1 2681 176 YOGA IN SEDENTARY ADULTS WITH ARTHRITIS: EFFECTS OF A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED PRAGMATIC TRIAL. OBJECTIVE: TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF INTEGRAL-BASED HATHA YOGA IN SEDENTARY PEOPLE WITH ARTHRITIS. METHODS: THERE WERE 75 SEDENTARY ADULTS AGED 18+ YEARS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA) OR KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO 8 WEEKS OF YOGA (TWO 60-MIN CLASSES AND 1 HOME PRACTICE/WK) OR WAITLIST. POSES WERE MODIFIED FOR INDIVIDUAL NEEDS. THE PRIMARY ENDPOINT WAS PHYSICAL HEALTH [MEDICAL OUTCOMES STUDY SHORT FORM-36 (SF-36) PHYSICAL COMPONENT SUMMARY (PCS)] ADJUSTED FOR BASELINE; EXPLORATORY ADJUSTED OUTCOMES INCLUDED FITNESS, MOOD, STRESS, SELF-EFFICACY, SF-36 HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (HRQOL), AND RA DISEASE ACTIVITY. IN EVERYONE COMPLETING YOGA, WE EXPLORED LONGTERM EFFECTS AT 9 MONTHS. RESULTS: PARTICIPANTS WERE MOSTLY FEMALE (96%), WHITE (55%), AND COLLEGE-EDUCATED (51%), WITH A MEAN (SD) AGE OF 52 YEARS (12 YRS). AVERAGE DISEASE DURATION WAS 9 YEARS AND 49% HAD RA. AT 8 WEEKS, YOGA WAS ASSOCIATED WITH SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER PCS (6.5, 95% CI 2.0-10.7), WALKING CAPACITY (125 M, 95% CI 15-235), POSITIVE AFFECT (5.2, 95% CI 1.4-8.9), AND LOWER CENTER FOR EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDIES DEPRESSION SCALE (-3.0, 95% CI -4.8 - -1.3). SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS (P < 0.05) WERE EVIDENT IN SF-36 ROLE PHYSICAL, PAIN, GENERAL HEALTH, VITALITY, AND MENTAL HEALTH SCALES. BALANCE, GRIP STRENGTH, AND FLEXIBILITY WERE SIMILAR BETWEEN GROUPS. TWENTY-TWO OUT OF 28 IN THE WAITLIST GROUP COMPLETED YOGA. AMONG ALL YOGA PARTICIPANTS, SIGNIFICANT (P < 0.05) IMPROVEMENTS WERE OBSERVED IN MEAN PCS, FLEXIBILITY, 6-MIN WALK, AND ALL PSYCHOLOGICAL AND MOST HRQOL DOMAINS AT 8 WEEKS WITH MOST STILL EVIDENT 9 MONTHS LATER. OF 7 ADVERSE EVENTS, NONE WERE ASSOCIATED WITH YOGA. CONCLUSION: PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE SUGGESTS YOGA MAY HELP SEDENTARY INDIVIDUALS WITH ARTHRITIS SAFELY INCREASE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, AND IMPROVE PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH AND HRQOL. CLINICAL TRIALS NCT00349869. 2015 2 1173 35 EVALUATION OF A YOGA BASED REGIMEN FOR TREATMENT OF OSTEOARTHRITIS OF THE HANDS. OBJECTIVE: YOGA AND RELAXATION TECHNIQUES HAVE TRADITIONALLY BEEN USED BY NONMEDICAL PRACTITIONERS TO HELP ALLEVIATE MUSCULOSKELETAL SYMPTOMS. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO COLLECT CONTROLLED OBSERVATIONS OF THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON THE HANDS OF PATIENTS WITH OSTEOARTHRITIS (OA). METHODS: PATIENTS WITH OA OF THE HANDS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO RECEIVE EITHER THE YOGA PROGRAM OR NO THERAPY. YOGA TECHNIQUES WERE SUPERVISED BY ONE INSTRUCTOR ONCE/WEEK FOR 8 WEEKS. VARIABLES ASSESSED WERE PAIN, STRENGTH, MOTION, JOINT CIRCUMFERENCE, TENDERNESS, AND HAND FUNCTION USING THE STANFORD HAND ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE. RESULTS: THE YOGA TREATED GROUP IMPROVED SIGNIFICANTLY MORE THAN THE CONTROL GROUP IN PAIN DURING ACTIVITY, TENDERNESS AND FINGER RANGE OF MOTION. OTHER TRENDS ALSO FAVORED THE YOGA PROGRAM. CONCLUSION: THIS YOGA DERIVED PROGRAM WAS EFFECTIVE IN PROVIDING RELIEF IN HAND OA. FURTHER STUDIES ARE NEEDED TO COMPARE THIS WITH OTHER TREATMENTS AND TO EXAMINE LONGTERM EFFECTS. 1994 3 1034 58 EFFECTS OF YOGA IN DAILY LIFE PROGRAM IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVES: TO EXPLORE THE FEASIBILITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF A YOGA PROGRAM IN IMPROVING HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (HQOL), PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONING IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA) PATIENTS. DESIGN: SINGLE-CENTRE PARALLEL-ARMS RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL COMPARING YOGA (N = 30) AND EDUCATION CONTROL GROUP (N = 27). SETTING: TERTIARY CARE UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL. INTERVENTION: A 12-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM, BASED ON THE YOGA IN DAILY LIFE SYSTEM, INCLUDED 2X WEEKLY/90-MINUTE SESSIONS. THE CONTROL GROUP HAD 1XWEEKLY/60-MINUTE EDUCATIONAL LECTURES ON ARTHRITIS-RELATED TOPICS. