (OA) OF THE KNEE JOINTS. DESIGN: THIS WAS A PROSPECTIVE, RANDOMIZED, ACTIVE CONTROLLED TRIAL. TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY (250) PARTICIPANTS WHO HAD OA KNEES AND WHO WERE BETWEEN 35 AND 80 YEARS (YOGA 59.56+/-9.54) AND (CONTROL 59.42+/-10.66) FROM THE OUTPATIENT DEPARTMENT OF EBNEZAR ORTHOPEDIC CENTER, BENGALURU, WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO RECEIVE HATHA YOGA THERAPY OR THERAPEUTIC EXERCISES AFTER TRANSCUTANEOUS ELECTRICAL STIMULATION AND ULTRASOUND TREATMENT (20 MINUTES PER DAY). BOTH OF THE GROUPS PRACTICED SUPERVISED INTERVENTIONS (40 MINUTES PER DAY) FOR 3 MONTHS. ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN (118) (YOGA) AND 117 (CONTROL) SUBJECTS WERE AVAILABLE FOR THE FINAL ANALYSIS. RESULTS: THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WITHIN (WILCOXON'S, P<0.001) AND BETWEEN THE GROUPS (MANN-WHITNEY U, P<0.001) ON ALL THE VARIABLES, WITH BETTER IMPROVEMENTS IN THE YOGA THAN THE CONTROL GROUPS. WALKING PAIN IN THE YOGA (37.3%, 64.9%) AND CONTROL (24.9%, 42%), KNEE DISABILITY IN THE YOGA (59.7%, 83%) AND CONTROL (32.7%, 53.6%), RANGE OF KNEE FLEXION IN YOGA (12.7%, 26.5% RIGHT, 13.5%, 28% LEFT) AND CONTROL (6.9%, 13.3% RIGHT, 5.6%, 11.5% LEFT), JOINT TENDERNESS IN YOGA (52.3%, 86.1%) AND CONTROL (28%, 57.1%), SWELLING IN YOGA (55.4%, 85.9%) AND CONTROL (32.1%, 60%), CREPITUS IN YOGA (44.0%, 79.9%) AND CONTROL (27.0%, 47.8%) AND WALKING TIME IN YOGA (26.6%, 52.8%) AND CONTROL (9.3%, 21.6%), ALL IMPROVED MORE IN THE YOGA THAN THE CONTROL GROUPS ON THE 15TH AND 90TH DAY, RESPECTIVELY. CONCLUSIONS: AN INTEGRATED APPROACH OF HATHA YOGA THERAPY IS BETTER THAN THERAPEUTIC EXERCISES AS AN ADJUNCT TO TRANSCUTANEOUS ELECTRICAL STIMULATION AND ULTRASOUND TREATMENT IN IMPROVING WALKING PAIN, RANGE OF KNEE FLEXION, WALKING TIME, TENDERNESS, SWELLING, CREPITUS, AND KNEE DISABILITY IN PATIENTS WITH OA KNEES. 2012 16 2070 26 THE EFFECT OF A HATHA YOGA PRACTICE ON HAMSTRING FLEXIBILITY. PURPOSE: TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF A 7-WEEK HATHA YOGA INTERVENTION ON HAMSTRINGS FLEXIBILITY USING A DIGITAL GONIOMETER. IT WAS HYPOTHESIZED THAT HAMSTRING FLEXIBILITY WILL INCREASE IN A YOUNG HEALTHY ADULT POPULATION. METHODS: THIRTY-ONE COLLEGE-AGED MALES AND FEMALES (MAGE= 21 +/- 2.62) YEARS PARTICIPATED IN 110 MINUTES TWICE PER WEEK FOR A 7-WEEK PROGRESSIVE YOGA INTERVENTION. PRE AND POST-TEST MEASUREMENTS WERE TAKEN TO DETERMINE HAMSTRING FLEXIBILITY ON THE RIGHT AND LEFT LEG USING A DIGITAL GONIOMETER. RESULTS: A PAIRED SAMPLES T-TEST INDICATED A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN THE PRE AND POST-TEST ON HAMSTRING FLEXIBILITY (P < .05). RESULTS FOR THE RIGHT LEG PRE-TEST (T(30) = -6.64, P <0.05, 95% CI (-6.14, -3.25), D = 0.77. P < 0.05 AS WELL AS A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN THE LEFT PRE AND POST-ROM (T(30) = -6.93, P <0.05, 95% CI (-2.97, -6.79), D = 0.52, P < 0.05 INDICATED AN IMPROVEMENT AFTER THE INTERVENTION. AVERAGE RANGE OF MOTION INCREASE WAS 4 DEGREES IN BOTH LEGS. CONCLUSION: HAMSTRING FLEXIBILITY CAN BE IMPROVED WITH A PROGRESSIVE 7-WEEK HATHA YOGA SESSION AND MAY BE USED AS A MODALITY TO IMPROVE FLEXIBILITY AND FUNCTION IN ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING AS WELL AND ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE. 2021 17 1263 34 