The DOI matches its Crossref record; 144 of the 147 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The Safety of Yoga: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Abstract
As yoga has gained popularity as a therapeutic intervention, its safety has been questioned in the lay press. Thus, this review aimed to systematically assess and meta-analyze the frequency of adverse events in randomized controlled trials of yoga. MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, the Cochrane Library, and IndMED were screened through February 2014. Of 301 identified randomized controlled trials of yoga, 94 (1975-2014; total of 8,430 participants) reported on adverse events. Life-threatening, disabling adverse events or those requiring intensive treatment were defined as serious and all other events as nonserious. No differences in the frequency of intervention-related, nonserious, or serious adverse events and of dropouts due to adverse events were found when comparing yoga with usual care or exercise. Compared with psychological or educational interventions (e.g., health education), more intervention-related adverse events (odds ratio = 4.21, 95% confidence interval: 1.01, 17.67; P = 0.05) and more nonserious adverse events (odds ratio = 7.30, 95% confidence interval: 1.91, 27.92; P < 0.01) occurred in the yoga group; serious adverse events and dropouts due to adverse events were comparable between groups. Findings from this review indicate that yoga appears as safe as usual care and exercise. The adequate reporting of safety data in future randomized trials of yoga is crucial to conclusively judge its safety.
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In the citing paper
“Yoga practices are well tolerated25,26”
From Individualized, Single Session Yoga Therapy to Reduce Physical and Emotional Symptoms in Hospitalized Hematological Cancer Patients. (2019) · cites this paper as [25]
Citations
Cites
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CONSORT 2010 Statement: updated guidelines for reporting parallel group randomised trials
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CONSORT 2010 statement: updated guidelines for reporting parallel group randomized trials
Schulz, K. F., Altman, D. G., Moher, D., & for the CONSORT Group* (2010) · Annals of Internal Medicine · doi:10.7326/0003-4819-152-11-201006010-00232 · Cited by 3,824
Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Adults and Children: United States, 2007
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3 of the 147 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Research works printed but not linked: 3
- Feuerstein G . The Yoga Tradition. Prescott, AZ: Hohm Press; 1998.
- Macy D . Yoga journal releases 2008 “Yoga in America” market study. http://www3.yogajournal.com/advertise/press_releases/10. Accessed November 3, 2014.
- Krucoff, 2003, Insight from injury. If the practice of hatha yoga was meant to heal, why are so many yogis getting hurt?, Yoga J, 203, 120
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Items 201–205 of 205
Zaccari, B., Moonaz, S., & Sullivan, M. B. (2026) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2026.1786419
“…clinical population, as is done in clinical research trials, its safety is deemed equivalent to comparison groups, both active (e.g., exercise) and inactive (e.g., education), as demonstrated in a systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with yoga as an intervention arm (89).”
Yoga and its risks: A systematic review of adverse events reported in case reports and case series
Sharma, S., Bhandarı, S. S., Malhotra, V., Kuppusamy, M., Kumar, S., & Dhakal, M. (2026) · Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.joim.2026.07.001
Reviving Ancient Traditions: Kalarippayattu and Yoga in Modern Wellness Tourism
Murari, K. C., Roy, A., Subramanya, P., & Tiwari, S. (2026) · Emerald Group Publishing Limited eBooks · doi:10.1108/978-1-83742-029-220261007
Du, W., & Wang, Z. (2026) · Journal of King Saud University - Computer and Information Sciences · doi:10.1007/s44443-026-01165-9
“These problems are not adequately represented by a single action-category label (Woodyard 2011; Field 2011; Breedvelt et al. 2019; Cramer et al. 2015; Buessing et al. 2012; General Administration of Sport of China 2018; Social Sports Guidance Center of the General Administration of Sport of China…”
Adolescents, sexuality education, and yoga: examining the effectiveness of some programs
Pandya, S. P. (2026) · Journal of Children s Services · doi:10.1108/jcs-04-2026-0020
Metadata
- Authors
- Cramer, H., Ward, L., Saper, R., Fishbein, D., Dobos, G., & Lauche, R.
- Affiliations
- University of Technology Sydney (AU)
- Boston University (US)
- University of Duisburg-Essen (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Cramer, Holger
- Venue
- American Journal of Epidemiology
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2015-06-26
- Volume
- 182
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 281-293
- ISSN
- 0002-9262 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-6256
- OpenAlex
- W2154895014
- Cited by
- 207
- References
- 147
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 25 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 3
- FWCI
- 4.71
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Journal of Epidemiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UTS ePRESS (University of Technology Sydney) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Complementary and Alternative Medicine Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Physical Activity and Health
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty › Meta-analysis and systematic reviews
- Keywords
- yoga, safety, adverse events, serious adverse events, dropout, physical activity, usual care, health education, safety reporting, randomized controlled trials
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Child, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Safety, Wounds and Injuries, Yoga, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Databases, Bibliographic, Mind-Body Therapies, Young Adult
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