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: ASSESSMENTS WERE PERFORMED AT BASELINE, 12 (POST-INTERVENTION) AND 24 WEEKS (FOLLOW-UP). THE PRIMARY OUTCOME WAS CHANGE IN THE SHORT FORM-36 (SF-36) HQOL AT 12 WEEKS. LINEAR REGRESSION ANALYSIS WAS ADJUSTED FOR BASELINE SCORES. RESULTS: NO SIGNIFICANT BETWEEN-GROUP DIFFERENCES WERE FOUND FOR SF-36 (ALL P > 0.05). AT 12 WEEKS THE ADJUSTED MEAN DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROUPS FAVOURED YOGA FOR FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF CHRONIC ILLNESS THERAPY-FATIGUE (5.08 CI 1.29 TO 8.86; P = 0.009) AND HOSPITAL ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SCALE (HADS)-DEPRESSION (-1.37 CI -2.38 TO -0.36); P = 0.008) AND AT 24 WEEKS FOR HADS-ANXIETY (-1.79 CI -3.34 TO - 0.23; P = 0.025), WHILE THE IMPACT ON FATIGUE WAS SUSTAINED (5.43 CI 1.33 TO 9.54, P = 0.01). THE PROGRAM HAD NO IMPACT ON RA DISEASE ACTIVITY. FEASIBILITY OUTCOMES INCLUDED RECRUITMENT RATE 16 %, RETENTION 80.7 %, AND ADHERENCE TO YOGA 87.5 VS 82.7 % FOR CONTROL. NO SERIOUS ADVERSE EVENTS WERE RECORDED. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA IN DAILY LIFE PROGRAM WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH CHANGE IN HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE OF RA PATIENTS. SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN FATIGUE AND MOOD WERE OBSERVED AT POSTINTERVENTION AND FOLLOW-UP. THIS YOGA PROGRAM WAS FOUND FEASIBLE AND SAFE FOR PATIENTS AND MAY COMPLEMENT STANDARD RA TREAT-TO-TARGET STRATEGY. 2021 4 734 31 EFFECT OF ONE WEEK OF YOGA ON FUNCTION AND SEVERITY IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS. BACKGROUND: PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT YOGA PRACTICE IMPROVED THE HAND GRIP STRENGTH IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA). FINDINGS: SIXTY-FOUR PARTICIPANTS WITH RA (GROUP AVERAGE AGE +/- S.D., 46.5 +/- 9.6 YEARS; 47 FEMALES) WERE ASSESSED AT THE BEGINNING AND END OF A ONE WEEK YOGA PROGRAM. THE STANFORD HEALTH ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE (HAQ), HAND GRIP STRENGTH, RHEUMATOID FACTOR, AND C-REACTIVE PROTEIN LEVELS WERE ASSESSED ON THE FIRST AND LAST DAY AND COMPARED USING A T-TEST FOR PAIRED DATA. ALL PARTICIPANTS SHOWED REDUCED DISABILITY SCORES OF THE HAQ AND RHEUMATOID FACTOR LEVELS, WITH AN INCREASE IN BILATERAL HAND GRIP STRENGTH IN MALE PARTICIPANTS ALONE. CONCLUSIONS: THIS SINGLE GROUP STUDY INDICATED THAT A BRIEF INTENSIVE YOGA PROGRAM WAS BENEFICIAL IN RA, WITH DECREASED DISABILITY, BETTER FUNCTIONALITY AND CHANGES IN THE RHEUMATOID FACTOR LEVELS SUGGESTING IMPROVEMENT. 2011 5 1113 49 EFFICACY OF A BIOMECHANICALLY-BASED YOGA EXERCISE PROGRAM IN KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVE: CERTAIN EXERCISES COULD OVERLOAD THE OSTEOARTHRITIC KNEE. WE DEVELOPED AN EXERCISE PROGRAM FROM YOGA POSTURES WITH A MINIMAL KNEE ADDUCTION MOMENT FOR KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS. THE PURPOSE WAS TO COMPARE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THIS BIOMECHANICALLY-BASED YOGA EXERCISE (YE), WITH TRADITIONAL EXERCISE (TE), AND A NO-EXERCISE ATTENTION-EQUIVALENT CONTROL (NE) FOR IMPROVING PAIN, SELF-REPORTED PHYSICAL FUNCTION AND MOBILITY PERFORMANCE IN WOMEN WITH KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS. DESIGN: SINGLE-BLIND, THREE-ARM RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. SETTING: COMMUNITY IN SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO, CANADA. PARTICIPANTS: A CONVENIENCE SAMPLE OF 31 WOMEN WITH SYMPTOMATIC KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS WAS RECRUITED THROUGH RHEUMATOLOGY, ORTHOPAEDIC AND PHYSIOTHERAPY CLINICS, NEWSPAPERS AND WORD-OF-MOUTH. INTERVENTIONS: PARTICIPANTS WERE STRATIFIED BY DISEASE SEVERITY AND RANDOMLY ALLOCATED TO ONE OF THREE 12-WEEK, SUPERVISED INTERVENTIONS. YE INCLUDED BIOMECHANICALLY-BASED YOGA EXERCISES; TE INCLUDED TRADITIONAL LEG STRENGTHENING ON MACHINES; AND NE INCLUDED MEDITATION WITH NO EXERCISE. PARTICIPANTS WERE ASKED TO ATTEND THREE 1-HOUR GROUP CLASSES/SESSIONS EACH WEEK. MEASUREMENTS: PRIMARY OUTCOMES WERE PAIN, SELF-REPORTED PHYSICAL FUNCTION AND MOBILITY PERFORMANCE. SECONDARY OUTCOMES WERE KNEE STRENGTH, DEPRESSION, AND HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE. ALL WERE ASSESSED BY A BLINDED ASSESSOR AT BASELINE AND IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE INTERVENTION. RESULTS: THE YE GROUP DEMONSTRATED GREATER IMPROVEMENTS IN KOOS PAIN (MEAN DIFFERENCE OF 22.9 [95% CI, 6.9 TO 38.8; P = 0.003]), INTERMITTENT PAIN (MEAN DIFFERENCE OF -19.6 [95% CI, -34.8 TO -4.4; P = 0.009]) AND SELF-REPORTED PHYSICAL FUNCTION (MEAN DIFFERENCE OF 17.2 [95% CI, 5.2 TO 29.2; P = 0.003]) COMPARED TO NE. IMPROVEMENTS IN THESE OUTCOMES WERE SIMILAR BETWEEN YE AND TE. HOWEVER, TE DEMONSTRATED A GREATER IMPROVEMENT IN KNEE FLEXOR STRENGTH COMPARED TO YE (MEAN DIFFERENCE OF 0.1 [95% CI, 0.1 TO 0.2]. IMPROVEMENTS FROM BASELINE TO FOLLOW-UP WERE PRESENT IN QUALITY OF LIFE SCORE FOR YE AND KNEE FLEXOR STRENGTH FOR TE, WHILE BOTH ALSO DEMONSTRATED IMPROVEMENTS IN MOBILITY. NO IMPROVEMENT IN ANY OUTCOME WAS PRESENT IN NE. CONCLUSIONS: THE BIOMECHANICALLY-BASED YOGA EXERCISE PROGRAM PRODUCED CLINICALLY MEANINGFUL IMPROVEMENTS IN PAIN, SELF-REPORTED PHYSICAL FUNCTION AND MOBILITY IN WOMEN WITH CLINICAL KNEE OA COMPARED TO NO EXERCISE. WHILE NOT STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT, IMPROVEMENTS IN THESE OUTCOMES WERE LARGER THAN THOSE ELICITED FROM THE TRADITIONAL EXERCISE-BASED PROGRAM. THOUGH THIS MAY SUGGEST THAT THE YOGA PROGRAM MAY BE MORE EFFICACIOUS FOR KNEE OA, FUTURE RESEARCH STUDYING A LARGER SAMPLE IS REQUIRED. TRIAL REGISTRATION: CLINICALTRIALS.GOV (NCT02370667). 