Symptoms improve after a yoga program designed for PTSD in a randomized controlled trial with veterans and civilians.
Open accessAbstract
Objective Although yoga shows promise as a treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), there are few randomized controlled trials that demonstrate significant benefits for individuals with PTSD. The present study addresses this need by comparing the effects of a holistic yoga program (HYP) to that of a wellness lifestyle program (WLP) on PTSD symptom severity with a randomized clinical trial. Method The sample consisted of 209 participants (91.4% veterans; 66% male; 61.7% White) who met diagnostic criteria for PTSD at baseline. Participants were randomly assigned to attend one of the 2 weekly interventions for 16 weeks. The HYP consisted of yoga instruction, while the WLP consisted of didactics, discussions, and walking. PTSD severity was measured using the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS-5) and the PTSD Checklist (PCL-5). Results Analyses revealed that the HYP reduced PTSD severity measured by the CAPS-5 significantly more than the WLP at treatment end (mean difference = -5.4, effect size = 0.46, p p = .603). Similarly, the HYP reduced PTSD severity measured by the PCL-5 significantly more than the WLP at treatment end (difference = -6.0, p = .001), but not at 7-month follow up (mean difference = -1.0, p = .682). Conclusion Yoga may be an effective intervention for PTSD in addition to standard treatments. Future yoga trials should consider adding a social component to interventions or booster classes to maintain effects long term. (PsycInfo Database Record (c…
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A large trial comparing yoga to a wellness control found small-medium effects favoring yoga at post-treatment.
“The exception is a large trial comparing yoga to a wellness control, which found small-medium effects favoring yoga at post-treatment [12].”
From A randomized controlled trial of yoga vs nonaerobic exercise for veterans with PTSD: Understanding efficacy, mechanisms of change, and mode of delivery (2021) · cites this paper as [12]
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Physical Exercise as Treatment for PTSD: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
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- Authors
- Davis, L. W., Schmid, A. A., Daggy, J. K., Yang, Z., O'Connor, C. E., Schalk, N., Do, A.-N. L., Maric, D., Lazarick, D., & Knock, H.
- Affiliations
- United States Department of Veterans Affairs (US)
- Venue
- Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy
- Published
- 2020-11
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 904-912
- ISSN
- 1942-9681 (ISSN-L)
- 1942-969X
- OpenAlex
- W3016825665
- Cited by
- 56
- References
- 10
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 2.90
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Psychological Trauma Theory Research Practice and Policy (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- IUScholarWorks (Indiana University) (submittedVersion)
- Purdue University Indianapolis (Indiana University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (RX-001487-01)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer survivorship and care
- Keywords
- yoga, post-traumatic stress disorder, veterans, PTSD symptom severity, complementary therapy, walking, social support
- MeSH terms
- Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Severity of Illness Index, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Veterans, Yoga, Treatment Outcome
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