People with knee osteoarthritis can relieve pain by frequently doing yoga, new research has shown.
Academics have found that yoga is as effective as strengthening exercises for reducing pain caused by knee osteoarthritis.
Traditionally, the first-line treatment for joint pain caused by osteoarthritis (OA) is exercise therapy.
- Yoga can help women with urinary incontinence reduce episodes by 65%
- Altered states of consciousness from meditation and yoga prevalent among adults
Globally affecting more than 595 million people, OA is a degenerative joint disease in which the tissues in the joint break down over time.
Over the course of 12 weeks, yoga offers the same benefits as conventional strength exercises to people living with knee OA, the study has reported.
The authors said: “Integrating yoga into clinical practice, either as an alternative or complementary approach, could offer meaningful benefits for individuals with knee OA, such as noticeable improvements in knee pain, quality of life, and depression.”
Strength-based exercises can relieve knee OA pain by increasing muscle strength around the knee, in turn improving joint function.
Meanwhile, yoga helps with pain management by focusing on mindfulness, breathing techniques and physical postures to reduce stress and increase flexibility.
During the trial, the team of researchers analysed the health outcomes of 117 adults, all of whom reported knee pain levels of 40 or higher on a 100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS).
Approximately 58 of the group followed a yoga programme for 24 weeks, while 59 received strength training during the time period.
The results state: “Both groups reported lower pain scores but there was no significant difference in knee pain reduction between the yoga and strengthening groups as the average difference in pain scores was minimal (−1.1 mm).”
Read the study in the journal JAMA Network Open.
