1 2064 153 THE BIOMECHANICAL DEMANDS OF STANDING YOGA POSES IN SENIORS: THE YOGA EMPOWERS SENIORS STUDY (YESS). BACKGROUND: THE NUMBER OF OLDER ADULTS PARTICIPATING IN YOGA HAS INCREASED DRAMATICALLY IN RECENT YEARS; YET, THE PHYSICAL DEMANDS ASSOCIATED WITH YOGA PERFORMANCE HAVE NOT BEEN REPORTED. THE PRIMARY AIM OF THE YOGA EMPOWERS SENIORS STUDY (YESS) WAS TO USE BIOMECHANICAL METHODS TO QUANTIFY THE PHYSICAL DEMANDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PERFORMANCE OF 7 COMMONLY-PRACTICED STANDING YOGA POSES IN OLDER ADULTS. METHODS: 20 AMBULATORY OLDER ADULTS (70.7+-3.8 YRS) ATTENDED 2 WEEKLY 60-MINUTE HATHA YOGA CLASSES FOR 32 WEEKS. THE LOWER-EXTREMITY NET JOINT MOMENTS OF FORCE (JMOFS), WERE OBTAINED DURING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE FOLLOWING POSES: CHAIR, WALL PLANK, TREE, WARRIOR II, SIDE STRETCH, CRESCENT, AND ONE-LEGGED BALANCE. REPEATED-MEASURE ANOVA AND TUKEY'S POST-HOC TESTS WERE USED TO IDENTIFY DIFFERENCES IN JMOFS AMONG THE POSES. ELECTROMYOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS WAS USED TO SUPPORT THE JMOF FINDINGS. RESULTS: THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT MAIN EFFECT FOR POSE, AT THE ANKLE, KNEE AND HIP, IN THE FRONTAL AND SAGITTAL PLANES (P=0.00-0.03). THE CRESCENT, CHAIR, WARRIOR II, AND ONE-LEGGED BALANCE POSES GENERATED THE GREATEST AVERAGE SUPPORT MOMENTS. SIDE STRETCH GENERATED THE GREATEST AVERAGE HIP EXTENSOR AND KNEE FLEXOR JMOFS. CRESCENT PLACED THE HIGHEST DEMANDS ON THE HIP FLEXORS AND KNEE EXTENSORS. ALL OF THE POSES PRODUCED ANKLE PLANTAR-FLEXOR JMOFS. IN THE FRONTAL PLANE, THE TREE GENERATED THE GREATEST AVERAGE HIP AND KNEE ABDUCTOR JMOFS; WHEREAS WARRIOR II GENERATED THE GREATEST AVERAGE HIP AND KNEE ADDUCTOR JMOFS. WARRIOR II AND ONE-LEGGED BALANCE INDUCED THE LARGEST AVERAGE ANKLE EVERTOR AND INVERTOR JMOFS, RESPECTIVELY. THE ELECTROMYOGRAPHIC FINDINGS WERE CONSISTENT WITH THE JMOF RESULTS. CONCLUSIONS: MUSCULOSKELETAL DEMAND VARIED SIGNIFICANTLY ACROSS THE DIFFERENT POSES. THESE FINDINGS MAY BE USED TO GUIDE THE DESIGN OF EVIDENCE-BASED YOGA INTERVENTIONS THAT ADDRESS INDIVIDUAL-SPECIFIC TRAINING AND REHABILITATION GOALS IN SENIORS. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: THIS STUDY IS REGISTERED WITH NIH CLINICALTRIALS.GOV #NCT 01411059. 2013 2 2328 32 TRUNK AND HIP MUSCLE ACTIVATION DURING YOGA POSES: DO SEX-DIFFERENCES EXIST? OBJECTIVE: TO COMPARE CORE ACTIVATION DURING YOGA BETWEEN MALES AND FEMALES. METHODS: SURFACE ELECTROMYOGRAPHY WAS USED TO QUANTIFY RECTUS ABDOMINIS (RA), ABDOMINAL OBLIQUES (AO), LUMBAR EXTENSORS (LE), AND GLUTEUS MAXIMUS (GMX) ACTIVATION DURING FOUR YOGA POSES. DATA WERE EXPRESSED AS 100% OF A MAXIMUM VOLUNTARY ISOMETRIC CONTRACTION. MIXED-MODEL 2X2 ANALYSES OF VARIANCE WITH REPEATED MEASURES WERE USED TO DETERMINE BETWEEN-SEX DIFFERENCES IN MUSCLE ACTIVITY. RESULTS: FEMALES GENERATED GREATER RA ACTIVITY THAN MALES DURING THE HIGH PLANK (P<0.0001) AND DOMINANT-SIDE WARRIOR 1 (P=0.017). THEY GENERATED GREATER AO (P<0.0001) AND GMX (P=0.004) ACTIVITY DURING THE HIGH PLANK (P<0.0001). NO BETWEEN-SEX EMG ACTIVITY DIFFERENCES EXISTED FOR THE CHAIR AND UPWARD FACING DOG. CONCLUSION: FINDINGS HAVE PROVIDED PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE FOR BETWEEN-SEX DIFFERENCES IN MUSCLE ACTIVATION DURING YOGA POSES. CLINICIANS SHOULD CONSIDER SUCH DIFFERENCES WHEN PRESCRIBING YOGA TO IMPROVE MUSCLE STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE. 2018 3 2329 35 TRUNK AND HIP MUSCLE ACTIVATION DURING YOGA POSES: IMPLICATIONS FOR PHYSICAL THERAPY PRACTICE. OBJECTIVE: TO DETERMINE AND COMPARE ACTIVATION OF CORE MUSCLES DURING YOGA TO TRADITIONAL BACK EXERCISES. METHODS: