Effect of yoga on menopausal symptoms

Joshi, Sulabha; Khandwe, Rambhau; Bapat, Dinesh; Deshmukh, Ujwala

doi:10.1258/mi.2011.011020

Cited by 49 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…[33][34][35] Several things are worth noting about our findings. First, we found meaningful reductions in hot flashes despite attendance at the classes being suboptimal and lower than in other studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 61%

“…Two uncontrolled studies of yoga interventions found reductions in hot flashes. 31,32 Studies employing various control groups have also showed promising results, but have used very intensive yoga interventions (at least 5 days per week), 33,34 did not measure daily hot flashes, [33][34][35] combined the yoga intervention with education, 33 or lacked an attention control group. 36 The objective of the current study was to obtain preliminary data on the efficacy of yoga for reducing self-reported menopausal hot flashes in a randomized study that included an attention control group and measured daily hot flashes.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Pilot Study of Integral Yoga for Menopausal Hot Flashes

AvisNancy

LegaultClaudine

RussellGregory

et al. 2014

The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine

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Objective-To obtain preliminary data on the efficacy of yoga for reducing self-reported menopausal hot flashes in a randomized study including an attention control group.Methods-We randomized 54 women late perimenopausal (2-12 months of amenorrhea) and postmenopausal women (12 or more months of amenorrhea), aged 45-58 years, with at least 4 hot flashes per day on average, for at least 4 weeks, to one of three groups: yoga, health and wellness education (HW) classes, and a wait list (WL) control group. Yoga and HW classes consisted of weekly 90 minute classes for 10 weeks. All women completed daily hot flash diaries throughout the trial (10 weeks) to track frequency and severity of hot flashes. The mean hot flash index score is based on the number of mild, moderate, severe and very severe hot flashes.Results-Hot flash frequency declined significantly over time for all three groups with the strongest decline during the first week. There was no overall significant difference in hot flash frequency decrease over time by treatment groups, but the yoga and HW groups followed similar patterns and both showed greater decreases than the WL group. By week 10, women in the yoga group reported a decrease of approximately 66% in hot flash frequency, 63% in HW, and 36% in the WL group. The hot flash index showed a similar pattern. Conclusions-Resultssuggest that yoga can serve as a behavioral option for reducing hot flashes, but they also suggest that yoga may not offer any advantage over other types of interventions.Keywords vasomotor symptoms; yoga; hot flashes; menopause Hot flashes and/or night sweats (vasomotor symptoms) are the most common and troubling symptoms associated with menopause and are experienced by 64% to 80% of women undergoing natural menopause and almost all women who undergo surgical menopause. [1][2][3] For many women, these symptoms are frequent and severe enough to become debilitating and impact their quality of life. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Hot flashes are one of the chief menopausal complaints Direct Correspondence to: Nancy E. Avis, PhD, Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Medical Center Blvd., Winston-Salem, NC 27157, navis@wakehealth.edu The objective of the current study was to obtain preliminary data on the efficacy of yoga for reducing self-reported menopausal hot flashes in a randomized study that included an attention control group and measured daily hot flashes. Attention control groups are important to help understand the true impact of an active intervention. We hypothesized that women participating in a yoga intervention would achieve a greater reduction in subjective hot flash frequency and severity than women in an educational control group or a waitlist control group. As a pilot study, we also sought to examine the effect of yoga on selfreported hot flash interference, sleep, anxiety, depressive symptoms, perceived stress, and quality of life; and to track the recruitment, retention, and adherence to the protocol. METHODS Study Desig...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 61%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Pilot Study of Integral Yoga for Menopausal Hot Flashes

AvisNancy

LegaultClaudine

RussellGregory

et al. 2014

The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Pilot study of integral yoga for menopausal hot flashes

