Yoga Medical News Daily

Yoga for quality of life and balance in postmenopausal osteoporosis

There are several reasons to practice yoga, if you are postmenopausal and have osteopenia or osteoporosis: yoga has been shown to maintain and even build bone mineral density. 

In addition, as researchers from Istanbul University, Turkey, point out in this study, yoga also offers "a positive effect on balance, posture, flexibility, and life quality resulting from its effects on balance, stretching, relaxation and strengthening."

The aim of their study was "to evaluate the effect of yoga exercises in postmenopausal osteoporotic women on balance and life quality and to compare the results with a classic osteoporosis exercise program."  Twenty-six postmenopausal osteoporotic women over 55 years of age were studied with results showing the positive effects of yoga on balance, pain, and general health. Abstact: PubMed. Article by Tüzün S, Aktas I, Akarirmak U, Sipahi S, Tüzün F, European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine [2010 Feb 18 - Epub ahead of print]

A 12-week Pilates program increases abdominal endurance, flexibility and more

 A forthcoming study by J.A. Kloubec to be published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research describes a 12-week study to determine the effects of a Pilates exercise program on abdominal endurance, hamstring flexibility, upper-body muscular endurance, posture, and balance. Fifty healthy male and female volunteers were divided into a control and a Pilates group. Participants were asked to have "no prior substantive Pilates experience."

Meeting for one hour, twice a week, the Pilates group participated in a basic mat routine consisting of approximately 25 separate exercises focusing on muscular endurance and flexibility of the abdomen, low back, and hips.

At the end of 12 weeks, the Pilates group showed, as compared to the control group, "statistically significant increases in abdominal endurance, hamstring flexibility, and upper-body muscular endurance. Participants did not demonstrate improvements in either posture or balance when compared with the control group." The study clearly demonstrated that "individuals can improve their muscular endurance and flexibility using relatively low-intensity Pilates exercises that do not require equipment or a high degree of skill and are easy to master and use within a personal fitness routine."  

The study suggests that more studies similar to this one might provide a better understanding of ways to improve overall athletic performance, as well as benefit those suffering from low back pain and spinal structural problems. Abstract for "Pilates for Improvement of Muscle Endurance, Flexibility, Balance, and Posture" at: PubMed.  Photo by khatawat. 

Yoga breathing exercises improve pulmonary function in bronchial asthma patients

The role of yoga breathing exercises, as an adjunct treatment for bronchial asthma is well recognized. In this study120 asthma patients were randomized into a yoga training group and a control group.  

Pulmonary function tests were performed on all the patients at the beginning of the study, after 4 weeks and then after 8 weeks. The subjects in the yoga group showed statistically significant improvements as compared to the non-yoga group. 

The research results suggest that "yoga breathing exercises used adjunctively with standard pharmacological treatment significantly improves pulmonary functions in patients with bronchial asthma."  Abstract: PubMed. Article: "A study of the effect of yoga training on pulmonary functions in patients with bronchial asthma," by Sodhi C, Singh S, Dandona PK., Department of Physiology, Christian Medical College, Ludhiana, Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology [2009 Apr-Jun;53(2):169-74]

Study finds Tai Chi practitioners have better stability and overall body awareness

Conducted by researchers in the Department of Health Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden, this study investigated stability limits, single-leg jumping, and body awareness in older Tai Chi practitioners. Set at the University-based rehabilitation center, participants included 24 Tai Chi practitioners and 20 healthy control subjects.

"Measures included the following: (1) subjects' intentional weight shifting to 8 different spatial positions within their base of support using the limits of stability test, (2) the ability to leave the floor in single-leg jumping and to maintain balance on landing using force platform measurements, and (3) body awareness and movement behaviors using the Body Awareness Scale-Health (BAS-H)."  

The findings showed that Tai Chi practitioners had a significantly better ability to lean further without losing stability and better directional control. They were also better able to jump off the floor; better able to maintain a longer single-leg stance after landing; and had better overall body awareness. Abstract: PubMed. Article by Gyllensten AL, Hui-Chan CW, Tsang WW,"Stability Limits, Single-Leg Jump, and Body Awareness in Older Tai Chi Practitioners," Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation [2010 Feb;91(2):215-220]   Photo by Diana bella.

First of several UCLA Family Commons Wellness Centers opens in Santa Monica

Earlier this month the first of a series of UCLA Family Commons Wellness Centers for the greater Los Angeles area, opened in Santa Monica. The Centers are designed to offer "accessible, science-based tools aimed to promote healthy lifestyles to kids, parents, families and the community by teaching people of all ages to discover their individual potential for well-being." 