SURFACE ELECTROMYOGRAPHY WAS USED TO QUANTIFY ACTIVATION OF THE RECTUS ABDOMINIS (RA), ABDOMINAL OBLIQUES (AO), LUMBAR EXTENSORS (LE), AND GLUTEUS MAXIMUS (GMX) DURING FOUR YOGA POSES. DATA WERE EXPRESSED AS 100% OF A MAXIMUM VOLUNTARY ISOMETRIC CONTRACTION. SEPARATE ANALYSES OF VARIANCE WITH REPEATED MEASURES WERE USED TO COMPARE MUSCLE ACTIVITY ACROSS EACH EXERCISE. RESULTS: SUBJECTS GENERATED GREATER RA (P < 0.0001) AND AO (P < 0.0001) ACTIVITY DURING THE PLANK. THEY GENERATED GREATER AO ACTIVITY (P < 0.0001) DURING THE UPWARD-FACING DOG THAN THE CHAIR AND DOMINANT-SIDE WARRIOR 1. LE ACTIVITY WAS GREATEST (P < 0.0001) DURING THE CHAIR. GMX ACTIVITY WAS SIMILAR (P = 0.09) DURING ALL EXERCISES. CONCLUSION: YOGA POSES MAY HELP IMPROVE CORE ENDURANCE AND STRENGTH. CLINICIANS MAY USE THESE DATA WHEN DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING AN EVIDENCE-BASED CORE EXERCISE PROGRAM FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO PREFER A YOGA TREATMENT STRATEGY. 2017 4 2306 56 TRAINING BENEFITS AND INJURY RISKS OF STANDING YOGA APPLIED IN MUSCULOSKELETAL PROBLEMS: LOWER LIMB BIOMECHANICAL ANALYSIS. STANDING YOGA POSES STRENGTHEN A PERSON'S LEGS AND HELPS TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL OF MUSCULOSKELETAL REHABILITATION, BUT INADEQUATE EXERCISE PLANNING CAN CAUSE INJURIES. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED CHANGES IN THE ELECTROMYOGRAM AND JOINT MOMENTS OF FORCE (JMOFS) OF LOWER EXTREMITIES DURING COMMON STANDING YOGA POSES IN ORDER TO EXPLORE THE FEASIBILITY AND POSSIBLE INJURY RISK IN DEALING WITH MUSCULOSKELETAL PROBLEMS. ELEVEN YOGA INSTRUCTORS WERE RECRUITED TO EXECUTE FIVE YOGA POSES (CHAIR, TREE, WARRIOR 1, 2, AND 3). THE RESULTS REVEALED SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN HIP, KNEE, AND ANKLE JMOFS AND VARYING DEGREES OF MUSCLE ACTIVATION AMONG THE POSES. AMONG THESE POSES, RECTUS FEMORIS MUSCLE ACTIVATION DURING THE CHAIR POSE WAS THE HIGHEST, WARRIOR 2 PRODUCED THE HIGHEST MUSCLE ACTIVATION IN THE VASTUS LATERALIS OF THE FRONT LIMB, WHILE WARRIOR 1 HAD THE HIGHEST MUSCLE ACTIVATION IN THE VASTUS MEDIALIS OF THE BACK LIMB. THEREFORE, ALL THREE POSES CAN POSSIBLY BE SUGGESTED AS A THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION FOR QUADRICEPS STRENGTHENING. WARRIOR 1 WAS POSSIBLY SUGGESTED AS A THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION IN ORDER TO REDUCE EXCESSIVE LATERAL OVERLOAD OF THE PATELLA, BUT THE POSSIBLE ADVERSE EFFECTS OF WARRIOR 2 WITH THE HIGHEST KNEE ADDUCTOR JMOF IN THE BACK LIMB COULD RAISE JOINT REACTION FORCES ACROSS THE MEDIAL CONDYLES. IN SINGLE-LEG BALANCE POSTURES, WARRIOR 3 HAD UNIQUE TRAINING EFFECTS ON THE HAMSTRING, AND IS THEREFORE SUGGESTED AS A PART OF HAMSTRING REHABILITATION EXERCISES. THE TREE POSE INDUCED LOW LOWER-EXTREMITY JMOFS AND A LOW LEVEL OF THIGH MUSCLE ACTIVATIONS WHEN IT WAS PERFORMED BY SENIOR INSTRUCTORS WITH EXCELLENT BALANCE CONTROL; HOWEVER, FOR YOGA BEGINNERS WITH INSUFFICIENT STABILITY, IT WILL BE A USEFUL TRAINING MODE FOR STRENGTHENING THE MUSCLES THAT HELP TO KEEP ONE UPRIGHT. THIS STUDY QUANTIFIED THE PHYSICAL DEMANDS OF YOGA POSES USING BIOMECHANICAL DATA AND ELUCIDATED THE STRUCTURES AND PRINCIPLES UNDERLYING EACH YOGA MOVEMENT. THIS IS CRUCIAL FOR YOGA PRACTITIONERS. 