2018 6 782 44 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 7 1486 44 INTEGRATIVE EFFECT OF YOGA PRACTICE IN PATIENTS WITH KNEE ARTHRITIS: A PRISMA-COMPLIANT META-ANALYSIS. BACKGROUND: BENEFITS OF YOGA PRACTICE IN PATIENTS WITH KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS AND RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS REMAINS CONTROVERSIAL. THIS STUDY PERFORMS A META-ANALYSIS TO QUANTIFY THE EFFICIENCY OF YOGA EXERCISE FOR PATIENTS PAIN REDUCTION, FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY, AND GENERAL WELLBEING. METHODS: A COMPUTERIZED SEARCH OF PUBMED AND EMBASE WAS PERFORMED TO IDENTIFY RELEVANT STUDIES. THE OUTCOME MEASURES WERE PAIN, STIFFNESS, AND PHYSICAL FUNCTION. TWO INVESTIGATORS IDENTIFIED ELIGIBLE STUDIES AND EXTRACTED DATA INDEPENDENTLY. THE QUALITY OF CITATIONS WAS MEASURED USING JADAD SCORE. STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCES (SMDS) WITH 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS (CIS) WERE CALCULATED FOR PAIN, MUSCULOSKELETAL IMPAIRMENT, QUALITY OF LIFE, GENERAL WELLBEING, AND MENTAL WELLBEING. RESULTS: A TOTAL OF 13 CLINICAL TRIALS INVOLVING 1557 PATIENTS WITH KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS AND RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS WERE INCLUDED IN FINAL META-ANALYSIS WITH THE AVERAGE JADAD SCORE 2.8. THE SMD WAS -0.98 (95% CI -1.18, -0.78, P < .05) FOR PAIN, -1.83 (95% CI -2.09, -1.57, P < .05) FOR FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY, WAS 0.80 (95% CI 0.59, 1.01, P < .05) FOR SHORT FORM 36 HEALTH SURVEY (SF-36) GENERAL HEALTH, 0.49 (95% CI 0.14, 0.82, P < .05) FOR SF-36 MENTAL HEALTH, AND HAQ WAS -0.55 (95% CI -0.83, -0.26, P < .05) FOR HEALTH ASSOCIATED QUESTIONNAIRE (HAQ). ALL THE RESULTS FAVOR YOGA TRAINING GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: REGULAR YOGA TRAINING IS HELPFUL IN REDUCING KNEE ARTHRITIC SYMPTOMS, PROMOTING PHYSICAL FUNCTION, AND GENERAL WELLBEING IN ARTHRITIC PATIENTS. 2018 8 465 47 CHARACTERISTICS AND PREDICTORS OF SHORT-TERM OUTCOMES IN INDIVIDUALS SELF-SELECTING YOGA OR PHYSICAL THERAPY FOR TREATMENT OF CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN. OBJECTIVE: TO COMPARE CLINICAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF INDIVIDUALS SELF-SELECTING YOGA OR PHYSICAL THERAPY (PT) FOR TREATMENT OF CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN (CLBP) AND TO EXAMINE PREDICTORS OF SHORT-TERM PAIN AND FUNCTIONAL OUTCOMES. DESIGN: DESCRIPTIVE, LONGITUDINAL STUDY. SETTINGS: A HOSPITAL-BASED CLINIC THAT OFFERS MODIFIED INTEGRAL YOGA CLASSES FOR CLBP AND 2 OUTPATIENT PT CLINICS THAT OFFER EXERCISE-BASED PT. PARTICIPANTS: ADULTS (N=53) WITH CLBP>/=12 WEEKS: YOGA (N=27), PT (N=26). METHODS: YOGA PARTICIPANTS ATTENDED A 6-WEEK, ONCE WEEKLY, 2-HOUR YOGA CLASS. PT PARTICIPANTS UNDERWENT TWICE WEEKLY, 1-HOUR INDIVIDUALIZED PT. DATA WERE COLLECTED AT BASELINE AND AT 6 WEEKS. GROUPS WERE COMPARED BY USING CHI2 AND INDEPENDENT SAMPLES T-TESTS. HIERARCHICAL LINEAR REGRESSION WAS USED TO PREDICT TREATMENT OUTCOMES. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: DISABILITY (ROLAND MORRIS DISABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE), HEALTH STATUS (RAND SHORT FORM 36 HEALTH SURVEY 1.0), PAIN BOTHERSOMENESS (NUMERICAL RATING SCALE), BACK PAIN SELF-EFFICACY (BACK PAIN SELF-EFFICACY SCALE), AND TREATMENT SATISFACTION. RESULTS: AT BASELINE, YOGA PARTICIPANTS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LESS DISABLED (P=.013), HAD HIGHER HEALTH STATUS (P=.023), GREATER PAIN SELF-EFFICACY (P=.012), AND LESS AVERAGE PAIN BOTHERSOMENESS (P=.001) COMPARED WITH PT PARTICIPANTS. AT 6 WEEKS, WHEN CONTROLLING FOR BASELINE GROUP DIFFERENCES, GREATER PAIN SELF-EFFICACY WAS THE STRONGEST PREDICTOR FOR REDUCED PAIN AND HIGHER FUNCTION FOR THE ENTIRE SAMPLE. A SIGNIFICANT GROUP INTERACTION BY BASELINE PAIN SELF-EFFICACY PREDICTED DISABILITY AT 6 WEEKS. PT PARTICIPANTS WITH LOW PAIN SELF-EFFICACY REPORTED SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER DISABILITY THAN THOSE WITH HIGH PAIN SELF-EFFICACY. YOGA PARTICIPANTS WITH LOW AND HIGH PAIN SELF-EFFICACY HAD SIMILAR DISABILITY OUTCOMES. CONCLUSION: THESE FINDINGS STRENGTHEN EVIDENCE THAT SELF-EFFICACY IS ASSOCIATED WITH CLBP OUTCOMES, ESPECIALLY IN INDIVIDUALS SELF-SELECTING PT. FURTHER RESEARCH TO EVALUATE OUTCOMES AFTER YOGA AND PT IN PARTICIPANTS WITH LOW PAIN SELF-EFFICACY IS NEEDED. 