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Yoga vs. Education for Restless Legs Syndrome: a Feasibility Study

Yoga vs. Education for Restless Legs Syndrome - a Feasibility Study

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03570515
Enrollment
41
Registered
2018-06-27
Start date
2015-02-15
Completion date
2021-08-15
Last updated
2023-07-11

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

Conditions

Restless Legs Syndrome

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to see whether adults with Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) are willing to be in a 12-week study where they have a 50-50 chance of being placed in either a gentle yoga program or a film-based education program designed for people with RLS. If so, do they complete the program, and does their RLS, sleep, mood, or quality of life improve?

Interventions

BEHAVIORALYoga

Yoga group participants will attend two, 75-minute yoga classes/week for 4 weeks, then one class/week for 8 weeks, and do a 30-minute home practice on non-class days, recording their practice on a yoga homework log provided to them.

Educational film group participants will attend one, 75-minute film class/week for 12 weeks, recording any RLS treatments they use at home.

Sponsors

West Virginia University
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
DOUBLE (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
21 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* ambulatory adults * at least 21 years of age * moderate-severe RLS, defined as: 1. symptoms that meet all five of the International RLS Study Group essential diagnostic criteria for RLS (i.e., 1) an urge to move the legs, often associated with discomfort or disagreeable sensations in the legs, that 2) begins or worsen during periods of rest or inactivity; 3) is partially or totally relieved by movement; 4) is worse or only occurs in the evening or night; and 5) is not solely accounted for by another condition (e.g. leg cramps, positional discomfort, habitual foot tapping)); 2. RLS symptoms at least 1x/wk for the previous 3 months; 3. a score of at least 2 points (moderate) IRLS question 6: How severe was your RLS as a whole?; and 4. RLS diagnostic criteria applied as per training by the study physician, a sleep medicine expert; these criteria will help ensure exclusion of mimics (e.g. leg cramps, positional discomfort). * willingness and ability to complete the 12-week yoga or educational film program and all study assessments; * willingness to avoid use of any new drugs or treatments other than the assigned intervention.

Exclusion criteria

* practiced yoga within the past year; * currently on dopaminergic agents (eg, ropinirole, pramipexole) or anti-psychotic medication; * changed dosage if any other central nervous system agents (e.g., sedative hypnotics, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) analogs, narcotic analgesics, antiadrenergic agents, or anticonvulsants) within the past 3 months; * any orthopedic, neurologic or other condition that might prevent safe completion of a 12-week yoga program or confound assessments (e.g., neuropathy; Parkinson's disease; stroke; rheumatoid arthritis; renal failure; uncontrolled sleep apnea; recent (within the last 6 months) myocardial infarction; heart failure; cancer (other than non-melanoma skin cancer); * pregnant or within 6 months post-partum).

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Recruitment rate12 weeksTo determine feasibility and acceptability of the programs, we will collect comprehensive information, both overall and by treatment group, on: rates of recruitment and success of different recruitment strategies, and reasons for refusal to participate.
Retention rates12 weeksTo determine feasibility and acceptability of the programs, we will collect comprehensive information, both overall and by treatment group, on: rates of retention (completion of assessment visits)
Adherence rates12 weeksTo determine feasibility and acceptability of the programs, we will collect comprehensive information, both overall and by treatment group, on rates of adherence (completion of home logs and class attendance rates (yoga and film groups); completion of home practice (yoga group));
Participant satisfaction12 weeksTo determine feasibility and acceptability of the programs, we will collect comprehensive information, both overall and by treatment group, on participant satisfaction, assessed via a structured program evaluation questionnaire regarding participant perceptions of and experiences with the study, and satisfaction regarding their respective programs

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)12 weeks10-item PSS
Yoga dosing preference12 weeksA structured questionnaire regarding possible yoga dosing scenarios will be administered at week 12 to determine participant preferences relative to yoga programs of varying duration and intensity (8 weeks, 16 classes (2x/week); 12 weeks, 16 classes (2x/week for the first 4 weeks, once/week thereafter); 16 weeks, 16 classes (once/week), as well as time of year the classes meet. Information from this questionnaire will aid in optimizing the yoga protocol for our future studies.
Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 (SF-36).12 weeksHealth-related quality of life will be measured using the 36-item SF-36.
International RLS Rating Scale (IRLS)12 weeksTo determine effect sizes of the programs, data critical to the design of the planned larger randomized clinical trial. RLS symptom severity, the primary efficacy outcome for the full scale trial, will be evaluated using the IRLS, a 10 item scale which includes questions related to frequency, intensity, and impact.
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)12 weeksSleep quality will be assessed using the 9-item PSQI
Profile of Mood States (POMS)12 weeksMood will be evaluated using the 65-item POMS

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Mar 4, 2026