2021 5 552 36 CORE MUSCLE FUNCTION DURING SPECIFIC YOGA POSES. OBJECTIVE: TO ASSESS THE POTENTIAL USE OF 11 YOGA POSES IN SPECIFIC TRAINING AND REHABILITATION PROGRAMS VIA EXAMINATION OF THE MUSCLE ACTIVATION PATTERNS IN SELECTED TRUNK AND HIP MUSCLES. DESIGN: REPEATED-MEASURES DESCRIPTIVE STUDY. SETTING: UNIVERSITY LABORATORY, US. PARTICIPANTS: THIRTY HEALTHY YOGA PRACTITIONERS WITH MORE THAN 3 MONTHS YOGA PRACTICE EXPERIENCE (MEAN AGE+/-SD, 32.0+/-12.3 Y; 8 M/22 F) PARTICIPATED. INTERVENTIONS: SURFACE ELECTROMYOGRAPHIC SIGNALS OF UPPER RECTUS ABDOMINIS, LOWER RECTUS ABDOMINIS, LONGISSIMUS THORACIS, EXTERNAL OBLIQUE ABDOMINIS AND GLUTEUS MAXIMUM MUSCLE WERE RECORDED IN 11 YOGA POSES: HALFWAY LIFT, FORWARD FOLD, DOWNWARD FACING DOG, UPWARD FACING DOG, HIGH PLANK, LOW PLANK, CHAIR, MOUNTAIN WITH ARMS DOWN, MOUNTAIN WITH ARMS UP, WARRIOR 1 (BOTH SIDES). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: ROOT MEAN SQUARE VALUES OF EACH MUSCLE DURING EACH POSE, NORMALIZED BY THE MAXIMAL VOLUNTARY CONTRACTION. RESULTS: THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT MAIN EFFECTS OF POSE (P<.001) AND MUSCLE (P<.001), AND A SIGNIFICANT POSEXMUSCLE INTERACTION (P=.001). THE POST HOC ANALYSIS REVEALED UNIQUE PATTERNS FOR THE FIVE MUSCLES OF INTEREST FOR EACH OF THE 11 POSES (P<.024). CONCLUSIONS: VARIATIONS IN CORE MUSCLE FIRING PATTERNS DEPEND ON THE TRUNK AND PELVIC POSITIONS DURING THESE POSES. TRAINING PROGRAMS CAN BE DEVELOPED BY CHOOSING PARTICULAR POSES TO TARGET SPECIFIC CORE MUSCLES FOR ADDRESSING LOW BACK PAIN AND DECLINES IN PERFORMANCE. THE HIGH PLANK, LOW PLANK AND DOWNWARD FACING DOG POSES ARE EFFECTIVE FOR STRENGTHENING EXTERNAL OBLIQUE ABDOMINIS, CHAIR AND WARRIOR 1 POSES FOR TARGETING GLUTEUS MAXIMUM, AND CHAIR AND HALFWAY LIFT POSES FOR STRENGTHENING LONGISSIMUS THORACIS. AND THESE THREE MUSCLES COULD BE STRENGTHENED BY THE UPWARD FACING DOG POSE. 2014 6 1741 48 PHYSICAL DEMAND PROFILES OF HATHA YOGA POSTURES PERFORMED BY OLDER ADULTS. UNDERSTANDING THE PHYSICAL DEMANDS PLACED UPON THE MUSCULOSKELETAL SYSTEM BY INDIVIDUAL POSTURES MAY ALLOW EXPERIENCED INSTRUCTORS AND THERAPISTS TO DEVELOP SAFE AND EFFECTIVE YOGA PROGRAMS WHICH REDUCE UNDESIRABLE SIDE EFFECTS. THUS, WE USED BIOMECHANICAL METHODS TO QUANTIFY THE LOWER EXTREMITY JOINT ANGLES, JOINT MOMENTS OF FORCE, AND MUSCLE ACTIVITIES OF 21 HATHA YOGA POSTURES, COMMONLY USED IN SENIOR YOGA PROGRAMS. TWENTY OLDER ADULTS, 70.7 YEARS +/- 3.8 YEARS, PARTICIPATED IN A 32-WK YOGA CLASS (2 D/WK) WHERE THEY LEARNED INTRODUCTORY AND INTERMEDIATE POSTURES (ASANAS). THEY THEN PERFORMED THE ASANAS IN A MOTION ANALYSIS LABORATORY. KINEMATIC, KINETIC, AND ELECTROMYOGRAPHIC DATA WAS COLLECTED OVER THREE SECONDS WHILE THE PARTICIPANTS HELD THE POSES STATICALLY. PROFILES ILLUSTRATING THE POSTURES AND INCLUDING THE BIOMECHANICAL DATA WERE THEN GENERATED FOR EACH ASANA. OUR FINDINGS DEMONSTRATED THAT HATHA YOGA POSTURES ENGENDERED A RANGE OF APPRECIABLE JOINT ANGLES, JMOFS, AND MUSCLE ACTIVITIES ABOUT THE ANKLE, KNEE, AND HIP, AND THAT DEMANDS ASSOCIATED WITH SOME POSTURES AND POSTURE MODIFICATIONS WERE NOT ALWAYS INTUITIVE. THEY ALSO DEMONSTRATED THAT ALL OF THE POSTURES ELICITED APPRECIABLE RECTUS ABDOMINIS ACTIVITY, WHICH WAS UP TO 70% OF THAT INDUCED DURING WALKING. 2013 7 1757 35 POSITION OF THE HIP IN YOGA. BACKGROUND: YOGA IS GROWING IN POPULARITY AS A FORM OF EXERCISE THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. ORTHOPEDIC PATIENTS PARTICIPATE IN YOGA, YET LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE RANGES-OF-MOTION OF THE HIP WITHIN VARIOUS YOGA POSES. ORTHOPEDIC SURGEONS ARE UNSURE ABOUT WHAT POTENTIAL POSITIONS THEIR PATIENTS ARE PLACING THEIR HIPS DURING A YOGA PRACTICE. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY IS TO QUANTIFY THE DEGREE OF HIP MOTION WITH COMMON YOGA POSES. METHODS: TWENTY HEALTHY, REGULAR PRACTITIONERS OF YOGA PERFORMED 11 DIFFERENT YOGA POSES IN A STANDARDIZED FASHION. MOTION ANALYSIS WAS USED TO CAPTURE RANGE-OF-MOTION OF THE HIP DURING EACH POSE. RESULTS: MANY YOGA POSES PUT THE HIP IN EXTREMES OF MOTION. POSES SUCH AS DOWNWARD DOG, FORWARD FOLD, SEATED TWIST, AND PIGEON STRESSED THE HIP IN FLEXION. WARRIOR 1, WARRIOR 2, CRESCENT LUNGE, PIGEON, AND TRIANGLE STRESSED THE HIP IN EXTENSION. EAGLE AND SEATED TWIST PUT THE HIP IN HIGHER ADDUCTION, WHILE HALF MOON, EAGLE, AND TRIANGLE PRODUCED MORE HIP INTERNAL ROTATION. CONCLUSION: MANY POSES WERE FOUND TO REACH EXTREMES OF HIP MOTION. THIS STUDY MAY HELP GUIDE THE ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON IN COUNSELING HIP ARTHROPLASTY AND HIP IMPINGEMENT PATIENTS ABOUT YOGA-RELATED ACTIVITY. BY KNOWING WHICH POSES POTENTIALLY STRESS THE HIP IN PARTICULAR PLANES OF MOTION, SURGEONS MAY BETTER INFORM THEIR PATIENTS WHO ARE RETURNING TO YOGA AFTER INJURY OR SURGERY. 2018 8 626 37 DIFFERENCE IN MUSCLE ACTIVATION PATTERNS DURING HIGH-SPEED VERSUS STANDARD-SPEED YOGA: A RANDOMIZED SEQUENCE CROSSOVER STUDY. OBJECTIVES: TO COMPARE THE DIFFERENCE IN MUSCLE ACTIVATION BETWEEN HIGH-SPEED YOGA AND STANDARD-SPEED YOGA AND TO COMPARE MUSCLE ACTIVATION OF THE TRANSITIONS BETWEEN POSES AND THE HELD PHASES OF A YOGA POSE. DESIGN: RANDOMIZED SEQUENCE CROSSOVER TRIAL SETTING: A LABORATORY OF NEUROMUSCULAR RESEARCH AND ACTIVE AGING INTERVENTIONS: EIGHT MINUTES OF CONTINUOUS SUN SALUTATION B WAS PERFORMED, AT A HIGH SPEED VERSUS A STANDARD-SPEED, SEPARATELY. ELECTROMYOGRAPHY WAS USED TO QUANTIFY NORMALIZED MUSCLE ACTIVATION PATTERNS OF EIGHT UPPER AND LOWER BODY MUSCLES (PECTORALIS MAJOR, MEDIAL DELTOIDS, LATERAL HEAD OF THE TRICEPS, MIDDLE FIBERS OF THE TRAPEZIUS, VASTUS MEDIALIS, MEDIAL GASTROCNEMIUS, THORACIC EXTENSOR SPINAE, AND EXTERNAL OBLIQUES) DURING THE HIGH-SPEED AND STANDARD-SPEED YOGA PROTOCOLS. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: DIFFERENCE IN NORMALIZED MUSCLE ACTIVATION BETWEEN HIGH-SPEED YOGA AND STANDARD-SPEED YOGA. RESULTS: NORMALIZED MUSCLE ACTIVITY SIGNALS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN ALL EIGHT MUSCLES DURING THE TRANSITION PHASES OF POSES COMPARED TO THE HELD PHASES (P<0.01). THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT INTERACTION BETWEEN SPEEDXPHASE; HOWEVER, GREATER NORMALIZED MUSCLE ACTIVITY WAS SEEN FOR HIGHSPEED YOGA ACROSS THE ENTIRE SESSION. CONCLUSIONS: OUR RESULTS SHOW THAT TRANSITIONS FROM ONE HELD PHASE OF A POSE TO ANOTHER PRODUCES HIGHER NORMALIZED MUSCLE ACTIVITY THAN THE HELD PHASES OF THE POSES AND THAT OVERALL ACTIVITY IS GREATER DURING HIGHSPEED YOGA THAN STANDARD-SPEED YOGA. THEREFORE, THE TRANSITION SPEED AND ASSOCIATED NUMBER OF POSES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED WHEN TARGETING SPECIFIC IMPROVEMENTS IN PERFORMANCE. 2017 9 322 34 ANKLE MOTION IN COMMON YOGA POSES. BACKGROUND: MOTION OF THE ANKLE IS ESSENTIAL FOR MANY YOGA POSES. AN UNDERSTANDING OF RANGE OF ANKLE MOTION DURING TYPICAL YOGA POSES MAY HELP THE CLINICIAN TO UNDERSTAND EXPECTED OUTCOMES OF PATIENTS WHEN RETURNING FROM ANKLE SURGERY OR INJURY TO YOGA. METHODS: THE BIOMECHANICS OF TWENTY HEALTHY ACTIVE YOGIS WERE COLLECTED DURING SEVEN YOGA POSES THAT ARE COMMON WITHIN THEIR PRACTICES. MOTION CAPTURE AND FORCE PLATES WERE USED TO ASSESS THE RANGE OF MOTION AND JOINT MOMENTS OF THE ANKLE FOR EACH POSE. RESULTS: ALL POSES RESULTED IN PLANTARFLEXION AND EXTERNAL ROTATION MOMENTS AT THE ANKLE JOINTS. JOINT LOADING WAS HIGHEST IN SINGLE LEG POSES. THE ARC OF MOTION USED BY THE STUDY PARTICIPANTS IN THE POSES WAS 29 DEGREES OF SAGITTAL MOTION, 20 DEGREES OF FRONTAL MOTION AND 35 DEGREES OF TRANSVERSE MOTION. DISCUSSION: ANKLE MOTION WAS EVALUATED WHEN HEALTHY YOGIS PERFORM STANDARD POSES. THESE RESULTS MAY HELP IN DISCUSSION WITH PATIENTS REGARDING EXPECTED OUTCOMES AFTER ANKLE INJURY OR SURGERY. 