Practicing a 12-week online yoga program may bring some relief to knee osteoarthritis patients, reports a new study.
A randomized trial of adults with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis found that a 12-week online yoga program improved knee function in participants. However, the program did not significantly improve knee pain while walking. conclusion . are published in History of internal medicine.
Benefits of Exercise Osteoarthritis of the Knee
Osteoarthritis of the knee is a major contributor to pain and disability. Exercise can improve pain, function, muscle strength and quality of life in people with osteoarthritis of the knee and is universally recommended.
Yoga is an increasingly popular low-impact exercise that combines both static and dynamic postures with mindfulness strategies, making it a potentially beneficial exercise for people with knee osteoarthritis. However, limited low-quality research into knee osteoarthritis shows some benefit on pain, function, and knee stiffness from yoga programs delivered through supervised individual group classes.
Is Yoga Good for Osteoarthritis of the Knee?
Researchers from the University of Melbourne assigned 212 adults with knee osteoarthritis to complete a 12-week online yoga program with either an education component or online education only. They then compared the improvement in knee pain during walking and physical work at 12 and 24 weeks after starting the program.
The researchers found that participants assigned to yoga successfully completed two-thirds of the program and reported better knee function and less difficulty with function, compared to those only engaged in education. However, both groups reported similar levels of knee pain during walking.
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The authors note that knee function gains were not maintained among yoga program participants during the optional 12-week period following the initial mandatory program.
According to the authors, their findings suggest that An unsupervised online yoga program is possible and physical function has improved in 12 weeks while participants were engaged in the program. However, the improvement was modest and not continuous. They advise that additional research is needed to improve and maintain the effectiveness of online yoga programs.
Source: Eurekalert
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