Yoga in school sport – A non-randomized controlled pilot study in Germany. (January 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jeitler, Michael; Kessler, Christian S.; Zillgen, Hannah; Högl, Manuel; Stöckigt, Barbara; Peters, Alexander; Schumann, Dania; Stritter, Wiebke; Seifert, Georg; Michalsen, Andreas; Steckhan, Nico
• Is Part Of: Complementary therapies in medicine. Volume 48(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-01
• Subjects: PSS Perceived Stress Scale -- HADS Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale -- VAS Visual Analog Scale -- d2-R Test of Attention Revision -- d2-R KL concentration -- d2-R BZO number of processed target objects -- d2-R F% error percentage -- POMS Profile of Mood States -- SOP Standard Operating Procedure -- YSES Yoga Self-Efficacy Scale; Distress -- Stress reduction -- Adolescents -- Young adults -- Yoga -- School -- Qualitative evaluation -- Mixed methods -- School sport -- Physical education; Alternative medicine -- Periodicals; Complementary Therapies -- Periodicals; Médecines parallèles -- Périodiques; Thérapeutique -- Périodiques; Alternative medicine; Electronic journals; Periodicals; 615.5
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ctim.2019.102243
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0965-2299

Abstract

Highlights: Young adults in German secondary school settings might benefit from yoga, as effects were more prominent in the yoga group. However, the observed effects might be attributed to non-specific effects due to the chosen study design. Yoga was well accepted and could be a valuable addition for regular school sport. Further studies are warranted, which include high-quality study designs including randomization and larger sample sizes. Abstract: Objectives: Distress is an increasing public health problem for adolescents and young adults. We aimed to evaluate potential effects of a 10-week 90-minute once-a-week yoga course. Methods: A non-randomized controlled study with a school sport control group was implemented in two German secondary schools. Primary outcome was stress on the Perceived Stress Scale from baseline to week 10. Secondary outcomes included depression/anxiety, attention, quality of life, mood, visual analogue scales (for pain, headache, neck tension, exhaustion, sleep), and yoga-efficacy. Parameters were assessed at pre-baseline (before holidays), baseline (after 3-week holidays, before interventions started), week 10, and at a 6-months follow-up. An intention-to-treat analysis using ANCOVA was performed. Results: 92 participants (67 % female; 19.6 ± 2.2 years) were included into the study. No significant differences were observed between the groups with regard to PSS, at either 10 weeks (Δ=-1.4; 95 % CI: -3.6;0.8; p = 0.22) or 6 months (Δ = 2; 95 % CI: -0.2;4.2, p = 0.08). Only VAS headache in favour of yoga and HADS-D in favour of school sport showed significant group differences at the 6-months follow-up. Significant intra-group mean changes for the primary outcome and several secondary outcomes were found in the yoga group. Conclusions: Young adults in German secondary school settings might benefit from yoga, as the found effects were more prominent in the yoga group. However, the effects might be attributed to non-specific effects due to the chosen study design. Further studies are needed, which include high-quality study designs including randomization, longer-term follow-ups and larger sample sizes.