2019 10 1494 38 INTERRATER RELIABILITY OF AN OBSERVATIONAL RATING SCALE AND VIDEO ANALYSIS OF YOGA POSES. CONTEXT: YOGA IS INCREASINGLY POPULAR, NOT ONLY AS A FORM OF RECREATIONAL EXERCISE BUT ALSO AS A PHYSICIAN-RECOMMENDED INTERVENTION FOR HEALTH CONDITIONS. WHILE SERIOUS ADVERSE EFFECTS ACCOMPANYING YOGA PRACTICE ARE RARE, POSES THAT INVOLVE UPPER-EXTREMITY WEIGHT-BEARING HAVE A HIGH RISK OF DISCOMFORT. TO BETTER UNDERSTAND FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO ADVERSE EFFECTS, THERE IS A CRITICAL NEED FOR ROBUST INSTRUMENTS THAT OBJECTIVELY EVALUATE POSE PERFORMANCE. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO ASSESS THE INTERRATER RELIABILITY OF AN OBSERVATIONAL SCALE DEVELOPED TO ASSESS THE ALIGNMENT OF 3 YOGA POSES. DESIGN: CROSS-SECTIONAL EXPERIMENTAL STUDY. METHODS: THIRTY-EIGHT INDIVIDUALS WERE GIVEN STANDARDIZED INSTRUCTIONS AND PERFORMED 3 POSES (DOWNWARD DOG, PLANK, AND SIDE PLANK). LATERAL VIDEOS WERE RATED BY 2 RATERS. A RATING SCALE EVALUATING THE ALIGNMENT OF 7 REGIONS WAS DEVELOPED BY THE STUDY TEAM WITH INPUT FROM YOGA TEACHERS. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS WERE USED TO SUMMARIZE THE PERCENTAGE OF SUBJECTS SHOWING IDEAL ALIGNMENT AND DEVIATIONS. INTERRATER RELIABILITY WAS QUANTIFIED USING COHEN KAPPA COEFFICIENT (KAPPA). RESULTS: IN DOWNWARD DOG, THE PREVALENCE OF IDEAL ALIGNMENT WAS 20%, 28%, AND 37%, AT THE NECK, SHOULDER, AND BACK, RESPECTIVELY; KAPPA RANGED FROM .44 TO .69. IN PLANK, THE PREVALENCE OF IDEAL ALIGNMENT WAS 31%, 45%, AND 54% AT THE NECK, SHOULDER, AND BACK, RESPECTIVELY; KAPPA RANGED FROM .47 TO .95. IN SIDE PLANK, THE PREVALENCE OF IDEAL ALIGNMENT WAS 16, 41%, AND 24%, AT THE NECK, SHOULDER, AND BACK, RESPECTIVELY; KAPPA RANGED FROM .20 TO .84. CONCLUSION: THE OBSERVATIONAL SCALE FOUND A HIGH PREVALENCE OF DEVIATIONS, AND DEMONSTRATED FAIR TO SUBSTANTIAL INTERRATER AGREEMENT. 2022 11 2209 27 THE GEOMETRIC CURVATURE OF THE SPINE DURING THE SIRSHASANA, THE YOGA'S HEADSTAND. THIS STUDY ANALYSED THE BEHAVIOUR OF THE GEOMETRIC CURVATURE OF THE SPINE DURING SIRSHASANA. THE POSITION OF DORSAL RETROREFLECTIVE MARKERS WAS COMPUTED VIA STEREOPHOTOGRAMMETRIC ANALYSIS IN SIX MALES AND FIVE FEMALES (29.4 +/- 8.8 YEARS, 63.0 +/- 11.4 KG, 1.66 +/- 0.08 M [AVERAGE +/- STANDARD DEVIATION]). THE SPINAL POINTS WERE PROJECTED ONTO THE SAGITTAL AND FRONTAL PLANES OF THE TRUNK, A POLYNOMIAL WAS FITTED TO THE DATA AND THE TWO-DIMENSIONAL GEOMETRIC CURVATURE WAS QUANTIFIED. THE INFERIOR LUMBAR LORDOSIS DECREASED COMPARED TO THE ORTHOSTATIC POSITION AND GAIT, WHICH MAY FAVOUR THE POSTERIOR PROTRUSION OF THE LUMBAR SPINAL NUCLEUS PULPOSUS IN PEOPLE WITH POSTERIOR HERNIATION. THE LATERAL DEVIATION AT THE MIDDLE OF THE THORACIC SPINE INCREASES DURING SIRSHASANA, WHICH MAY REFLECT INCREASED DIFFICULTIES FOR POSTURAL CONTROL AND SPINAL LOADS. IT COULD BE USEFUL FOR PROMOTING POSITIVE SPINAL STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL CHRONIC ADAPTATIONS FOR HEALTHY PARTICIPANTS, IF THE YOGA PROGRAMME IS CAREFULLY PLANNED AND THE SPINAL ALIGNMENT IS CAREFULLY MONITORED DURING A HEADSTAND. HOWEVER, IT MAY AGGRAVATE SOME SPINAL DISEASES, ESPECIALLY SCOLIOSIS. 2017 12 1654 40 MUSCLE UTILIZATION PATTERNS VARY BY SKILL LEVELS OF THE PRACTITIONERS ACROSS SPECIFIC YOGA POSES (ASANAS). OBJECTIVE: TO COMPARE MUSCLE ACTIVATION PATTERNS IN 14 DOMINANT SIDE MUSCLES DURING DIFFERENT YOGA POSES ACROSS THREE SKILL LEVELS. DESIGN: MIXED REPEATED-MEASURES DESCRIPTIVE STUDY. SETTING: UNIVERSITY NEUROMUSCULAR RESEARCH LABORATORY, MIAMI, US. PARTICIPANTS: A GROUP OF 36 YOGA PRACTITIONERS (9 M/27 F; MEAN +/- SD, 31.6 +/- 12.6 YEARS) WITH AT LEAST 3 MONTHS YOGA PRACTICE EXPERIENCE. INTERVENTIONS: EACH OF THE 11 SURYA NAMASKAR POSES A AND B WAS PERFORMED SEPARATELY FOR 15S AND THE SURFACE ELECTROMYOGRAPHY FOR 14 MUSCLES WERE RECORDED. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: NORMALIZED ROOT MEAN SQUARE OF THE ELECTROMYOGRAPHIC SIGNAL (NRMSEMG) FOR 14 MUSCLES (5 UPPER BODY, 4 TRUNK, 5 LOWER BODY). RESULTS: THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT MAIN EFFECTS OF POSE FOR ALL FOURTEEN MUSCLES EXCEPT MIDDLE TRAPEZIUS (P<.02) AND OF SKILL LEVEL FOR THE VASTUS MEDIALIS; P=.027). A SIGNIFICANT SKILL LEVEL X POSE INTERACTION EXISTED FOR FIVE MUSCLES (PECTORALIS MAJOR STERNAL HEAD, ANTERIOR DELTOID, MEDIAL DELTOID, UPPER RECTUS ABDOMINIS AND GASTROCNEMIUS LATERALIS; P<.05). POST HOC ANALYSES USING BONFERRONI COMPARISONS INDICATED THAT DIFFERENT POSES ACTIVATED SPECIFIC MUSCLE GROUPS; HOWEVER, THIS VARIED BY SKILL LEVEL. CONCLUSION: OUR RESULTS INDICATE THAT DIFFERENT POSES CAN PRODUCE SPECIFIC MUSCLE ACTIVATION PATTERNS WHICH MAY VARY DUE TO PRACTITIONERS' SKILL LEVELS. THIS INFORMATION CAN BE USED IN DESIGNING REHABILITATION AND TRAINING PROGRAMS AND FOR CUING DURING YOGA TRAINING. 2014 13 1283 38 GLUTEAL MUSCLE ACTIVATION DURING COMMON YOGA POSES. BACKGROUND: APPROXIMATELY 24% OF PHYSICAL THERAPISTS REPORT REGULARLY USING YOGA TO STRENGTHEN MAJOR MUSCLE GROUPS. ALTHOUGH CLINICIANS AND ATHLETES OFTEN USE YOGA AS A FORM OF STRENGTH TRAINING, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE ACTIVATION OF SPECIFIC MUSCLE GROUPS DURING YOGA POSES, INCLUDING THE GLUTEUS MAXIMUS AND MEDIUS. HYPOTHESIS/PURPOSE: THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO MEASURE GLUTEUS MAXIMIMUS AND GLUTEUS MEDIUS ACTIVATION VIA ELECTROMYOGRAPHY (EMG) DURING FIVE COMMON YOGA POSES. A SECONDARY PURPOSE OF THE CURRENT STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE DIFFERENCES IN MUSCLE ACTIVATION BETWEEN SEXES AND EXPERIENCE LEVELS. STUDY DESIGN: CROSS-SECTIONAL. METHODS: THIRTY-ONE HEALTHY MALES AND FEMALES AGED 18-35 YEARS WERE TESTED DURING FIVE YOGA POSES PERFORMED IN A RANDOMIZED ORDER. SURFACE EMG ELECTRODES WERE PLACED ON SUBJECTS' RIGHT GLUTEUS MAXIMUS AND GLUTEUS MEDIUS. SUBJECTS PERFORMED THE POSES ON BOTH SIDES FOLLOWING A MAXIMAL VOLUNTARY ISOMETRIC CONTRACTION (MVIC) TEST FOR EACH MUSCLE. ALL YOGA POSE EMG DATA WERE NORMALIZED TO THE CORRESPONDING MUSCLE MVIC DATA. RESULTS: HIGHEST GLUTEUS MAXIMUS ACTIVATION OCCURRED DURING HALF MOON POSE ON THE LIFTED/BACK LEG (63.3% MVIC), FOLLOWED BY THE STANCE/FRONT LEG DURING HALF MOON POSE (61.7%), THEN THE LIFTED/BACK LEG DURING WARRIOR THREE POSE (46.1%). HIGHEST GLUTEUS MEDIUS ACTIVATION OCCURRED DURING HALF MOON POSE ON THE LIFTED/BACK LEG (41.9%), FOLLOWED BY THE LIFTED/BACK LEG DURING THE WARRIOR THREE POSE (41.6%). A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE WAS FOUND IN %MVIC OF GLUTEUS MEDIUS ACTIVITY BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE SUBJECTS (P = 0.026), AND BETWEEN EXPERIENCED AND INEXPERIENCED SUBJECTS (P = 0.050), INDICATING HIGHER ACTIVATION AMONG MALES AND INEXPERIENCED SUBJECTS, RESPECTIVELY. CONCLUSION: HALF MOON POSE AND WARRIOR THREE POSE ELICITED THE HIGHEST ACTIVATION FOR BOTH THE GLUTEUS MAXIMUS AND THE GLUTEUS MEDIUS. HIGHER GLUTEUS MEDIUS ACTIVATION WAS SEEN IN MALES AND INEXPERIENCED SUBJECTS COMPARED TO THEIR FEMALE AND EXPERIENCED COUNTERPARTS. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3. 