2010 9 518 47 COMPARING ONCE- VERSUS TWICE-WEEKLY YOGA CLASSES FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN IN PREDOMINANTLY LOW INCOME MINORITIES: A RANDOMIZED DOSING TRIAL. BACKGROUND. PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT ONCE-WEEKLY YOGA CLASSES ARE EFFECTIVE FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN (CLBP) IN WHITE ADULTS WITH HIGH SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS. THE COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF TWICE-WEEKLY CLASSES AND GENERALIZABILITY TO RACIALLY DIVERSE LOW INCOME POPULATIONS ARE UNKNOWN. METHODS. WE CONDUCTED A 12-WEEK RANDOMIZED, PARALLEL-GROUP, DOSING TRIAL FOR 95 ADULTS RECRUITED FROM AN URBAN SAFETY-NET HOSPITAL AND FIVE COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS COMPARING ONCE-WEEKLY (N = 49) VERSUS TWICE-WEEKLY (N = 46) STANDARDIZED YOGA CLASSES SUPPLEMENTED BY HOME PRACTICE. PRIMARY OUTCOMES WERE CHANGE FROM BASELINE TO 12 WEEKS IN PAIN (11-POINT SCALE) AND BACK-RELATED FUNCTION (23-POINT MODIFIED ROLAND-MORRIS DISABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE). RESULTS. 82% OF PARTICIPANTS WERE NONWHITE; 77% HAD ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOMES <$40,000. THE SAMPLE'S BASELINE MEAN PAIN INTENSITY [6.9 (SD 1.6)] AND FUNCTION [13.7 (SD 5.0)] REFLECTED MODERATE TO SEVERE BACK PAIN AND IMPAIRMENT. PAIN AND BACK-RELATED FUNCTION IMPROVED WITHIN BOTH GROUPS (P < 0.001). HOWEVER, THERE WERE NO DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ONCE-WEEKLY AND TWICE-WEEKLY GROUPS FOR PAIN REDUCTION [-2.1 (95% CI -2.9, -1.3) VERSUS -2.4 (95% CI -3.1, -1.8), P = 0.62] OR BACK-RELATED FUNCTION [-5.1 (95% CI -7.0, -3.2) VERSUS -4.9 (95% CI -6.5, -3.3), P = 0.83]. CONCLUSIONS. TWELVE WEEKS OF ONCE-WEEKLY OR TWICE-WEEKLY YOGA CLASSES WERE SIMILARLY EFFECTIVE FOR PREDOMINANTLY LOW INCOME MINORITY ADULTS WITH MODERATE TO SEVERE CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN. THIS TRIAL IS REGISTERED WITH CLINICALTRIALS.GOV NCT01761617. 2013 10 2590 58 YOGA FOR MANAGING KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS IN OLDER WOMEN: A PILOT RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: OSTEOARTHRITIS (OA) IS A COMMON PROBLEM IN OLDER WOMEN THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH PAIN AND DISABILITIES. ALTHOUGH YOGA IS RECOMMENDED AS AN EXERCISE INTERVENTION TO MANAGE ARTHRITIS, THERE IS LIMITED EVIDENCE DOCUMENTING ITS EFFECTIVENESS, WITH LITTLE KNOWN ABOUT ITS LONG TERM BENEFITS. THIS STUDY'S AIMS WERE TO ASSESS THE FEASIBILITY AND POTENTIAL EFFICACY OF A HATHA YOGA EXERCISE PROGRAM IN MANAGING OA-RELATED SYMPTOMS IN OLDER WOMEN WITH KNEE OA. METHODS: ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS (N=36; MEAN AGE 72 YEARS) WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO 8-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM INVOLVING GROUP AND HOME-BASED SESSIONS OR WAIT-LIST CONTROL. THE YOGA INTERVENTION PROGRAM WAS DEVELOPED BY A GROUP OF YOGA EXPERTS (N=5). THE PRIMARY OUTCOME WAS THE WESTERN ONTARIO AND MCMASTER UNIVERSITIES OSTEOARTHRITIS INDEX (WOMAC) TOTAL SCORE THAT MEASURES KNEE OA PAIN, STIFFNESS, AND FUNCTION AT 8 WEEKS. THE SECONDARY OUTCOMES, PHYSICAL FUNCTION OF THE LOWER EXTREMITIES, BODY MASS INDEX (BMI), QUALITY OF SLEEP (QOS), AND QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL), WERE MEASURED USING WEIGHT, HEIGHT, THE SHORT PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE BATTERY (SPPB), THE PITTSBURGH SLEEP QUALITY INDEX (PSQI), THE CANTRIL SELF-ANCHORING LADDER, AND THE SF12V2 HEALTH SURVEY. DATA WERE COLLECTED AT BASELINE, 4 WEEKS AND 8 WEEKS, AND 20 WEEKS. RESULTS: THE RECRUITMENT TARGET WAS MET, WITH STUDY RETENTION AT 95%. BASED ON ANCOVAS, PARTICIPANTS IN THE TREATMENT GROUP EXHIBITED SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER IMPROVEMENT IN WOMAC PAIN (ADJUSTED MEANS [SE]) (8.3 [.67], 5.8 [.67]; P=.01), STIFFNESS (4.7 [.28], 3.4 [.28]; P=.002) AND SPPB (REPEATED CHAIR STANDS) (2.0 [.23], 2.8 [.23]; P=.03) AT 8 WEEKS. SIGNIFICANT TREATMENT AND TIME EFFECTS WERE SEEN IN WOMAC PAIN (7.0 [.46], 5.4 [.54]; P=.03), FUNCTION (24.5 [1.8], 19.9 [1.6]; P=.01) AND TOTAL SCORES (35.4 [2.3], 28.6 [2.1]; P=.01) FROM 4 TO 20 WEEKS. SLEEP DISTURBANCE WAS IMPROVED BUT THE PSQI TOTAL SCORE DECLINED SIGNIFICANTLY AT 20 WEEKS. CHANGES IN BMI AND QOL WERE NOT SIGNIFICANT. NO YOGA RELATED ADVERSE EVENTS WERE OBSERVED. CONCLUSIONS: A WEEKLY YOGA PROGRAM WITH HOME PRACTICE IS FEASIBLE, ACCEPTABLE, AND SAFE FOR OLDER WOMEN WITH KNEE OA, AND SHOWS THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS. TRIAL REGISTRATION: CLINICALTRIALS.GOV: NCT01832155. 