Twelve-Minute Daily Yoga Regimen Reverses Osteoporotic Bone Loss
Yi-Hsueh Lu1, Bernard Rosner1, Gregory Chang1
1The Rockefeller University, New York, New York (Dr Lu); Brigham and Women's Hospital, Cambridge, Massachusetts (Dr Rosner); New York University, New York (Dr Chang); and Columbia University, New York, New York (Dr Fishman).
Objective:
Assess the effectiveness of selected yoga postures in raising bone mineral density (BMD).
Methods:
Ten-year study of 741 Internet-recruited volunteers comparing preyoga BMD changes with postyoga BMD changes.
Outcome Measures:
Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometric scans. Optional radiographs of hips and spine and bone quality study (7 Tesla).
Results:
Bone mineral density improved in spine, hips, and femur of the 227 moderately and fully compliant patients. Monthly gain in BMD was significant in spine (0.0029 g/cm2, P = .005) and femur (0.00022 g/cm2, P = .053), but in 1 cohort, although mean gain in hip BMD was 50%, large individual differences raised the confidence interval and the gain was not significant for total hip (0.000357 g/cm2). No yoga-related serious injuries were imaged or reported. Bone quality appeared qualitatively improved in yoga practitioners.
Conclusion:
Yoga appears to raise BMD in the spine and the femur safely.
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