FLEXIBILITY OF THE ELDERLY AFTER ONE-YEAR PRACTICE OF YOGA AND CALISTHENICS. FLEXIBILITY TRAINING RESPONSES TO DISTINCT STRETCHING TECHNIQUES ARE NOT WELL DEFINED, ESPECIALLY IN THE ELDERLY. THIS STUDY COMPARED THE FLEXIBILITY OF ELDERLY INDIVIDUALS BEFORE AND AFTER HAVING PRACTICED HATHA YOGA AND CALISTHENICS FOR 1 YEAR (52 WEEKS), AT LEAST 3 TIMES/WEEK. SIXTY-SIX SUBJECTS (12 MEN) MEASURED AND ASSIGNED TO 3 GROUPS: CONTROL (N = 24, AGE = 67.7+/-6.9 YEARS), HATHA YOGA (N = 22, AGE = 61.2+/-4.8 YEARS), AND CALISTHENICS (N = 20, AGE = 69.0+/-5.8 YEARS). THE MAXIMAL RANGE OF PASSIVE MOTION OF 13 MOVEMENTS IN 7 JOINTS WAS ASSESSED BY THE FLEXITEST, COMPARING THE RANGE OBTAINED WITH STANDARD CHARTS REPRESENTING EACH ARC OF MOVEMENT ON A DISCONTINUOUS AND NON-DIMENSIONAL SCALE FROM 0 TO 4. RESULTS OF INDIVIDUAL MOVEMENTS WERE SUMMED TO DEFINE 4 INDEXES (ANKLE+KNEE, HIP+TRUNK, WRIST+ELBOW, AND SHOULDER) AND TOTAL FLEXIBILITY (FLEXINDEX). RESULTS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT INCREASES OF TOTAL FLEXIBILITY IN THE HATHA YOGA GROUP (BY 22.5 POINTS) AND THE CALISTHENICS GROUP (BY 5.8 POINTS) (P < 0.01 FOR EACH) AND A DECREASE IN THE CONTROL GROUP (BY 2.1 POINTS) (P < 0.01) AFTER ONE YEAR OF INTERVENTION. BETWEEN-GROUP COMPARISON SHOWED THAT INCREASES IN THE HATHA YOGA GROUP WERE GREATER THAN IN THE CALISTHENICS GROUP FOR MOST FLEXIBILITY INDEXES, PARTICULARLY THE OVERALL FLEXIBILITY (P <0.05). IN CONCLUSION, THE PRACTICE OF HATHA YOGA (I.E., SLOW/PASSIVE MOVEMENTS) WAS MORE EFFECTIVE IN IMPROVING FLEXIBILITY COMPARED TO CALISTHENICS (I.E., FAST/DYNAMIC MOVEMENTS), BUT CALISTHENICS WAS ABLE TO PREVENT FLEXIBILITY LOSSES OBSERVED IN SEDENTARY ELDERLY SUBJECTS. 2014 18 387 28 BENEFITS OF THAI YOGA ON PHYSICAL MOBILITY AND LOWER LIMB MUSCLE STRENGTH IN OVERWEIGHT/OBESE OLDER WOMEN: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED PILOT TRIAL. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: ALTHOUGH THAI YOGA (TY) IS REPORTED TO IMPROVE HEALTH-RELATED FITNESS FOR THE ELDERLY, NO STUDY HAS YET CARRIED OUT THE EFFECT OF TY PROGRAM ON PHYSICAL MOBILITY AND LOWER-LIMB MUSCLE STRENGTH IN OVERWEIGHT/OBESE OLDER WOMEN. MATERIALS AND METHODS: IN A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED PILOT DESIGN, TWENTY-TWO SEDENTARY WOMEN WITH A BMI >/= 23 KG/M(2), AGED 62 +/- 1 YEARS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EITHER A TY GROUP FOR 60 MIN, 3 TIMES A WEEK OR TO A "NO EXERCISE" CONTROL (CON) GROUP. SIT AND REACH (SRT), FUNCTIONAL REACH (FRT) AND 30-S CHAIR STAND (CST-30), 8-FOOT UP AND GO (8UGT), 6-MIN WALK (6MWT)) AND LOWER-LIMB MUSCLE STRENGTH WERE MEASURED AT THE BEGINNING, 4, AND 8 WEEKS. RESULTS: AT WEEK 4, A SIGNIFICANT BETWEEN GROUPS WAS OBTAINED IN CST-30, 8UGT, AND 6MWT. AT WEEK 8, FRT, 8UGT, 6MWT AND KNEE FLEXOR AND EXTENSOR MUSCLE STRENGTH WERE IMPROVED IN THE TY OVER THE CON. SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT WAS FOUND IN ALL VARIABLES WITHIN THE TY, BUT NO CHANGE WAS OBSERVED IN THE CON. CONCLUSION: AN 8-WEEK TY PROGRAM APPEARS TO PROVIDE BENEFICIAL IMPROVEMENTS IN PHYSICAL MOBILITY IN OVERWEIGHT/OBESE OLDER WOMEN. 