Yoga Medical News Daily

Yoga Decreases Hyperkyphosis ["Dowager's hump"]: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial

This study headed by Gale A. Greendale with others at the Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, and published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (vol. 57, issue 9: 1569-1579; 21 July 2009), assesses "whether a specifically designed yoga intervention can reduce hyperkyphosis." The intervention involved the active treatment group receiving hour-long yoga classes 3 days per week for 24 weeks. The study concludes: "The decrease in flexicurve kyphosis angle in the yoga treatment group shows that hyperkyphosis is remediable, a critical first step in the pathway to treating or preventing this condition. Larger, more-definitive studies of yoga or other interventions for hyperkyphosis should be considered."  Abstract with link to full-text of article (for purchase): PubMed.

Yoga for Osteoporosis: A Pilot

The author Loren M. Fishman, MD describes in this article appearing in Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation (July/September 2009, vol. 33, issue 3, pp. 244-50) a pilot study involving eighteen patients with osteoporosis or osteopenia, average age 68.  After 10-minute daily yoga over a 2-year period, the yoga practitioners gained 0.76 and 0.94 for spine and hips, respectively on the T-scale. Conclusion: "Yoga appears to be an effective way to build bone mineral density after menopause."

Evaluation of the effectiveness and efficacy of iyengar yoga therapy on chronic low back pain

This study published in Spine (2009 Sept;34(19): 2066-76) concluded that yoga improves functional disability, pain intensity, and depression in adults with chronic low back pain. There was also a clinically important trend for the yoga group to reduce their pain medication usage compared to the control group. Abstract at: PubMed. More on these findings at: Yoga Can Ease Lower Back Pain, by Jennifer Thomas, HealthDay Reporter.

Effect of yoga on professional computer users

This study out of Bangalore, India, describes the assessment of professional computer users.  The Yoga Group did yoga 60 minutes daily for 5 days a week for 60 days and the Wait-List Group did their usual recreational activities (unspecified).  At the end of 60 days, the Yoga Group showed a significant decrease in the frequency, intensity and degree of interference due to musculoskeletal discomfort, an increase in bilateral hand grip strength, the right hand tapping speed, and low back and hamstring flexibility.  For details see the abstract at:  PubMed