CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 114Physical Activity and HealthBalance, Gait, and Falls PreventionPhysical Education and Gymnastics

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 23 of the 23 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Yoga is as good as stretching-strengthening exercises in improving functional fitness outcomes: results from a randomized controlled trial

Open access
Gothe, Neha P., McAuley, Edward·2016·The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
DOI 10.1093/gerona/glv127PMC PMC5864160
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Despite yoga's popularity, few clinical trials have employed rigorous methodology to systematically explore its functional benefits compared with more established forms of exercise. The objective of this study was to compare the functional benefits of yoga with the conventional stretching-strengthening exercises recommended for adults. METHODS: Sedentary healthy adults (N = 118; M age = 62.0) participated in an 8-week (three times a week for 1 hour) randomized controlled trial, which consisted of a Hatha yoga group (n = 61) and a stretching-strengthening exercise group (n = 57). Standardized functional fitness tests assessing balance, strength, flexibility, and mobility were administered at baseline and postintervention. RESULTS: A repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance showed a significant time effect for measures of balance [F(3,18) = 4.88, p < .01, partial η(2) = .45], strength [F(2,19) = 15.37, p < .001, partial η(2) = .62], flexibility [F(4,17) = 8.86, p < .001, partial η(2) = .68], and mobility [F(2,19) = 8.54, p < .002, partial η(2) = .47]. Both groups showed significant improvements on measures of balance (left-right leg and four square step); strength (chair stands and arm curls); flexibility (back scratch and sit-and-reach); and mobility (gait speed and 8-feet up and go), with partial η(2) ranging from .05 to .47. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that regular yoga practice is just as effective as stretching-strengthening exercises in improving functional fitness. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine functional benefits of yoga in comparison with stretching-strengthening exercises in sedentary, healthy, community-dwelling older adults. These findings have clinical implications as yoga is a more amenable form of exercise than strengthening exercises as it requires minimal equipment and can be adapted for individuals with lower levels of functioning or disabilities.

Overview

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1093/gerona/glv127

Cites

23 of 23 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

We couldn’t retrieve this paper’s full text, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Citations

Cites

Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. Friend J. Anusara Yoga Teacher Training Manual. (9th ed.). The Woodlands, TX: Anusara Press; 2006.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

See all 114

Related

See all

Metadata

Authors
Gothe, N. P., & McAuley, E.
Affiliations
  • Wayne State University (US)
  • University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (US)
ORCID
Venue
The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2015-08-22
Volume
71
Issue
3
Pages
406-411
ISSN
  • 1079-5006 (ISSN-L)
  • 1758-535X
DOI
10.1093/gerona/glv127
PMC
PMC5864160
OpenAlex
W2173020154
Cited by
114
References
23
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 7
FWCI
5.12
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • The Journals of Gerontology Series A (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
Funders
National Institute on Aging (R01AG020118)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Physical Activity and Health
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation › Balance, Gait, and Falls Prevention
  • Social Sciences › Education › Physical Education and Gymnastics
Keywords
yoga, hatha yoga, functional fitness, older adults, sedentary adults, balance, muscle strength, flexibility, mobility (physical function), exercise comparison
MeSH terms
Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Gait, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Physical Fitness, Retrospective Studies, Yoga, Multivariate Analysis, Muscle Stretching Exercises, Muscle Strength, Healthy Volunteers

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review