2021 19 2833 34 YOGA'S EFFECT ON FALLS IN RURAL, OLDER ADULTS. BACKGROUND: UNINTENTIONAL FALLS AFFECT 30% OF PEOPLE OVER AGE 65 YEARS. YOGA HAS BEEN SHOWN TO IMPROVE BALANCE. WE DESIGNED THIS STUDY TO EXAMINE IF YOGA REDUCES FALLS. METHODS: WE CONDUCTED 16 SESSIONS OF HATHA YOGA OVER 8 WEEKS. PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO PRACTICE 10MIN OF YOGA DAILY AT HOME IN ADDITION TO 5-MIN RELAXATION EXERCISES OR RELAXATION EXERCISES ONLY (CONTROL GROUP). RESULTS: OF THE 38 PARTICIPANTS COMPLETING THE INTERVENTION, 15 PARTICIPANTS REPORTED A TOTAL OF 27 FALLS IN THE 6-MONTHS BEFORE THE STUDY, COMPARED TO 13 PARTICIPANTS SUSTAINING 14 FALLS IN THE 6 MONTHS FROM THE START OF THE STUDY (P<0.047), WITHOUT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOGA HOME-EXERCISE AND HOME RELAXATION-ONLY GROUPS. COMPARED TO BASELINE SCORES, ALL PARTICIPANTS IMPROVED ON THE BERG BALANCE SCALE (53-54 OUT OF 56, P=0.002), THE FUNCTIONAL GAIT ASSESSMENT (22.9-25.8 OUT OF 30 POINTS, P<0.001), AND THE DYNAMIC GAIT INDEX (20.6-22.4 OUT OF 24 POINTS, P<0.001). RIGHT LEG STAND TIME IMPROVED FROM A MEAN OF 13.3S TO 17.1S (P=0.020) AND STANDING FORWARD REACH DISTANCE FROM 26.0CM TO 29.6CM (P<0.001). WITHOUT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROUPS. CONFIDENCE, WITH THE ACTIVITIES-SPECIFIC BALANCE CONFIDENCE SCALE, INCREASED IN THE YOGA HOME-EXERCISE GROUP (88%-93%, P=0.037) COMPARED TO 90% UNCHANGED FROM PRE-INTERVENTION IN THE HOME RELAXATION-ONLY GROUP. CONCLUSION: YOGA CLASSES REDUCE SELF-REPORTED FALLS AND IMPROVE BALANCE MEASURES. THE ADDITION OF HOME YOGA EXERCISES DID NOT ENHANCE BENEFIT OVER RELAXATION EXERCISE ONLY. 2017 20 510 29 COMPARATIVE IMPACTS OF TAI CHI, BALANCE TRAINING, AND A SPECIALLY-DESIGNED YOGA PROGRAM ON BALANCE IN OLDER FALLERS. OBJECTIVE: TO COMPARE THE EFFECT OF A CUSTOM-DESIGNED YOGA PROGRAM WITH 2 OTHER BALANCE TRAINING PROGRAMS. DESIGN: RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. SETTING: RESEARCH LABORATORY. PARTICIPANTS: A GROUP OF OLDER ADULTS (N=39; MEAN AGE, 74.15 +/- 6.99 Y) WITH A HISTORY OF FALLING. INTERVENTIONS: THREE DIFFERENT EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS (TAI CHI, STANDARD BALANCE TRAINING, YOGA) WERE GIVEN FOR 12 WEEKS. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: BALANCE PERFORMANCE WAS EXAMINED DURING PRE- AND POSTTEST USING FIELD TESTS, INCLUDING THE 8-FOOT UP-AND-GO TEST, 1-LEG STANCE, FUNCTIONAL REACH, AND USUAL AND MAXIMAL WALKING SPEED. THE STATIC AND DYNAMIC BALANCES WERE ALSO ASSESSED BY POSTURAL SWAY AND DYNAMIC POSTUROGRAPHY, RESPECTIVELY. RESULTS: TRAINING PRODUCED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN ALL FIELD TESTS (P<.005), BUT GROUP DIFFERENCE AND TIME X GROUP INTERACTION WERE NOT DETECTED. FOR POSTURAL SWAY, SIGNIFICANT DECREASES IN THE AREA OF THE CENTER OF PRESSURE WITH EYES OPEN (P=.001) AND EYES CLOSED (P=.002) WERE DETECTED AFTER TRAINING. FOR EYES OPEN, MAXIMUM MEDIAL-LATERAL VELOCITY SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED FOR THE SAMPLE (P=.013). FOR EYES CLOSED, MEDIAL-LATERAL DISPLACEMENT DECREASED FOR TAI CHI (P<.01). FOR DYNAMIC POSTUROGRAPHY, SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN OVERALL SCORE (P=.001), TIME ON THE TEST (P=.006), AND 2 LINEAR MEASURES IN LATERAL (P=.001) AND ANTERIOR-POSTERIOR (P<.001) DIRECTIONS WERE SEEN FOR THE SAMPLE. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA WAS AS EFFECTIVE AS TAI CHI AND STANDARD BALANCE TRAINING FOR IMPROVING POSTURAL STABILITY AND MAY OFFER AN ALTERNATIVE TO MORE TRADITIONAL PROGRAMS. 2014