Medical Xpress – Exercise therapy is suggested as a first-line treatment to improve joint pain and loss of function caused by osteoarthritis (OA), a musculoskeletal disorder that affects more than 595 million people worldwide.
Yoga and strengthening exercises are both known to be effective ways of managing knee OA, but is one better than the other?
A study that compared yoga and strengthening exercises head-to-head for knee OA found that despite their distinct mechanisms for relieving pain and improving physical function, neither was superior to the other.
Pain management in patients with knee OA improved over 12 weeks, and yoga was just as beneficial as conventional strength exercises, according to the results published in JAMA Network Open.
The researchers suggested 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.
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Evidence suggests that performing strength-based exercises can relieve pain due to mechanical stress by increasing muscle strength around the knee and improving joint function.
Yoga, on the other hand, focuses on breathing techniques, physical postures and mindfulness to reduce stress, increase flexibility, and help with pain management.
Clinical guidelines often recommend yoga to manage discomfort caused by knee OA.
However, there is a lack of high-quality evidence to support these recommendations, as many studies exploring the efficacy of yoga have involved small sample sizes …