2014 11 1269 51 FRAILTY MODIFIES THE INTERVENTION EFFECT OF CHAIR YOGA ON PAIN AMONG OLDER ADULTS WITH LOWER EXTREMITY OSTEOARTHRITIS: SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF A NONPHARMACOLOGICAL INTERVENTION TRIAL. OBJECTIVE: IN AN 8-WEEK NONPHARMACOLOGICAL PAIN INTERVENTION TRIAL AMONG OLDER ADULTS WITH LOWER EXTREMITY OSTEOARTHRITIS (OA), WE AIMED TO EXAMINE: A) THE BASELINE FRAILTY LEVEL OF THE PARTICIPANTS; B) WHETHER SUCH INTERVENTION IS MORE BENEFICIAL FOR BASELINE FRAILER OLDER ADULTS THAN FOR THEIR COUNTERPARTS WITH LESS FRAILTY; AND C) WHETHER THE INTERVENTION COULD ALSO ALTER FRAILTY. METHODS: PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EITHER CHAIR YOGA (CY) OR HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAM (HEP) GROUPS AND ATTENDED TWICE-WEEKLY 45-MINUTE CY OR HEP SESSIONS FOR 8 WEEKS. FOLLOWING A STANDARD PROCEDURE, 82 VARIABLES WERE USED TO CONSTRUCT A FRAILTY INDEX (FI, 0-1). PRIMARY OUTCOMES WERE: WESTERN ONTARIO AND MCMASTER UNIVERSITIES (WOMAC) PAIN AND PAIN INTERFERENCE. LINEAR MIXED-EFFECTS MODELS WERE USED TO EVALUATE THE MODIFYING EFFECT OF BASELINE FRAILTY ON THE INTERVENTION EFFECT OF CY ON PRIMARY OUTCOMES. SIMILAR MODELS WERE USED TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF CY ON FRAILTY. RESULTS: A TOTAL OF 112 PARTICIPANTS (N = 63 CY, N = 49 HEP; 75.3 [SD = 7.5] YEARS) WITH 85 FEMALES (75.9%) WERE INCLUDED. THE MEAN VALUES OF BASELINE FI FOR THE CY AND HEP GROUPS WERE SIMILAR (0.428 [0.05] AND 0.433 [0.05], P = 0.355). EACH 0.01 INCREMENT IN BASELINE FI WAS ASSOCIATED WITH HIGHER WOMAC PAIN (BETA = 0.28, P < 0.001) AND PAIN INTERFERENCE (BETA = 0.51, P < 0.001). THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INTERACTION EFFECT BETWEEN INTERVENTION, TIME, AND BASELINE FI (P = 0.020 FOR WOMAC PAIN; P = 0.010 FOR PAIN INTERFERENCE), INDICATING THAT PARTICIPANTS WITH HIGHER LEVEL OF BASELINE FI HAD GREATER DECLINES IN WOMAC PAIN AND PAIN INTERFERENCE. THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER DECLINE IN FI FOR THE CY GROUP COMPARED TO THE HEP GROUP (BETWEEN-GROUP DIFFERENCE - 0.01; P = 0.509) AND THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT TREND CHANGES IN FI (P FOR INTERACTION = 0.605). CONCLUSIONS: FRAILTY MODIFIES THE INTERVENTION EFFECT OF CY ON PAIN AMONG OLDER ADULTS WITH LOWER EXTREMITY OA, UNDERSCORING THE IMPORTANCE OF ASSESSING FRAILTY TO IMPROVE THE MANAGEMENT OF PAIN IN THIS POPULATION. 2020 12 1379 55 IMPACT OF IYENGAR YOGA ON QUALITY OF LIFE IN YOUNG WOMEN WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS. OBJECTIVE: RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA) IS A CHRONIC, DISABLING DISEASE THAT CAN GREATLY COMPROMISE HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (HRQOL). THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO ASSESS THE IMPACT OF A 6-WEEK TWICE/WEEK IYENGAR YOGA PROGRAM ON HRQOL OF YOUNG ADULTS WITH RA COMPARED WITH A USUAL-CARE WAITLIST CONTROL GROUP. METHODS: THE PROGRAM WAS DESIGNED TO IMPROVE THE PRIMARY OUTCOME OF HRQOL INCLUDING PAIN AND DISABILITY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONING IN PATIENTS. ASSESSMENTS WERE COLLECTED PRETREATMENT, POSTTREATMENT, AND AT 2 MONTHS AFTER TREATMENT. WEEKLY RATINGS OF ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, PAIN, AND SLEEP WERE ALSO RECORDED. A TOTAL OF 26 PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED THE INTERVENTION (YOGA=11; USUAL-CARE WAITLIST=15). ALL PARTICIPANTS WERE FEMALE (MEAN AGE=28 Y). RESULTS: OVERALL ATTRITION WAS LOW AT 15%. ON AVERAGE, WOMEN IN THE YOGA GROUP ATTENDED 96% OF THE YOGA CLASSES. NO ADVERSE EVENTS WERE REPORTED. RELATIVE TO THE USUAL-CARE WAITLIST, WOMEN ASSIGNED TO THE YOGA PROGRAM SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER IMPROVEMENT ON STANDARDIZED MEASURES OF HRQOL, PAIN DISABILITY, GENERAL HEALTH, MOOD, FATIGUE, ACCEPTANCE OF CHRONIC PAIN, AND SELF-EFFICACY REGARDING PAIN AT POSTTREATMENT. ALMOST HALF OF THE YOGA GROUP REPORTED CLINICALLY MEANINGFUL SYMPTOM IMPROVEMENT. ANALYSIS OF THE UNCONTROLLED EFFECTS AND MAINTENANCE OF TREATMENT EFFECTS SHOWED IMPROVEMENTS IN HRQOL GENERAL HEALTH, PAIN DISABILITY, AND WEEKLY RATINGS OF PAIN, ANXIETY, AND DEPRESSION WERE MAINTAINED AT FOLLOW-UP. CONCLUSIONS: THE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT A BRIEF IYENGAR YOGA INTERVENTION IS A FEASIBLE AND SAFE ADJUNCTIVE TREATMENT FOR YOUNG PEOPLE WITH RA, LEADING TO HRQOL, PAIN DISABILITY, FATIGUE, AND