Yoga improves symptoms and mood for people with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis
Yoga may be a safe and effective way to improve the quality of life of people with different types of arthritis, suggests research in the Journal of Rheumatology.
A US team took 75 adults (average age 52 years) who had rheumatoid arthritis (49%) or knee osteoarthritis (51%) and randomly split them into groups for eight weeks. One group had yoga (two 60 minute classes and one home practice each week) and the other group were put on the waiting list. Yoga poses were modified for individual needs.
The volunteers were screened by their doctors before joining the study and continued to take their regular arthritis medication throughout.
The physical and mental wellbeing of the volunteers was assessed at the beginning and end of the study, and nine months later.
Results
After eight weeks, people who practiced yoga had about a 20% improvement in physical health and similar improvements in pain, energy, mood and carrying out daily activities.
Walking speed improved to a smaller extent, but there was little difference between the groups in tests of balance and upper body strength. Improvements in those who completed the yoga sessions were still apparent nine months later.
“Yoga may be especially well suited to people with arthritis because it combines physical activity with potent stress management and relaxation techniques, and focuses on respecting limitations that can change from day to day,” explains Dr Susan Bartlett, one of the authors.
The study is believed to be the largest randomised trial so far to look at the effect of yoga on physical and psychological health and quality of life of people with arthritis.
Implications
Dr Clifton Bingham who is involved in the work comments:
“For people with other conditions, yoga has been shown to improve pain, pain-related disability and mood. But there were no well-controlled trial of yoga that could tell us if it was safe and effective for people with arthritis, and many health professionals have concerns about how yoga might affect vulnerable joints given the emphasis on changing positions and on being flexible.
“Our first step was to ensure that yoga was reasonable and safe option for people with arthritis. Our instructors were experienced yoga therapists with additional training to modify poses to accommodate individual abilities.”
The team developed a checklist to make it easier for doctors to safely recommend yoga to people with arthritis.
“Find a teacher who asks the right questions about limitations and works closely with you as an individual,” advises Dr Bingham. “Start with gentle yoga classes. Practice acceptance of where you are and what your body can do on any given day.”
Click here to read the original research.
Image credit: Tony and Debbie
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