A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effects of Chair Yoga on Pain and Physical Function Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults With Lower Extremity Osteoarthritis.

Objectives To determine effects of Sit 'N' Fit Chair Yoga, compared to a Health Education program ( HEP), on pain and physical function in older adults with lower extremity osteoarthritis ( OA) who could not participate in standing exercise. Design Two-arm randomized controlled trial. Setting One HUD senior housing facility and one day senior center in south Florida. Participants Community-dwelling older adults (N = 131) were randomly assigned to chair yoga (n = 66) or HEP (n = 65). Thirteen dropped after assignment but prior to the intervention; six dropped during the intervention; 106 of 112 completed at least 12 of 16 sessions (95% retention rate). Interventions Participants attended either chair yoga or HEP. Both interventions consisted of twice-weekly 45-minute sessions for 8 weeks. Measurements Primary: pain, pain interference; secondary: balance, gait speed, fatigue, functional ability measured at baseline, after 4 weeks of intervention, at the end of the 8-week intervention, and post-intervention (1 and 3 months). Results The chair yoga group showed greater reduction in pain interference during the intervention ( P = .01), sustained through 3 months ( P = .022). WOMAC pain ( P = .048), gait speed ( P = .024), and fatigue ( P = .037 ) were improved in the yoga group during the intervention ( P = .048) but improvements were not sustained post intervention. Chair yoga had no effect on balance. Conclusion An 8-week chair yoga program was associated with reduction in pain, pain interference, and fatigue, and improvement in gait speed, but only the effects on pain interference were sustained 3 months post intervention. Chair yoga should be further explored as a nonpharmacologic intervention for older people with OA in the lower extremities. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02113410. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]