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The following is a summary of “Key characteristics of effective yoga interventions for managing osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis,” published in the June 2024 issue of Rheumatology by Biswas et al.
Yoga has shown promising results in managing osteoarthritis (OA) symptoms like joint pain and function.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study analyzing effective yoga interventions for OA symptom management.
They followed JBI guidelines, in which 17 databases were searched for RCTs evaluating yoga’s impact on OA symptoms. Meta-analyses and narrative synthesis were performed to meet the study’s goals. The review included 18 articles, with 16 articles (representing 16 and 14 RCTs) in the meta-analysis.
The result showed low methodological quality scores in which 10 out of 14 yoga interventions significantly reduced pain (SMD −0.70; 95% CI−1.08, −0.32) and improved function (SMD −0.40; CI −0.75, −0.04), 8 effective interventions included center-based (supervised, group) sessions, while 6 featured additional home-based (unsupervised, individual) sessions. The effective interventions featured 34 yoga poses (12 sitting, 10 standing, 8 supine, 4 prone), 8 breathing exercises, and 3 meditation/relaxation practices. Additionally, 8 interventions utilized yoga poses, 7 incorporated breathing and meditation practices, and 4 adapted poses for OA. Center-based sessions lasted 8 weeks, each averaging 53 minutes, once a week. Home-based sessions usually spanned 10 weeks, with each session about 30 minutes, instructed to be practiced 4 times a week.
Investigators concluded that a high-quality long-term RCT was recommended, building on the effective components of previous yoga interventions for OA.
Source: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00296-024-05652-y