MOOD BENEFITS. MOREOVER, IMPROVEMENTS IN QUALITY OF LIFE, PAIN DISABILITY, AND MOOD PERSISTED AT THE 2-MONTH FOLLOW-UP. 2013 13 461 49 CHANGES IN PERCEIVED STRESS AFTER YOGA, PHYSICAL THERAPY, AND EDUCATION INTERVENTIONS FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN: A SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVE: PERCEIVED STRESS AND MUSCULOSKELETAL PAIN ARE COMMON, ESPECIALLY IN LOW-INCOME POPULATIONS. STUDIES EVALUATING TREATMENTS TO REDUCE STRESS IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC PAIN ARE LACKING. WE AIMED TO QUANTIFY THE EFFECT OF TWO EVIDENCE-BASED INTERVENTIONS FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN (CLBP), YOGA AND PHYSICAL THERAPY (PT), ON PERCEIVED STRESS IN ADULTS WITH CLBP. METHODS: WE USED DATA FROM AN ASSESSOR-BLINDED, PARALLEL-GROUP RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL, WHICH RECRUITED PREDOMINANTLY LOW-INCOME AND RACIALLY DIVERSE ADULTS WITH CLBP. PARTICIPANTS (N = 320) WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO 12 WEEKS OF YOGA, PT, OR BACK PAIN EDUCATION. WE COMPARED CHANGES IN THE 10-ITEM PERCEIVED STRESS SCALE (PSS-10) FROM BASELINE TO 12- AND 52-WEEK FOLLOW-UP AMONG YOGA AND PT PARTICIPANTS WITH THOSE RECEIVING EDUCATION. SUBANALYSES WERE CONDUCTED FOR PARTICIPANTS WITH ELEVATED PRE-INTERVENTION PERCEIVED STRESS (PSS-10 SCORE >/=17). WE CONDUCTED SENSITIVITY ANALYSES USING VARIOUS IMPUTATION METHODS TO ACCOUNT FOR POTENTIAL BIASES IN OUR ESTIMATES DUE TO MISSING DATA. RESULTS: AMONG 248 PARTICIPANTS (MEAN AGE = 46.4 YEARS, 80% NONWHITE) COMPLETING ALL THREE SURVEYS, YOGA AND PT SHOWED GREATER REDUCTIONS IN PSS-10 SCORES COMPARED WITH EDUCATION AT 12 WEEKS (MEAN BETWEEN-GROUP DIFFERENCE = -2.6, 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL [CI] = -4.5 TO -0.66, AND MEAN BETWEEN-GROUP DIFFERENCE = -2.4, 95% CI = -4.4 TO -0.48, RESPECTIVELY). THIS EFFECT WAS STRONGER AMONG PARTICIPANTS WITH ELEVATED PRE-INTERVENTION PERCEIVED STRESS. BETWEEN-GROUP EFFECTS HAD ATTENUATED BY 52 WEEKS. RESULTS WERE SIMILAR IN SENSITIVITY ANALYSES. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA AND PT WERE MORE EFFECTIVE THAN BACK PAIN EDUCATION FOR REDUCING PERCEIVED STRESS AMONG LOW-INCOME ADULTS WITH CLBP. 2020 14 107 51 A PILOT RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF THE EFFECTS OF CHAIR YOGA ON PAIN AND PHYSICAL FUNCTION AMONG COMMUNITY-DWELLING OLDER ADULTS WITH LOWER EXTREMITY OSTEOARTHRITIS. OBJECTIVES: TO DETERMINE EFFECTS OF SIT 'N' FIT CHAIR YOGA, COMPARED TO A HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAM (HEP), ON PAIN AND PHYSICAL FUNCTION IN OLDER ADULTS WITH LOWER EXTREMITY OSTEOARTHRITIS (OA) WHO COULD NOT PARTICIPATE IN STANDING EXERCISE. DESIGN: TWO-ARM RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. SETTING: ONE HUD SENIOR HOUSING FACILITY AND ONE DAY SENIOR CENTER IN SOUTH FLORIDA. PARTICIPANTS: COMMUNITY-DWELLING OLDER ADULTS (N = 131) WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO CHAIR YOGA (N = 66) OR HEP (N = 65). THIRTEEN DROPPED AFTER ASSIGNMENT BUT PRIOR TO THE INTERVENTION; SIX DROPPED DURING THE INTERVENTION; 106 OF 112 COMPLETED AT LEAST 12 OF 16 SESSIONS (95% RETENTION RATE). INTERVENTIONS: PARTICIPANTS ATTENDED EITHER CHAIR YOGA OR HEP. BOTH INTERVENTIONS CONSISTED OF TWICE-WEEKLY 45-MINUTE SESSIONS FOR 8 WEEKS. MEASUREMENTS: PRIMARY: PAIN, PAIN INTERFERENCE; SECONDARY: BALANCE, GAIT SPEED, FATIGUE, FUNCTIONAL ABILITY MEASURED AT BASELINE, AFTER 4 WEEKS OF INTERVENTION, AT THE END OF THE 8-WEEK INTERVENTION, AND POST-INTERVENTION (1 AND 3 MONTHS). RESULTS: THE CHAIR YOGA GROUP SHOWED GREATER REDUCTION IN PAIN INTERFERENCE DURING THE INTERVENTION (P = .01), SUSTAINED THROUGH 3 MONTHS (P = .022). WOMAC PAIN (P = .048), GAIT SPEED (P = .024), AND FATIGUE (P = .037) WERE IMPROVED IN THE YOGA GROUP DURING THE INTERVENTION (P = .048) BUT IMPROVEMENTS WERE NOT SUSTAINED POST INTERVENTION. CHAIR YOGA HAD NO EFFECT ON BALANCE. CONCLUSION: AN 8-WEEK CHAIR YOGA PROGRAM WAS ASSOCIATED WITH REDUCTION IN PAIN, PAIN INTERFERENCE, AND FATIGUE, AND IMPROVEMENT IN GAIT SPEED, BUT ONLY THE EFFECTS ON PAIN INTERFERENCE WERE SUSTAINED 3 MONTHS POST INTERVENTION. CHAIR YOGA SHOULD BE FURTHER EXPLORED AS A NONPHARMACOLOGIC INTERVENTION FOR OLDER PEOPLE WITH OA IN THE LOWER EXTREMITIES. TRIAL REGISTRATION: CLINICALTRIALS.GOV: NCT02113410. 