2021 14 408 43 BIOMECHANICAL CHARACTERISTICS ON THE LOWER EXTREMITY OF THREE TYPICAL YOGA MANOEUVRES. THIS STUDY WAS AIMED AT EXPLORING THE BIOMECHANICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LOWER EXTREMITY AMONGST THREE TYPICAL YOGA MANOEUVRES. A TOTAL OF THIRTEEN EXPERIENCED FEMALE YOGA PRACTITIONERS WERE RECRUITED IN THE CURRENT STUDY; THEY WERE ALL CERTIFIED WITH THE YOGA ALLIANCE. A THREE-DIMENSIONAL MOTION CAPTURE SYSTEM WITH 10 CAMERAS COMBINED WITH FOUR SYNCHRONISED FORCE PLATES WAS USED TO COLLECT KINEMATICS OF THE LOWER EXTREMITY AND GROUND REACTIVE FORCE WHILST THE PARTICIPANTS PERFORMED THE CRESCENT LUNGE POSE, WARRIOR II POSE, AND TRIANGLE POSE. ONE-WAY REPEATED ANOVA WAS USED IN EXPLORING THE DIFFERENCES AMONGST THE THREE YOGA MOVEMENTS, AND THE SIGNIFICANCE WAS SET TO ALPHA < 0.05. THE TRIANGLE POSE PERFORMED THE LARGEST RANGE OF MOTION (ROM) OF THE HIP (90.5 DEGREES +/- 22.9 DEGREES ), KNEE (68.8 DEGREES +/- 23.1 DEGREES ), AND ANKLE (46.4 DEGREES +/- 11.3 DEGREES ) IN THE SAGITTAL PLANE AND THE HIP (54.8 DEGREES +/- 6.5 DEGREES ), KNEE (42.4 DEGREES +/- 12.8 DEGREES ), AND ANKLE (4.8 DEGREES +/- 1.7 DEGREES ) IN THE FRONTAL PLANE AMONGST THE THREE MANOEUVRES (P < 0.05). NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE WAS FOUND FOR THE HIP AND ANKLE JOINT MOMENT AMONGST THE THREE MANOEUVRES (P > 0.05). KNEE JOINT TRAVELLED INTO 9.5 DEGREES OF EXTENSION AND SLIGHT ADDUCTION OF 1.94 DEGREES WHILST EXPRESSING THE LARGEST KNEE JOINT ADDUCTION MOMENTS (0.30 +/- 0.22 NM/KG) IN THE TRIANGLE POSE. THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE ANGULAR IMPULSE OF THE LOWER LIMB JOINTS INDICATED THAT THE HIP JOINT CONTRIBUTED SIGNIFICANTLY THE MOST IN THE SAGITTAL AND FRONTAL PLANES OF THE THREE YOGA MANOEUVRES (P < 0.05), RANGING FROM 51.67% TO 70.56%. RESULTS INDICATED THAT TRIANGLE POSE MAY BE SUPERIOR TO THE OTHER TWO MANOEUVRES, WHICH IMPROVED HIP JOINT ROM, STRENGTH, AND DYNAMIC STABILITY. HOWEVER, KNEE INJURIES SUCH AS OSTEOARTHRITIS (OA) SHOULD BE CONSIDERED BECAUSE OF THE LARGE KNEE EXTENSOR ANGLE AND ADDUCTOR MOMENTS. 2021 15 80 28 A MATHEMATICAL METHOD FOR ELECTROMYOGRAPHY ANALYSIS OF MUSCLE FUNCTIONS DURING YOGASANA. CONTEXT: FOR THE PAST FEW DECADES, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE PRACTICING YOGA IS INCREASING IN NUMBER. YOGASANAS NEED SMOOTH BODY MOVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF ATTAINING DEFINED POSTURES THAT THE PERSON MUST HOLD ON TO ACTIVATE SPECIFIC MUSCLES OF THE BODY RELATED TO THAT ASANA. YOGASANAS SHOULD BE PERFORMED WITH PERFECTION TO DERIVE MAXIMUM BENEFITS. OBJECTIVE: THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INTRODUCE A MATHEMATICAL METHOD TO UNDERSTAND MUSCLE FUNCTIONALITIES WHILE DOING YOGASANAS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: USED DELSYS SURFACE ELECTROMYOGRAPHY (SEMG) - TRIGNO (DELSYS INC.) SENSORS FOR DATA RECORDING AND ANALYZING MUSCLE ACTIVATION PATTERNS. RESULTS: PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS WAS QUANTIFIED USING NORMALIZED SEMG SIGNALS. THE SEMG DATA DURING FINAL POSTURE WERE FIT TO A STRAIGHT LINE USING LINEAR REGRESSION ANALYSIS. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS SUGGESTED THAT THE SLOPE OF THE BEST FIT LINE IS A GOOD METRIC FOR MONITORING THE MUSCLE ACTIVITY DURING YOGA PERFORMANCE. THE ADVANTAGES OF THIS METHOD ARE THE SLOPE OF THE LINE IS A GOOD INDICATOR FOR MONITORING THE MUSCLE ACTIVITY WHILE DOING YOGASANA AND THE METHOD SUGGESTED IN THIS STUDY CAN BE EXTENDED FOR ANALYZING OTHER ASANAS AS WELL. 2019 16 58 31 A COMPARISON OF EMG OUTPUT OF FOUR LOWER EXTREMITY MUSCLES DURING SELECTED YOGA POSTURES. