Yoga Medical News Daily

Clinical trial focuses on Iyengar yoga for young people with rheumatoid arthritis

This clinical trial is currently recruiting participants at the UCLA Pediatric Pain Program Research Offices, Los Angeles, California, United States, 90064. "The purpose of the study is to compare a standardized 6 week Iyengar Yoga program (IYP) for adolescents and young adults with rheumatoid arthritis to a standard care wait-list condition. In addition to effects on function and pain, this study will explore intervention effects on disease activity, immune response, HRQOL, functionality, and mood. Results will shed light on the feasibility and potential efficacy of a novel intervention (Iyengar yoga) for rheumatoid arthritis symptoms."  

The intervention will include Iyengar Yoga classes twice a week for six weeks. Inclusion criteria for the trial: people with rheumatoid arthritis between the ages of 16-35. For additional details about inclusion as a well as exclusion criteria for participating in the study as well as the scope of the study see:  ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01096823.

Tai chi and rheumatoid arthritis

This study focused on the way Tai Chi group exercise impacted on disease activity, physical function, health status and experience in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Fifteen patients with rheumatoid arthritis were recruited from a rheumatology department into a single group study and instructed in Tai Chi exercise twice weekly for 12 weeks. 

"Assessments at baseline, 12 weeks, and 12 weeks follow-up were performed with a wide range of measures, including disease activity, self-reported health status, physical performance tests (Walking in Figure of Eight, Timed-Stands Test, and Shoulder Movement Impairment Scale). Qualitative data were obtained from a focus group interview conducted after completed intervention with taping and verbatim transcription. Review of the transcripts identified themes important to patients practicing Tai Chi."

"Within the group, Tai Chi practice lead to improved lower-limb muscle function at the end of intervention and at 12 weeks follow-up. Qualitative analyses showed that patients experienced improved physical condition, confidence in moving, balance and less pain during exercise and in daily life. Other experience included stress reduction, increased body awareness, confidence in moving and indicated that Tai Chi was a feasible exercise modality in RA. CONCLUSIONS: Improved muscle function in lower limbs was also reflected when patient experiences with Tai Chi were studied in depth in this explorative study. The combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods shows that Tai Chi has beneficial effects on health not related to disease activity and standardised health status assessment, and may contribute to an understanding of how Tai Chi exerts its effects." Abstract: PubMed. " Exploring Tai Chi in rheumatoid arthritis: a quantitative and qualitative study," BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders [2010 Mar 5;11(1):43]  Trial registration: NCT00522054.

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.

Benefits of yoga for rheumatoid arthritis: results of a preliminary, structured 8-week program

Done at the Dubai Bone and Joint Center, United Arab Emirates, and published in Rheumatology International,  this "pilot study of 12 sessions of yoga for RA was able to demonstrate statistically significant improvements in RA disease parameters. We believe that a longer duration of treatment could result in more significant improvements." Abstract:  PubMed.