Improvement in hand grip strength in normal volunteers and rheumatoid arthritis patients following yoga training.
Dash M, Telles S.
Swami Vivekananda Yoga Research Foundation, No. # 9, 1st Main, Chamarajpet, Bangalore-560 018.
Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 2001 Jul;45(3):355-60
The present study aimed at assessing the effects of a set of yoga practices on normal adults (n = 37), children (n = 86), and patients with rheumatoid arthritis (n = 20). An equal number of normal adults, children, and patients with rheumatoid arthritis who did not practice yoga were studied under each category, forming respective control groups. Yoga and control group subjects were assessed at baseline and after varying intervals, as follows, adults after 30 days, children after 10 days and patients after 15 days, based on the duration of the yoga program, which they attended, which was already fixed. Hand grip strength of both hands, measured with a grip dynamometer, increased in normal adults and children, and in rheumatoid arthritis patients, following yoga, but not in the corresponding control groups, showing no re-test effect. Adult female volunteers and patients showed a greater percentage improvement than corresponding adult males. This gender-based difference was not observed in children. Hence yoga practice improves hand grip strength in normal persons and in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, though the magnitude of improvement varies with factors such as gender and age.
Spine curvature with age
Among a group of elderly study participants, those who did yoga for six months saw their upper spine curve lowered by about 5 percent compared to those who did no yoga, Dr. Gail Greendale, at the University of California at Los Angeles report those with greater spinal flexibility showed a 6 percent improvement in their upper spine curve, which suggests yoga "when the spine is relatively more malleable" may be most effective. Dr. Gail Greendale took regular measurements of the upper spine curvature of 118 otherwise healthy individuals with indicators of moderate hyperkyphosis - the medical term for dowager's hump. The study group was mostly -- 81 percent -- female, about 75 years old on average, and reported almost no physical limitations. On 3 days each week for 6 months, 58 individuals took yoga classes using breathing techniques and poses to increase awareness, flexibility, and strength of their back muscles. The remaining 60 participants (the control group) attended 6 monthly informational luncheons. Compared with spinal curve measures at study entry, the yoga group showed decrease spinal curvature, while the control group had increased curvature, after 6 months. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, September 2009.