2017 15 430 51 CAN YOGA OR PHYSICAL THERAPY FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN IMPROVE DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY AMONG ADULTS FROM A RACIALLY DIVERSE, LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY? A SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVE: TO DETERMINE AND COMPARE THE EFFECT OF YOGA, PHYSICAL THERAPY (PT), AND EDUCATION ON DEPRESSIVE AND ANXIOUS SYMPTOMS IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN (CLBP). DESIGN: SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. SETTING: ACADEMIC SAFETY NET HOSPITAL AND 7 COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS. PARTICIPANTS: A TOTAL OF 320 ADULTS WITH CLBP. INTERVENTION: YOGA CLASSES, PT SESSIONS, OR AN EDUCATIONAL BOOK. OUTCOME MEASURE: DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY WERE MEASURED USING THE PATIENT HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE AND GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER 7-ITEM SCALE, RESPECTIVELY, AT BASELINE, 12, AND 52 WEEKS. WE IDENTIFIED BASELINE AND MIDTREATMENT (6-WK) FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH CLINICALLY MEANINGFUL IMPROVEMENTS IN DEPRESSIVE (>/=3 POINTS) OR ANXIOUS (>/=2 POINTS) SYMPTOMS AT 12 WEEKS. RESULTS: PARTICIPANTS (FEMALE=64%; MEAN AGE, 46.0+/-10.7 YEARS) WERE PREDOMINANTLY NON-WHITE (82%), LOW-INCOME (<$30,000/YEAR, 59%), AND HAD NOT RECEIVED A COLLEGE DEGREE (71%). MOST PARTICIPANTS HAD MILD OR WORSE DEPRESSIVE (60%) AND ANXIOUS (50%) SYMPTOMS. AT 12 WEEKS, YOGA AND PT PARTICIPANTS EXPERIENCED MODEST WITHIN-GROUP IMPROVEMENTS IN DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS (MEAN DIFFERENCE [MD]=-1.23 [95% CI, -2.18 TO -0.28]; MD=-1.01 [95% CI, -2.05 TO -0.03], RESPECTIVELY). COMPARED WITH THE EDUCATION GROUP, 12-WEEK DIFFERENCES WERE NOT STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT, ALTHOUGH TRENDS FAVORED YOGA (MD=-0.71 [95% CI, -2.22 TO 0.81]) AND PT (MD= -0.32 [95% CI, -1.82 TO 1.18]). AT 12 WEEKS, IMPROVEMENTS IN ANXIOUS SYMPTOMS WERE ONLY FOUND IN PARTICIPANTS WHO HAD MILD OR MODERATE ANXIETY AT BASELINE. INDEPENDENT OF TREATMENT ARM, PARTICIPANTS WHO HAD 30% OR GREATER IMPROVEMENT IN PAIN OR FUNCTION MIDTREATMENT WERE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE A CLINICALLY MEANINGFUL IMPROVEMENT IN DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS (ODDS RATIO [OR], 1.82 [95% CI, 1.03-3.22]; OR, 1.79 [95% CI, 1.06-3.04], RESPECTIVELY). CONCLUSIONS: IN OUR SECONDARY ANALYSIS WE FOUND THAT DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, COMMON IN THIS SAMPLE OF UNDERSERVED ADULTS WITH CLBP, MAY IMPROVE MODESTLY WITH PT AND YOGA. HOWEVER, EFFECTS WERE NOT SUPERIOR TO EDUCATION. IMPROVEMENTS IN PAIN AND FUNCTION ARE ASSOCIATED WITH A DECREASE IN DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS. MORE RESEARCH IS NEEDED TO OPTIMIZE THE INTEGRATION OF PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING IN PT AND YOGA. 2021 16 34 47 A 12-WEEK IYENGAR YOGA PROGRAM IMPROVED BALANCE AND MOBILITY IN OLDER COMMUNITY-DWELLING PEOPLE: A PILOT RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: EXERCISE THAT CHALLENGES BALANCE CAN IMPROVE MOBILITY AND PREVENT FALLS IN OLDER ADULTS. YOGA AS A PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OPTION FOR OLDER ADULTS IS NOT WELL STUDIED. THIS TRIAL EVALUATED THE FEASIBILITY AND EFFECT OF A 12-WEEK IYENGAR YOGA PROGRAM ON BALANCE AND MOBILITY IN OLDER PEOPLE. METHODS: WE CONDUCTED A BLINDED, PILOT RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL WITH INTENTION-TO-TREAT ANALYSIS. PARTICIPANTS WERE 54 COMMUNITY DWELLERS (MEAN AGE 68 YEARS, SD 7.1) NOT CURRENTLY PARTICIPATING IN YOGA OR TAI CHI. THE INTERVENTION GROUP (N = 27) PARTICIPATED IN A 12-WEEK, TWICE-WEEKLY YOGA PROGRAM FOCUSED ON STANDING POSTURES AND RECEIVED A FALL PREVENTION EDUCATION BOOKLET. THE CONTROL GROUP (N = 27) RECEIVED THE EDUCATION BOOKLET ONLY. PRIMARY OUTCOME WAS STANDING BALANCE COMPONENT OF THE SHORT PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE BATTERY WITH ADDITION OF ONE-LEGGED STANCE TIME (STANDING BALANCE). SECONDARY OUTCOMES WERE THE TIMED SIT-TO-STAND TEST, TIMED 4-M WALK, ONE-LEGGED STAND WITH EYES CLOSED, AND SHORT FALLS EFFICACY SCALE-INTERNATIONAL. FEASIBILITY WAS MEASURED BY RECORDING CLASS ATTENDANCE AND ADVERSE EVENTS. RESULTS: FIFTY-TWO PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED FOLLOW-UP ASSESSMENTS. THE INTERVENTION GROUP SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED COMPARED WITH CONTROL GROUP ON STANDING BALANCE (MEAN DIFFERENCE = 1.52 SECONDS, 95% CI 0.10-2.96, P = .04), SIT-TO-STAND TEST (MEAN DIFFERENCE = -3.43 SECONDS, 95% CI -5.23 TO -1.64, P < .001), 4-M WALK (MEAN DIFFERENCE = -0.50 SECONDS, 95% CI -0.72 TO -0.28, P < .001), AND ONE-LEGGED STAND WITH EYES CLOSED (MEAN DIFFERENCE = 1.93 SECONDS, 95% CI 0.40-3.46, P = .02). AVERAGE CLASS ATTENDANCE WAS 20 OF 24 CLASSES (83%). NO SERIOUS ADVERSE EVENTS OCCURRED. CONCLUSIONS: THIS TRIAL DEMONSTRATES THE BALANCE AND MOBILITY-RELATED BENEFITS AND FEASIBILITY OF IYENGAR YOGA FOR OLDER PEOPLE. THE FALL PREVENTION EFFECT OF IYENGAR YOGA WARRANTS FURTHER INVESTIGATION. 