The programs offered at the Santa Monica Center include a wide selection of yoga classes, such as Yogis Anonymous (a donation-based yoga program with some of LA's most experienced yoga teachers); yoga for kids 4-10; mommy and me (2-4) yoga; and coming soon, family yoga classes. 

Also offered are an array of Mindful Awareness classes, including those for children 9-12; for teens 13-18; family-focused classes in mindful eating; mommy and me mindfulness and movement together; mindful parenting; and community mindful awareness classes.

This is a project of the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. Support also provided in part by the Pioneer Portfolio of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 

Review of research studies on yoga and its health benefits

This research studies review by Alyson Ross, M.S.N., R.N., and Sue Thomas, F.A.A.N., Ph.D., R.N., of the School of Nursing, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD., compared the effects of yoga and exercise on a variety of health outcomes and conditions. The authors used 81 studies that met their criteria and found that "yoga interventions appeared to be equal or superior to exercise in nearly every outcome measured except those involving physical fitness." 

The studies reviewed documented previous research that showed yoga is equal or superior to exercise in relieving certain symptoms associated with diabetes, multiple sclerosis, menopause, kidney disease, and schizophrenia. And as with exercise, yoga has been found to benefit blood glucose levels in individuals with diabetes. In addition, yoga has been shown to be effective in relieving symptoms of depression, anxiety, obsessive–compulsive disorder, and schizophrenia. 

The review concluded that "in both healthy and diseased populations, yoga may be as effective as or better than exercise at improving a variety of health-related outcome measures." Abstract: PubMed.  Article: "The Health Benefits of Yoga and Exercise: A Review of Comparison Studies," Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine [2010 Jan;16(1):3-12]. Photo by The U.S.Army.

Pilates assists in the prevention of neck-shoulder disorders

If you have occasional or chronic neck-shoulder pain, Pilates workouts may help, primarily because they focus on posture, flexibility, segmental alignment and core control. 

In a recent 12-week study (Abstract: PubMed. Article: "The effects of a Pilates training program on arm-trunk posture and movement," Clinical Biomechanics (Bristol, Avon) [2010 Feb;25(2):124-130] researchers sought to determine the effect of a Pilates training program on arm-trunk posture, strength, flexibility and biomechanical patterns. Nineteen subjects (9 in the control group, 10 in the experimental group) were assessed twice, 12 weeks apart, during which the experimental group was submitted to a Pilates training program of two 1-hour sessions a week. 

"The assessment consisted of trials of seated posture, abdominal strength, shoulder range of motion, and maximal shoulder flexion, during which neck, shoulder and trunk kinematics and the activity of 16 muscles were recorded." The findings by the researchers suggested that the "Pilates training program was effective in improving abdominal strength and upper spine posture as well as in stabilizing core posture as shoulder flexion movements were performed. Since deficits in these functional aspects have previously been associated with symptoms in the neck-shoulder region, our results support the use of Pilates in the prevention of neck-shoulder disorders."   Photo by rozic's photostream

Exercise programs for the institutionalized elderly do make a difference

This randomized controlled trial conducted in France assessed the effects of targeted exercise programs versus usual care based on the ability to perform activities of daily living and on the Neuropsychiatric Inventory scores of geriatric institutionalized persons. Two exercise programs versus usual care were conducted on 160 institutionalized persons 65 years or older who were able to understand basic motor commands and to move from one position to another.

Interventions performed over 6 months included either an adapted tai chi program (4 times 30 min/wk) or a cognition-action program (2 times 30-45 min/wk) that focused primarily on an adapted guidance of patient-centered communication skills.  

The control group, which received no exercise and the usual care, experienced a decline in activities of daily living over the 12-month period compared with the adapted tai chi and cognition-action groups. Also, the components such as ability to walk, continence, and nutrition, were maintained better in the intervention groups than in the control group. The total Neuropsychiatric Inventory score also worsened significantly in the control group, but was unchanged or improved in the intervention groups.

Conclusion: "Adapted exercise programs can slow down the decline in health-related quality of life among heterogeneous, institutionalized elderly persons."  

Abstract: PubMed. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00623532. "Effects of exercise programs to prevent decline in health-related quality of life in highly deconditioned institutionalized elderly persons: a randomized controlled trial," Archives of Internal Medicine [2010 Jan 25;170(2):162-9]  Photo by Let Ideas Compete

Recent yoga books addressing specific health conditions

Current medical research articles detail the health benefits of yoga practice for a variety of health issues. These include pain relief, improved flexibility, bone health, and/or support for an overall better quality lifestyle. Here is a small selection of books, many very well illustrated, that focus on the use of yoga for a specific condition. With the exception of The Yoga for Osteoporosis by Dr. Loren Fishman and Ellen Saltonstall which will be published in March 2010, all of the titles are currently in print.

