Physical improvements after yoga for people with chronic stroke

Schmid AA, Miller KK, Van Puymbroeck M, Dierks TA, Alterburger P, Schalk N, Williams LS, DeBaun E, Damush TM. Physical improvements after yoga for people with chronic stroke. Medicine and science in sports and exercise. 2012 Jun 1; 44(5):S250.

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Abstract:

PURPOSE: Assess the impact of therapeutic-yoga on physical performance measures in people with chronic stroke. METHODS: Forty-seven individuals with stroke were recruited and randomized 3:1 to yoga or waitlist control. The yoga group completed one hour yoga sessions twice a week for 8 weeks. Yoga was taught by a certified yoga therapist and included modified physical postures, yoga breathing, bilateral movements, and concluded with relaxation while seated, standing, and supine. Assessments before and after the 8 weeks included: flexibility via passive range of motion (PROM) for the hamstrings (HS) and active range of motion (AROM) for hip flexion, cervical rotation, and cervical lateral flexion; strength with the chair to stand and arm curl and hip flexion manual muscle test; and endurance with a 6 minute walk. We compared groups with a t-test/Mann Whitney. We used paired t-tests/Wilcoxon non-parametric tests to compare baseline and 8-week data. RESULTS: The average age of participants completing the study was 64, 76% were male, and 63% were white. There were no differences in demographics or outcomes between the yoga and control groups. There were no improvements in the waitlist control group. In the yoga group (n = 29), improvements were found in flexibility with PROM and AROM, arm curl, and endurance, see Table. The chair to stand test and hip flexion AROM did not change (p > .05). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest therapeutic-yoga improved flexibility, arm strength, and endurance for individuals post-stroke. Therapeutic-yoga requires repetitive, slow and sustained muscle activation which may contribute to these findings. Further testing, however, is warranted as these findings are preliminary.