A small study, published in Family Practice News (November 1, 2004:49) looked at the effect doing yoga exercises had on obese women with osteoarthritis in the knee. The subjects of the study were seven middle-aged women who did not regularly exercise.
They participated in an eight-week yoga class. The women had a 47% improvement in pain and a 39% improvement in disability as measured by the Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index at the end of the eight-week class. It was found that yoga can also improve range of motion. Caution should be employed and the yoga program should be tailored to the patient taking into consideration motion limitations and size.
