What’s This Research About? Flexibility is classified as one of the five essential components of fitness by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). This paper argues that flexibility should be considered a secondary component of fitness as a) most forms of passive stretching do not have a major impact on general [...]
What’s This Research About? A contracture is a severe medical condition that negatively impacts quality of life through diminished joint function. The etiology of contractures, however, is not well understood. Contractures could be caused by burns, fractures, muscle atrophy, rheumatoid arthritis, joint capsulitis, stroke, cerebral palsy, brain or spinal cord injuries, surgery, [...]
What’s This Research About? The researchers note that as a complementary therapy, yoga has been shown to improve musculoskeletal ailments including neck pain, low back pain, and osteoarthritis. However, these yoga interventions are led in highly controlled experimental conditions which do not reflect the recreational yoga conditions the average practitioner may encounter [...]
What’s This Research About? As yoga rises in popularity, many are turning to yoga as a form of complementary therapy, leading to a rise in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published every year. Such yoga studies yield successful outcomes in all types of conditions including pain, PTSD, symptoms associated with cancer, depression, metabolic [...]
What’s This Research About? This study measures ground reaction forces (GRFs) of common yoga poses. They hypothesized that yoga would result in less than two times body weight (BW) GRFs and that GRF results would be consistent across all subjects. The authors reference several articles suggesting that high impact sports (running and [...]
What’s This Research About? Yoga is increasingly used as a therapeutic practice and more than half of those who practice report using yoga to improve their overall health and wellbeing. As with any industry, different brands (or styles) tout their method as the most effective. In yoga, we see a rise in [...]
What’s This Research About? A slower breathing rate (approx. 5 or 6 full inhalations and exhalations per minute) has been shown to increase baroreflex sensitivity (as well as vagus nerve stimulation, downregulation of the sympathetic nervous system, and upregulation of the parasympathetic nervous system). Ujjayi breathing may have similar effects to slow [...]
What’s This Research About? Yoga is often recommended for people who are experiencing or rehabbing from musculoskeletal conditions, including scoliosis. Actually, yoga is recommended for just about every ailment, and rightfully so. Yoga is awesome and makes you feel good. But so do other types of exercise. So, what is it about [...]