Avis

Legault²,

Russell³

et al. 2014

Menopause

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Objective To obtain preliminary data on the efficacy of yoga for reducing self-reported menopausal hot flashes in a randomized study including an attention control group. Methods We randomized 54 women late perimenopausal (2–12 months of amenorrhea) and postmenopausal women (12 or more months of amenorrhea), aged 45–58 years, with at least 4 hot flashes per day on average, for at least 4 weeks, to one of three groups: yoga, health and wellness education (HW) classes, and a wait list (WL) control group. Yoga and HW classes consisted of weekly 90 minute classes for 10 weeks. All women completed daily hot flash diaries throughout the trial (10 weeks) to track frequency and severity of hot flashes. The mean hot flash index score is based on the number of mild, moderate, severe and very severe hot flashes. Results Hot flash frequency declined significantly over time for all three groups with the strongest decline during the first week. There was no overall significant difference in hot flash frequency decrease over time by treatment groups, but the yoga and HW groups followed similar patterns and both showed greater decreases than the WL group. By week 10, women in the yoga group reported a decrease of approximately 66% in hot flash frequency, 63% in HW, and 36% in the WL group. The hot flash index showed a similar pattern. Conclusions Results suggest that yoga can serve as a behavioral option for reducing hot flashes, but they also suggest that yoga may not offer any advantage over other types of interventions.

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“…Yoga has also been cited as a beneficial modality in the reduction of symptoms related to various autoimmune disorders, diseases, hormonal shifts, recovery processes (such as chemotherapy) and other stress-induced ailments (Curtis, 2011;Hedge, 2011;Joshi, 2011;Singh, 2011). Patients recovering from cancer found improved sleep, energy levels, mood, and reductions of cancer-related symptomology as compared to patients not receiving a yoga intervention (Bower, 2005;Cohen, 2004).…”

Section: The Science Of Yoga: Modern Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sirsasana (headstand) technique alters head/neck loading: Considerations for safety

Hector

Jensen

2015

Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies

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Headstand, the king of all yoga poses, requires practitioners to support the full body with the forearms and crown of the head. A goal of novice and expert practitioners alike, sirsasana performance technique significantly modifies head and neck loads. This study examined the weight-bearing responsibility of the head and neck (separate from the arms) at moments of peak force during entry, stability, and exit of three typical performance methods. The three methods were: symmetrical extended leg (SE), symmetrical flexed leg (SF), and asymmetrical flexed leg (AF). Three groups of 15 participants each (2 males, 13 females) were formed, each group performing one technique. All 45 subjects (18-60 years of age) reported an active yoga practice including sirsasana with no record of cervical injury. After a 10 min warm up, participants performed three headstands.Kinematic and kinetic Vicon data were analyzed to locate peak forces acting on the head, loading rate of those forces, center of pressure, and neck angle at C3 in the frontal plane.Force plate data revealed flexed leg techniques produced the greatest forces during entry and nominal forces on exit. The SE condition produced lower forces on entry as well as vi slower loading rates during stability. In the frontal plane, neck angle about C3 tended towards neutral, or natural cervical lordosis, in SE and flexion in SF and AF during entry.COP showed no significant differences between groups; however, lateral movement at the apex of the head was markedly larger than movement in the sagittal plane for all techniques. Previous research has shown flexed loading, rapid loading and larger loads can increase potential damage to the cervical spine especially in women and aging individuals. As that population is heavily represented in yoga studios, the data support the conclusion that modifying headstand technique may reduce some of the mechanical risks of headstand.vii Since its introduction into American culture just over a century ago, yoga has gained popularity as a modern method of obtaining states of meditation, wellness and physical fitness. Now a 6 billion dollar industry, this ancient mind-body practice has more than 15.8 million Americans regularly coming to their mats to reap the studied stress-relieving benefits of practice (YIAS, 2008). Practitioners pour into yoga studios to perform complex postures and conscious breathing exercises shown to collectively reduce stress, improve mood, bolster immunity, increase flexibility, improve sleep and aid in recovery processes (Curtis, 2011;Cohen, 2004;Bower, 2005;Gururaja, 2011;Hegde, 2011). However as the study of physiological aspects of yoga move forward in the scientific literature, the biomechanical aspects of what actually takes place on the mat are being ignored. Yoga practices often ask the body to move into uncommon positions.Inquiry into the structural impact of these potentially more risky positions is needed due to the repetitive nature of yoga practice, the lack of biomechanical research in this arena, and yoga...

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Effect of yoga on menopausal symptoms

Abstract: Yoga is effective in reducing menopausal symptoms and should be considered as alternative therapy for the management of menopausal symptoms.

Cited by 49 publications

References 9 publications

A Pilot Study of Integral Yoga for Menopausal Hot Flashes

A Pilot Study of Integral Yoga for Menopausal Hot Flashes

Pilot study of integral yoga for menopausal hot flashes

Sirsasana (headstand) technique alters head/neck loading: Considerations for safety

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