Current Issue : January - March Volume : 2015 Issue Number : 1 Articles : 5 Articles
Objective: While studies have demonstrated the beneficial effects of yoga for school-aged children and adults,\nthere is limited research on the influence of yoga on preschoolers� motor abilities. The purpose of this study was\nto investigate how young children respond to Hatha yoga training by comparing preschoolers� strength, flexibility,\ncoordination and balance before and after a 6-week yoga program.\nMethod: A cross-over design was used to compare performance of two groups of preschool children aged\n3-5 before and after a 6-week developmentally appropriate yoga training program. The short form of the Bruininks-\nOseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, Second Edition (BOT-2) and long jump were used to quantify strength, balance\nand bilateral coordination. Knee extension strength was measured with hand-held dynamometry and functional\nflexibility of low back and hamstrings was quantified by the Sit and Reach Test (SRT).\nResults: When compared to a control group, the group participating in yoga demonstrated a statistically\nsignificant increase in static balance and functional lower extremity strength with a strong effect size, (d) =1.52,\n(d) = 0.82 respectively. When comparing individual�s performance before and after participating in the yoga\nprogram, individuals showed statistically significant improvements in at least one measure of strength, flexibility and\ncoordination indicating moderate effects of the yoga training.\nConclusion: The gross motor development of pre-school children may be enhanced by participation in a 6 week\nlong developmentally appropriate group yoga program....
Background: Health promotion at the work site in terms of physical activity has proven positive effects but\noptimization of relevant exercise training protocols and implementation for high adherence are still scanty.\nMethods/Design: The aim of this paper is to present a study protocol with a conceptual model for planning the\noptimal individually tailored physical exercise training for each worker based on individual health check, existing\nguidelines and state of the art sports science training recommendations in the broad categories of cardiorespiratory\nfitness, muscle strength in specific body parts, and functional training including balance training. The hypotheses of\nthis research are that individually tailored worksite-based intelligent physical exercise training, IPET, among workers\nwith inactive job categories will: 1) Improve cardiorespiratory fitness and/or individual health risk indicators,\n2) Improve muscle strength and decrease musculoskeletal disorders, 3) Succeed in regular adherence to worksite\nand leisure physical activity training, and 3) Reduce sickness absence and productivity losses (presenteeism) in office\nworkers. The present RCT study enrolled almost 400 employees with sedentary jobs in the private as well as public\nsectors. The training interventions last 2 years with measures at baseline as well as one and two years follow-up.\nDiscussion: If proven effective, the intelligent physical exercise training scheduled as well as the information for its\npractical implementation can provide meaningful scientifically based information for public health policy....
Background: Perceived stress, immature defense style, depression and anxiety and negative life events all are\nknown to be associated with eating disorders. The present study aimed to investigate the relationships between\nthese factors and their relative strength of association with eating disorder symptoms over time.\nMethods: This research was embedded in a longitudinal study of adult women with varying levels of eating\ndisorder symptoms and who were initially recruited from tertiary educational institutions in two Australian states.\nFour years from initial recruitment, 371 participants completed the Eating Disorder Examination- Questionnaire\n(EDE-Q) for eating disorder symptoms.\nKessler-10 Psychological Distress Scale (K-10) as a measure of depression and anxiety, a Life Events Checklist as a\nmeasure of previous exposure to potentially traumatic events, the Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ) and the\nPerceived Stress Scale (PSS) to determine perceived stress. One year later, in year 5, 295 (878.7%) completed follow-up\nassessments including the EDE-Q. The questionnaires were completed online or returned via reply paid post.\nResults: All four independent factors were found to correlate significantly with the global EDE-Q score in\ncross-sectional analyses (all Spearman rho (rs) >0.18, p < 0.01) and at one year follow-up (all rs > 0.15, all p < 0.05). In\nmultivariate linear regression modeling adjusted for age and year 4 global EDE-Q scores, perceived stress and\npsychological distress scores were significantly associated with year 5 global EDE-Q scores (p = 0.046 and <0.001\nrespectively).\nConclusions: Psychological distress, and to a lesser degree perceived stress had the strongest association with\neating disorder symptoms over time The findings support further investigation of interventions to reduce\ndistress and perceived stress in adult females with disordered eating....
Recent evidence suggests that yoga can be effective for reducing back pain. One recent randomised controlled\ntrial (RCT) reported that yoga was cost-effective, from a societal perspective, for reducing back pain. Our study will\nbe the first RCT to investigate the cost-effectiveness of yoga, from the perspective of the employer, for preventing\nand reducing back pain at work.\nOur study population will include 120 NHS staff members recruited from three hospital sites. Participants who\nmeet the inclusion criteria will be randomised to receive either an eight-week yoga programme or an education\nprogramme consisting of evidence-based back care information. The yoga group will attend a weekly sixty minute\nyoga session and then practise at home using a back care DVD and an illustrated yoga booklet.\nOutcome measures will be collected at baseline, at eight weeks, and at six months. The Roland Morris Disability\nQuestionnaire (RMDQ) will be the primary outcome measure for back pain. Sickness absence data, the EQ5D-5L\nand ICECAP-A will be used for the economic evaluation. Secondary outcome measures will assess back pain,\nwellbeing, quality of life, mood and resilience.\nThe economic evaluation will be calculated using return-on-investment analysis (ROI) for the employer\nperspective and cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) for the societal perspective. Qualitative data will be collected to\ndetermine the facilitators and barriers for successfully implementing a yoga programme at work....
Rheumatic conditions such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and fibromyalgia are common, chronic and\ndebilitating disorders associated with considerable physical and psychological symptoms. Although no effective\ndisease-modifying treatments are available for most of these conditions, physical exercise routines have been found\nto be useful alternatives for the conservative management of these disorders. Yoga is a physical exercise regimen\nthat incorporates controlled breathing practices and efforts to increase mindfulness, a state of heightened attention\nand awareness that has been found to be associated with reductions in chronic pain and anxiety. In this article, we\nexamine the current state of research on yoga for rheumatic conditions, and discuss potential advantages of yoga\ntherapy for reducing the physical, cognitive, affective, and autonomic associated with rheumatic disease....
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