Yoga as Medicine: The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing, by the Yoga Journal and Timothy McCall. Bantam;  2007. Included are twenty chapters featuring noted yoga instructors describing their approaches to specific conditions—panic attacks, carpal tunnel syndrome, depression, infertility, cancer, etc. They offer advice, rather than fixed protocols.      

Yoga for Arthritis: The Complete Guide, by Loren Fishman MD and Ellen Saltonstall. W. W. Norton & Company, 2008. This heavily illustrated guide helps readers understand arthritis and gives a spectrum of exercises for beginners and experts. Broken down into chapters focusing on each major joint, there are 100 classical yoga poses and numerous imaginative and physiologically sound adapted poses, all with step-by-step instructions and photo demonstrations.

Yoga for Osteoporosis: The Complete Guide, by Loren Fishman MD  and Ellen Saltonstall. W. W. Norton & Company — forthcoming publication date: March 29, 2010. Offers a medical yoga program designed for the management and prevention of osteoporosis, with hundreds of illustrations. Classical yoga poses, as well as physiologically sound adapted poses, are presented with detailed instructions and photographs. 

Yoga for Anxiety: Meditations and Practices for Calming the Body and Mind, by Mary Nurriestearns and Rick Nurriestearns, New Harbinger Publications 2010. Mary NurrieStearns, a psychotherapist and yoga teacher, and Rick NurrieStearns, a meditation teacher, present self-healing techniques for generalized anxiety disorder drawn from the yogic tradition.

Yoga for Pain Relief: Simple Practices to Calm Your Mind & Heal Your Chronic Pain, by Kelly McGonical.  New Harbinger Publications, 2009. Stanford psychology instructor and well-known yoga teacher Kelly McGonigal shows readers how yoga and the latest skills drawn from mind-body research can help alleviate chronic pain.

Yoga for Movement Disorders: Rebuilding Strength, Balance and Flexibility for Parkinson's Disease and Dystonia (Spiral-bound), by Renee Le Verrier. Merit Publishing, 2008. Designed for people with dystonia, muscle imbalance, rigidity, and spasms due to such causes as Parkinson's, stroke, and multiple sclerosis. The focus is on rebuilding strength and flexibility as well as physical and emotional balance. The author is a certified yoga instructor and a Parkinson's Disease patient. She specilizes in teaching yoga to movement disordered patients. Foreword by Dr. Lewis Sudarsky, Director of the Movement Disorder Clinic at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston; Associate Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School.

Yoga and Multiple Sclerosis: A Journey to Health and Healing, by Loren Martin Fishman MD, and Eric Small. Demos Health, 2007. Designed to manage symptoms, raise functional abilities. Co-author Eric Small was diagnosed with MS at the age of 22, and soon after became a serious student of Iyengar yoga, which has helped him greatly with the effects of his illness. He has been teaching yoga since the mid-1960s. 

Healing Addiction with Yoga: A Yoga Program for People in 12-Step Recovery, by Annalisa Cunningham, Findhorn Press, 3rd ed., 2010. The author is a certified yoga teacher and a communications teacher with a background in counseling. The book presents a 21-day yoga regimen using relaxation techniques, nutrition and lifestyle suggestions, aerobic activities, and journal writing, all geared to incorporate the 12-step philosophy into yoga practice. The featured poses are drawn from the popular hatha yoga tradition. Newly updated and revised.

Yogi Baron Baptiste unveils My MS Yoga to help people with multiple sclerosis

On January 11, 2010, Biogen Idec, a global company focused on the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of innovative therapies, and its partner Elan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that Baron Baptiste, founder of Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga, and Dr. Elliot Frohman, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Multiple Sclerosis Program and Clinical Center at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, have teamed up to develop My MS Yoga, a new program created especially for people with multiple sclerosis. 

My MS Yoga is an at-home exercise program that can be tailored to meet MS patients’ needs depending on how they are feeling on any given day. A free copy of the My MS Yoga DVD can be ordered from the My MS Yoga site.

Biogen Idec also announced recently Dr. John Richert will join the company from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, where he served as executive vice president for Research and Clinical Programs. Dr. Nancy Richert M.D., Ph.D., will also be joining Biogen Idec; most recently she served as a staff clinician at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and on the consulting staff at the Children's National Medical Center.