Improving balance and mobility with a yoga program for older people

Can a 12 week yoga-based exercise program improve balance and mobility in older community-dwelling people?: a randomised controlled trial.

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ANZCTR

Registry ID

ACTRN12612001265864

Enrollment

Registered

2012-12-03

Start date

2011-12-15

Completion date

2012-03-22

Last updated

2020-01-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

This study aims to investigate the benefits of a yoga-based exercise program aimed at preventing falls in older people by improving their balance and mobility. The trial will evaluate the effect of a 12-week yoga program on balance and mobility in 54 older people, randomly split between two groups. The intervention group will participate in a twice weekly group-based program of yoga focusing on balance- challenging standing postures. An experienced yoga instructor will deliver the classes. The control group will receive information about falls risk factors and prevention, but will not participate in the classes. We expect that the yoga group participants will show significant improvements in measures of balance and mobility compared to the control group after the 12 week intervention period.

Interventions

12 weeks of twice-weekly group-based yoga focusing on standing postures that are likely to challenge balance such as one-legged standing and side lunges. Each class with last for 1 hour and will be supervised by a qualified yoga instructor experienced with running classes for older people. Participants will also be instructed to complete a set of the yoga poses at home twice weekly.

Study design

Allocation

Randomised controlled trial

Intervention model

Parallel

Primary purpose

Prevention

Masking

Blinded (masking used)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

59 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

People are eligible for inclusion if they are community-dwelling (not resident in a nursing home or hostel), aged 59 years or over, are cognitively intact (defined as a score of greater than or equal to 7 on the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire), are not currently taking part in yoga or Tai Chi classes and are willing and able to take part in 12 weeks of group-based yoga

Exclusion criteria

Insufficient English language skills to communicate over the telephone, a medical condition that precludes participation in a yoga program

Outcome results