2013 17 2552 49 YOGA FOR CHEMOTHERAPY-INDUCED PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY AND FALL RISK: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: CHEMOTHERAPY-INDUCED PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY (CIPN) IS A COMMON, DEBILITATING SIDE EFFECT THAT WORSENS QUALITY OF LIFE AND INCREASES THE RISK OF FALLS IN CANCER SURVIVORS. EVIDENCE OF YOGA'S SAFETY AND EFFICACY IN TREATING CIPN IS LACKING. METHODS: IN A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY, WE ASSIGNED BREAST AND GYNECOLOGICAL CANCER SURVIVORS WITH PERSISTENT MODERATE-TO-SEVERE CIPN PAIN, NUMBNESS, OR TINGLING WITH A SCORE OF 4 OR GREATER (0-10 NUMERIC RATING SCALE [NRS]) FOR AT LEAST 3 MONTHS AFTER CHEMOTHERAPY TO 8 WEEKS OF USUAL CARE OR YOGA FOCUSED ON BREATHWORK AND MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITIONING. PRIMARY ENDPOINT WAS TREATMENT ARM DIFFERENCES FOR NRS, AND SECONDARY ENDPOINTS WERE FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF CANCER THERAPY/GYNECOLOGIC ONCOLOGY GROUP-NEUROTOXICITY SUBSCALE (FACT/GOG-NTX), AND FUNCTIONAL REACH TEST AFTER WEEK 8. WE TESTED TREATMENT ARM DIFFERENCES FOR EACH OUTCOME MEASURE USING LINEAR MIXED MODELS WITH TREATMENT-BY-TIME INTERACTIONS. ALL STATISTICAL TESTS WERE TWO-SIDED. RESULTS: WE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED 41 PARTICIPANTS INTO YOGA (N = 21) OR USUAL CARE (N = 20). AT WEEK 8, MEAN NRS PAIN DECREASED BY 1.95 POINTS (95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL [CI] = -3.20 TO -0.70) IN YOGA VS 0.65 (95% CI = -1.81 TO 0.51) IN USUAL CARE (P = .14). FACT/GOG-NTX IMPROVED BY 4.25 (95% CI = 2.29 TO 6.20) IN YOGA VS 1.36 (95% CI = -0.47 TO 3.19) IN USUAL CARE (P = .035). FUNCTIONAL REACH, AN OBJECTIVE FUNCTIONAL MEASURE PREDICTING THE RISK OF FALLS, IMPROVED BY 7.14 CM (95% CI = 3.68 TO 10.59) IN YOGA AND DECREASED BY 1.65 CM (95% CI = -5.00 TO 1.72) IN USUAL CARE (P = .001). FOUR GRADE 1 ADVERSE EVENTS WERE OBSERVED IN THE YOGA ARM. CONCLUSION: AMONG BREAST AND GYNECOLOGICAL CANCER SURVIVORS WITH MODERATE-TO-SEVERE CIPN, YOGA WAS SAFE AND SHOWED PROMISING EFFICACY IN IMPROVING CIPN SYMPTOMS. 2020 18 2560 50 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 19 971 45 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 20 460 50 CHANGES IN PAIN SELF-EFFICACY, COPING SKILLS, AND FEAR-AVOIDANCE BELIEFS IN A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF YOGA, PHYSICAL THERAPY, AND EDUCATION FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN. OBJECTIVE: WE EVALUATED EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS FOR COGNITIVE APPRAISAL OF CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN (CLBP) IN AN UNDERSERVED POPULATION. METHODS: WE CONDUCTED A SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF THE BACK TO HEALTH TRIAL, SHOWING YOGA TO BE NONINFERIOR TO PHYSICAL THERAPY (PT) FOR PAIN AND FUNCTION OUTCOMES AMONG ADULTS WITH CLBP (N = 320) RECRUITED FROM PRIMARY CARE CLINICS WITH PREDOMINANTLY LOW-INCOME PATIENTS. PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMIZED TO 12 WEEKS OF YOGA, PT, OR EDUCATION. COGNITIVE APPRAISAL WAS ASSESSED WITH THE PAIN SELF-EFFICACY QUESTIONNAIRE (PSEQ), COPING STRATEGIES QUESTIONNAIRE (CSQ), AND FEAR-AVOIDANCE BELIEFS QUESTIONNAIRE (FABQ). USING MULTIPLE IMPUTATION AND LINEAR REGRESSION, WE ESTIMATED WITHIN- AND BETWEEN-GROUP CHANGES IN COGNITIVE APPRAISAL AT 12 AND 52 WEEKS, WITH BASELINE AND THE EDUCATION GROUP AS REFERENCES. RESULTS: PARTICIPANTS (MEAN AGE = 46 YEARS) WERE MAJORITY FEMALE (64%) AND MAJORITY BLACK (57%), AND 54% HAD AN ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME <$30,000. ALL THREE GROUPS SHOWED IMPROVEMENTS IN PSEQ (RANGE 0-60) AT 12 WEEKS (YOGA, MEAN DIFFERENCE [MD] = 7.0, 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL [CI]: 4.9, 9.0; PT, MD = 6.9, 95% CI: 4.7 TO 9.1; AND EDUCATION, MD = 3.4, 95% CI: 0.54 TO 6.3), WITH YOGA AND PT IMPROVEMENTS BEING CLINICALLY MEANINGFUL. AT 12 WEEKS, IMPROVEMENTS IN CATASTROPHIZING (CSQ, RANGE 0-36) WERE LARGEST IN THE YOGA AND PT GROUPS (MD = -3.0, 95% CI: -4.4 TO -1.6; MD = -2.7, 95% CI: -4.2 TO -1.2, RESPECTIVELY). CHANGES IN FABQ WERE SMALL. NO STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT BETWEEN-GROUP DIFFERENCES WERE OBSERVED ON PSEQ, CSQ, OR FABQ AT EITHER TIME POINT. MANY OF THE CHANGES OBSERVED AT 12 WEEKS WERE SUSTAINED AT 52 WEEKS. CONCLUSION: ALL THREE INTERVENTIONS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVEMENTS IN SELF-EFFICACY AND CATASTROPHIZING AMONG LOW-INCOME, RACIALLY DIVERSE ADULTS WITH CLBP. TRIAL REGISTRATION: CLINICALTRIALS.GOV IDENTIFIER NCT01343927. 2022