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO USE SURFACE ELECTROMYOGRAPHY (EMG) ANALYSIS TO EXAMINE THE MUSCLE ACTIVATION OF THE ANTERIOR TIBIALIS (TA), GASTROCNEMIUS (GA), RECTUS FEMORIS (RF) AND BICEPS FEMORIS (BF) MUSCLES DURING SEVERAL YOGA POSES: TREE POSE (VRKSASHANA), HALF MOON POSE (ARDHA CHANDRASANA) AND WARRIOR III (VIRABADRASANA) WHEN COMPARED TO A REST POSE (MOUNTAIN POSE). TEN HEALTHY FEMALES WITH MORE THAN 3 MONTHS OF CONTINUOUS YOGA EXPERIENCE WHO PRACTICED AT LEAST 1.5H PER WEEK WERE RECRUITED. EMG ACTIVITY WAS RECORDED FROM THE AFOREMENTIONED MUSCLES DURING MOUNTAIN POSE ("REST") FOR 30S, THREE TIMES. SUBJECTS THEN PERFORMED THE FOLLOWING YOGA POSES IN A RANDOMIZED SEQUENCE WHILE SURFACE EMG ACTIVITY WAS RECORDED: TREE POSE, HALF-MOON, AND WARRIOR III. EACH POSE WAS HELD FOR 20S TO 30S AND PERFORMED THREE TIMES. EMG DATA WERE BAND PASS FILTERED AND THE ROOT MEAN SQUARE (RMS) WAS OBTAINED. THE PEAK RMS OF EACH OF THE RESTING TRIALS WAS OBTAINED AND AVERAGED TO PRODUCE AN AVERAGE PEAK RESTING RMS VALUE. THE STUDY REVEALED SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER EMG ACTIVITY IN TA AND GA IN ALL THREE POSES WHEN COMPARED TO BF AND RF. BF PRODUCED GREATER EMG ACTIVITY THAN RF IN WARRIOR III. IN CONCLUSION, SINGLE LIMB YOGA POSES REQUIRE INCREASED USE OF THE ANKLE MUSCULATURE WHEN COMPARED TO THIGH MUSCULATURE. 2019 17 1743 55 PHYSICAL-PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES AND BIOMECHANICAL CORRELATES FROM THE 32-WEEK YOGA EMPOWERS SENIORS STUDY. BACKGROUND. YOGA EMPOWERS SENIORS STUDY (YESS) QUANTIFIED PHYSICAL DEMANDS ASSOCIATED WITH YOGA PERFORMANCE USING BIOMECHANICAL METHODS. THIS STUDY EVALUATED THE EFFICACY OF THE PROGRAM ON PHYSICAL FUNCTION OUTCOMES. METHODS. TWENTY COMMUNITY-DWELLING OLDER ADULTS AGED 70.7 +/- 3.8 YEARS ATTENDED BIWEEKLY 60-MINUTE HATHA YOGA CLASSES FOR 32 WEEKS. FOUR DOMAINS OF THE PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS INCLUDING (1) FUNCTIONAL PERFORMANCE, (2) FLEXIBILITY, (3) MUSCLE STRENGTH, AND (4) BALANCE WERE TAKEN AT THE BASELINE, 16-WEEK AND 32-WEEK TIME POINTS. REPEATED-MEASURES ANOVA OMNIBUS TESTS AND TUKEY'S POST HOC TESTS WERE EMPLOYED TO EXAMINE THE DIFFERENCES IN EACH OUTCOME VARIABLE ACROSS THE 3 TIME POINTS. RESULTS. IMPROVED TIMED CHAIR STANDS (P < 0.01), 8-FOOT UP AND GO (P < 0.05), 2-MIN STEP TEST (P < 0.05), AND VERTICAL REACH (P = 0.05) PERFORMANCE WERE EVIDENT. ISOMETRIC KNEE FLEXOR STRENGTH (P < 0.05) AND REPETITIONS OF THE HEEL RISE TEST (P < 0.001) ALSO INCREASED FOLLOWING THE 32-WEEK INTERVENTION. BOTH FLEXIBILITY AND BALANCE PERFORMANCE REMAINED UNCHANGED. CONCLUSIONS. SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN PHYSICAL FUNCTION AND MUSCLE-SPECIFIC LOWER-EXTREMITY STRENGTH OCCUR WITH THE REGULAR PRACTICE OF A MODIFIED HATHA YOGA PROGRAM DESIGNED FOR SENIORS. THESE ADAPTATIONS CORRESPONDED WITH THE PREVIOUSLY REPORTED BIOMECHANICAL DEMANDS OF THE POSES. 2016 18 1348 36 IDENTIFYING YOGA-BASED KNEE STRENGTHENING EXERCISES USING THE KNEE ADDUCTION MOMENT. BACKGROUND: THIS STUDY AIMED TO COMPARE MUSCLE ACTIVATIONS, CO-CONTRACTION INDICES, AND THE KNEE ADDUCTION MOMENT BETWEEN STATIC STANDING YOGA POSTURES TO IDENTIFY APPROPRIATE EXERCISES FOR KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS. METHODS: HEALTHY YOUNG WOMEN (24.4 (5.4) YEARS, 23.1 (3.7) KG/M(2)) PARTICIPATED. PRIMARY OUTCOME VARIABLES WERE ELECTROMYOGRAPHIC ACTIVATIONS OF THE VASTUS LATERALIS, RECTUS FEMORIS, VASTUS MEDIALIS, BICEPS FEMORIS, AND SEMITENDINOSUS; CO-CONTRACTION BETWEEN THE BICEPS FEMORIS AND RECTUS FEMORIS, AND VASTUS LATERALIS AND VASTUS MEDIALIS; AND KNEE ADDUCTION MOMENTS OF BOTH LEGS DURING SIX STATIC, STANDING YOGA POSTURES (TWO SQUATTING POSTURES, TWO LUNGING POSTURES, A HAMSTRING STRETCH, AND A SINGLE-LEG BALANCE POSTURE). A TWO-FACTOR REPEATED MEASURES ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE WAS USED TO IDENTIFY DIFFERENCES IN MUSCLE AMPLITUDES, CO-CONTRACTIONS, AND KNEE ADDUCTION MOMENT BETWEEN POSTURES AND LEGS. FINDINGS: QUADRICEPS ACTIVATIONS WERE HIGHEST DURING SQUAT AND LUNGE POSTURES (P