1 1348 116 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 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 14 1757 27 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 15 2357 28 VARYING ALIGNMENT AFFECTS LOWER EXTREMITY JOINT AND LIMB LOADING DURING YOGA'S TRIANGLE (TRIKONASANA) POSE. BACKGROUND: LIMITED BIOMECHANICAL DATA EXIST DESCRIBING HOW YOGA ASANAS (POSTURES) LOAD THE LIMBS AND JOINTS, AND LITTLE EVIDENCE-BASED RECOMMENDATIONS FOR YOGA INJURY PREVENTION ARE AVAILABLE. THIS STUDY AIMED TO ESTABLISH JOINT LOADING METRICS FOR AN INJURY-PRONE, YET COMMON YOGA POSE, THE TRIANGLE ASANA (TRIKONASANA) BY IDENTIFYING HOW STANCE WIDTH ADJUSTMENTS ALTER LOWER EXTREMITY LOADING. METHODS: EIGHTEEN YOGA PRACTITIONERS UNDERWENT 3D MOTION ANALYSIS WHILE PERFORMING TRIKONASANA WITH SELF-SELECTED (SS) STANCE WIDTH AND -30, -20, -10, +10, +20, AND +30% OF SS STANCE WIDTH. GROUND REACTION FORCES (GRFS), JOINT FORCES, AND JOINT MOMENTS WERE CALCULATED FOR THE LEADING AND TRAILING LIMB ANKLE, KNEE, AND HIP. ONE-WAY REPEATED-MEASURES ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE DETERMINED DIFFERENCES IN LOADING DUE TO STANCE WIDTH. RESULTS: GRFS, NET JOINT FORCES, AND NET JOINT MOMENTS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECTED BY STANCE WIDTH WHERE INCREASING STANCE WIDTH INCREASED LEADING LIMB LOADING BUT DECREASED TRAILING LIMB LOADING. CONCLUSIONS: ALTERING STANCE WIDTH OF TRIKONASANA INFLUENCES LOWER EXTREMITY LIMB LOADING, AND THESE LOADING RESPONSES WERE LIMB-DEPENDENT. YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND INSTRUCTORS CAN USE THIS INFORMATION TO OBJECTIVELY SUPPORT INCREASING OR DECREASING STANCE WIDTH TO REDUCE OR INCREASE LIMB LOADING ACCORDING TO THEIR GOALS OR TO MAKE ACCOMMODATIONS TO GROUPS SUCH AS BEGINNERS OR AT-RISK POPULATIONS FOR SAFER, MORE ACCESSIBLE YOGA PRACTICES. CUING A WIDER OR NARROWER STANCE WIDTH WILL NOT HAVE THE SAME EFFECT ON BOTH LIMBS. 2022 16 1741 28 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 17 322 23 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 18 1766 22 POSTURAL CONTROL ADAPTATIONS IN YOGA SINGLE-LEG SUPPORT POSTURES: COMPARISON BETWEEN PRACTITIONERS AND NONPRACTITIONERS. THIS PAPER INVESTIGATES WHETHER A GROUP OF REGULAR YOGA PRACTITIONERS SHOWS POSTURAL CONTROL DIFFERENCES COMPARED WITH HEALTHY CONTROLS WHILE PERFORMING SINGLE-LEG YOGA POSTURES. TEN YOGA PRACTITIONERS WERE COMPARED WITH A CONTROL GROUP OF 10 NONPRACTITIONERS PERFORMING TWO SINGLE-LEG SUPPORT YOGA POSTURES: VRKSASANA (TREE POSTURE) AND NATARAJASANA (DANCER POSTURE). RAMBLING AND TREMBLING DECOMPOSITION OF THE CENTER OF PRESSURE TRAJECTORIES WAS IMPLEMENTED USING A GENETIC ALGORITHM SPECTRAL OPTIMIZATION THAT AVOIDS USING HORIZONTAL FORCES AND WAS VALIDATED WITH BIPEDAL POSTURE DATA. ADDITIONALLY, THE CENTER OF MASS WAS ESTIMATED FROM BODY KINEMATICS USING OPENSIM AND COMPARED WITH THE RAMBLING OUTPUTS. DURING NATARAJASANA, NO POSTURAL CONTROL ADAPTATIONS WERE OBSERVED. FOR VRKSASANA, THE YOGA PRACTITIONERS SHOWED A LOWER CENTER OF PRESSURE ELLIPSE CONFIDENCE INTERVAL AREA, CENTER OF PRESSURE ANTEROPOSTERIOR SD, AND SMALLER RAMBLING SD IN THE MEDIOLATERAL DIRECTION, SUGGESTING POSSIBLE SUPRASPINAL FEED-FORWARD MOTOR ADAPTATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH YOGA TRAINING. 2022 19 323 24 ANTHROPOMETRIC AND PHYSIOLOGIC PROFILES OF FEMALE PROFESSIONAL YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND ENERGY EXPENDITURE DURING ASANAS EXECUTION. AIM: THE PRESENT STUDY AIMED TO: 1) DEFINE THE ANTHROPOMETRIC AND PHYSIOLOGICAL PROFILES OF FEMALE PROFESSIONAL YOGA PRACTITIONER COMPARED TO THAT OF OTHER ATHLETES; 2) EVALUATE THE ENERGY EXPENDITURE (EE) DURING A YOGA SESSION. METHODS: THE PERCENTAGE FAT MASS (FM%) AND FAT FREE MASS (FFM%), THE MAXIMAL AEROBIC POWER (VO2MAX), THE MAXIMAL VOLUNTARY CONTRACTION (MVC) OF KNEE EXTENSOR MUSCLES AND THE MAXIMAL ANAEROBIC ALACTACID POWER (WMAX) WERE ASSESSED IN A GROUP OF YOGA PRACTITIONERS (YO), LONG DISTANCE RUNNERS (LDR), SPRINTERS (SPR), KARATE PRACTITIONERS (KA) AND SEDENTARY CONTROL SUBJECTS (CON). EE WAS EVALUATED IN YO DURING A YOGA SESSION (EXECUTION OF A SEQUENCE OF SIX YOGA POSTURES, CALLED ASANAS). RESULTS: FM% WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN CON (24.2+/-2.6%) THAN IN OTHER GROUPS (18+/-1.9%, POOLED DATA, P<0.05). FFM% DID NOT DIFFER AMONG GROUPS. VO2MAX WAS HIGHER IN LDR (55.6+/-1.8 ML MIN-1 KG-1) COMPARED TO OTHER GROUPS (41.7+/-3 ML MIN-1 KG-1, POOLED DATA, P<0.05). MVC AND WMAX WERE HIGHER IN YO, SPR AND KA THAN IN LDR AND CON (P<0.05). IN YO, EE INCREASED IN COMPARISON TO BASELINE, DURING SIRASANA EXECUTION ONLY (+59%, P<0.05). CONCLUSION: THESE DATA SUGGEST THAT CHRONIC YOGA PRACTICE IS ASSOCIATED WITH 1) VALUES OF FM%, FFM%, MVC AND WMAX SIMILAR TO THOSE INDUCED BY SPORTS REQUIRING HIGH DEGREE OF FORCE AND POWER OF LOWER LIMB MUSCLES, WITH MAXIMAL AEROBIC PERFORMANCE SIMILAR TO CONTROL SUBJECTS; 2) LOW EE DURING MOST ASANAS EXECUTION. 2015 20 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