Smartest Doc
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
The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 05/08/2012
Ebnezar J et al. – 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 osteoarthritis (OA) knees.
Methods- A prospective, randomized, active controlled trial.
- 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.
- 118 (yoga) and 117 (control) subjects were available for the final analysis.
- 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.