A few years ago during a workshop on Yoga for Neurological Disorders, I did my first real session of chair yoga (see In Praise of Chair Yoga). I was eating a little humble pie during the practice, as some of the poses were more strenuous than I was expecting! I quickly realized that chair yoga is some powerful stuff, as it allows people who can’t stand to continue moving their joints through their range of motion, which can help with strength, flexibility and joint health.Now a recent study in the Journal of American Geriatrics Society A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effects of Chair Yoga on Pain and Physical Function Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults With Lower Extremity Osteoarthritis has showed through a randomized controlled trial that chair yoga is indeed effective in reducing pain and fatigue, and improving gait speed in older adults who have osteoarthritis of the hip, knee, ankle or foot so cannot participate in standing exercises.In the study, 131 older adults were randomly assigned to an eight-week program of chair yoga (66) or a Health Education Program (65). Measurements were taken of pain levels and pain interference (how pain hinders normal activities). They also measured balance, gait speed, fatigue, and functional ability. They took these measurements at the beginning of the session, after four weeks, at the end of the eight-week session and 1 and 3 months after the session. Here’s are their conclusions:“An 8-week chair yoga program was associated with reduction in pain, pain interference, and fatigue, and improvement in gait speed, but only the effects on pain interference were sustained 3 months post intervention. Chair yoga should be further explored as a nonpharmacologic intervention for older people with OA in the lower extremities.”Those are some significant benefits! And it’s not all surprising that most of the benefits were not sustained after the eight-week program was over. After all, none of us think that practicing yoga for eight weeks is going to fix you up for life. I think we all understand that practicing yoga for arthritis is an ongoing process.And as for the statement that “Chair yoga should be further explored as a nonpharmacologic intervention for older people with OA in the lower extremities,” we’re already doing that in the yoga world and have been for decades!It's true that some of these scientific studies on the benefits of yoga seem like they're "proving" the obvious, but I think it's always a good thing to have solid proof like this available when we want to try to convince those who are reluctant to give yoga a try.Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email ° Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook ° Join this site with Google Friend Connect
Fitness Magazine
by NinaA few years ago during a workshop on Yoga for Neurological Disorders, I did my first real session of chair yoga (see In Praise of Chair Yoga). I was eating a little humble pie during the practice, as some of the poses were more strenuous than I was expecting! I quickly realized that chair yoga is some powerful stuff, as it allows people who can’t stand to continue moving their joints through their range of motion, which can help with strength, flexibility and joint health.Now a recent study in the Journal of American Geriatrics Society A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effects of Chair Yoga on Pain and Physical Function Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults With Lower Extremity Osteoarthritis has showed through a randomized controlled trial that chair yoga is indeed effective in reducing pain and fatigue, and improving gait speed in older adults who have osteoarthritis of the hip, knee, ankle or foot so cannot participate in standing exercises.In the study, 131 older adults were randomly assigned to an eight-week program of chair yoga (66) or a Health Education Program (65). Measurements were taken of pain levels and pain interference (how pain hinders normal activities). They also measured balance, gait speed, fatigue, and functional ability. They took these measurements at the beginning of the session, after four weeks, at the end of the eight-week session and 1 and 3 months after the session. Here’s are their conclusions:“An 8-week chair yoga program was associated with reduction in pain, pain interference, and fatigue, and improvement in gait speed, but only the effects on pain interference were sustained 3 months post intervention. Chair yoga should be further explored as a nonpharmacologic intervention for older people with OA in the lower extremities.”Those are some significant benefits! And it’s not all surprising that most of the benefits were not sustained after the eight-week program was over. After all, none of us think that practicing yoga for eight weeks is going to fix you up for life. I think we all understand that practicing yoga for arthritis is an ongoing process.And as for the statement that “Chair yoga should be further explored as a nonpharmacologic intervention for older people with OA in the lower extremities,” we’re already doing that in the yoga world and have been for decades!It's true that some of these scientific studies on the benefits of yoga seem like they're "proving" the obvious, but I think it's always a good thing to have solid proof like this available when we want to try to convince those who are reluctant to give yoga a try.Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email ° Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook ° Join this site with Google Friend Connect
A few years ago during a workshop on Yoga for Neurological Disorders, I did my first real session of chair yoga (see In Praise of Chair Yoga). I was eating a little humble pie during the practice, as some of the poses were more strenuous than I was expecting! I quickly realized that chair yoga is some powerful stuff, as it allows people who can’t stand to continue moving their joints through their range of motion, which can help with strength, flexibility and joint health.Now a recent study in the Journal of American Geriatrics Society A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effects of Chair Yoga on Pain and Physical Function Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults With Lower Extremity Osteoarthritis has showed through a randomized controlled trial that chair yoga is indeed effective in reducing pain and fatigue, and improving gait speed in older adults who have osteoarthritis of the hip, knee, ankle or foot so cannot participate in standing exercises.In the study, 131 older adults were randomly assigned to an eight-week program of chair yoga (66) or a Health Education Program (65). Measurements were taken of pain levels and pain interference (how pain hinders normal activities). They also measured balance, gait speed, fatigue, and functional ability. They took these measurements at the beginning of the session, after four weeks, at the end of the eight-week session and 1 and 3 months after the session. Here’s are their conclusions:“An 8-week chair yoga program was associated with reduction in pain, pain interference, and fatigue, and improvement in gait speed, but only the effects on pain interference were sustained 3 months post intervention. Chair yoga should be further explored as a nonpharmacologic intervention for older people with OA in the lower extremities.”Those are some significant benefits! And it’s not all surprising that most of the benefits were not sustained after the eight-week program was over. After all, none of us think that practicing yoga for eight weeks is going to fix you up for life. I think we all understand that practicing yoga for arthritis is an ongoing process.And as for the statement that “Chair yoga should be further explored as a nonpharmacologic intervention for older people with OA in the lower extremities,” we’re already doing that in the yoga world and have been for decades!It's true that some of these scientific studies on the benefits of yoga seem like they're "proving" the obvious, but I think it's always a good thing to have solid proof like this available when we want to try to convince those who are reluctant to give yoga a try.Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email ° Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook ° Join this site with Google Friend Connect
