The following is a summary of “Comparative study of role of physiotherapy alone versus physiotherapy combined with yoga in rehabilitation after a sports injury. What can a primary physician offer?,” published in the December 2022 issue of Primary care by Rai, et al.

Physiotherapy is used in the posttraumatic rehabilitation of sports injuries. Additionally, frequent physiotherapy is a key component of nonsurgical treatment for sports injuries. In addition to routine physiotherapy, researchers, for a study, sought to assess the benefits of yoga on these individuals.

In the current comparison study, they compared the outcomes for 212 patients who underwent nonsurgical treatment for a variety of knee injuries between conventional physical therapy alone and physical therapy coupled with yoga. After receiving approval from the hospital’s ethics committee and patients’ signed informed permission, the study was carried out. Group C (Conventional) and group Y (Yoga group) were the two groups where the patients were placed. In contrast to the yoga group, which got supplemental yoga once daily from a yoga specialist throughout their hospital stay, the patients in the standard group underwent a physiotherapy rehabilitation program. When they got home, they gave them written instructions and pictures of the yoga poses and told them to practice them three times a week. Data on the WOMAC score were gathered 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months after the hospital release date.

The WOMAC scale’s pain, stiffness, and function subscales all indicated a substantial improvement (P< 0.05) in the yoga group’s patients. On the seventh post-injury day, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months after the initial injury, they substantially decreased pain and stiffness compared with the normal or conventional group.

In the study, frequent physiotherapy in conjunction with yoga produced higher functional results than physiotherapy alone.

Reference: journals.lww.com/jfmpc/Fulltext/2022/12000/Comparative_study_of_role_of_physiotherapy_alone.22.aspx