helps control symptoms of osteoarthritis

The practice of yoga improves flexibility, balance, posture and strengthens the muscles.

Regular yoga practice has also been shown to reduce symptoms of osteoarthritis. Photo: Shutterstock.

Science and research have shown that any discipline that helps us move and takes us away from a sedentary lifestyle is beneficial for health. However, not all exercises have a positive impact when you have pre-existing diseases.

In the case of diseases like arthritis and other health conditions such as anxiety, yoga It has clear health benefits, such as a lower risk of obesity or cardiovascular disease. But, in addition, due to its characteristics, the yoga it has other benefits, not only for our body, but also for our mind. Let’s see some of them.

Improves muscles and helps control the symptoms of osteoarthritis

The practice of yoga improves flexibility, balance, posture and strengthens the muscles, something that, in itself, already has many benefits for our health and well-being, such as reducing muscle pain -especially in the back, neck and lower back- or avoid the risk of falls, with all that it entails, especially after a certain age. Also, practice yoga It strengthens the muscles, something that is also related to less chronic pain, a faster metabolism (we burn more calories) and less chance of suffering from osteoporosis.

In addition, it has also been shown that practicing yoga regularly reduces the symptoms of osteoarthritis, as suggested by a study published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. This study concludes that, after eight weeks of practicing yoga two days a week, patients with osteoarthritis of the knee improved significantly, “the yoga may provide a feasible treatment option for patients over the age of 50 who had not previously practiced yoga and offers potential reductions in pain and disability caused by knee osteoarthritis.”

Helps control weight, diabetes and cardiovascular risk

Although it is a discipline with less rigor in the physical aspect, with the yoga many calories are burned, more than we could imagine a priori, because in a full class you can burn about 500 calories.

Practiced regularly, the yoga It helps, therefore, to maintain a healthy weight, with all that it entails for health in general: less cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, diabetes, hypertension. In fact, a study conducted in India concluded that, in three months, this discipline could help reduce weight, as well as metabolic diseases related to it, such as diabetes.

Other studies, such as the one published by the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology or in Europe PMC, also relate the practice of yoga with better control of cholesterol and other cardiovascular risk factors, such as atherosclerosis.

It can improve stress, anxiety and even depression

In addition to the purely physiological effects, practicing yoga regularly can have many effects on our psychological and mental health, as it helps control stress and anxiety.

These benefits are proven through various studies. In fact, in a systematic review of 25 studies, it is concluded that these investigations “provide preliminary evidence that suggests that the practice of yoga leads to better regulation of the sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system, as well as decreased depressive and anxious symptoms in a variety of populations.”

There are also other studies that relate the practice of yoga with an improvement in the symptoms of depression and its benefits as a complement to pharmacological treatments.

This is due, not only to physical exercise itself, which also improves anxiety and stress, but also to the very nature of exercise classes. yogawhich are often accompanied by breathing, relaxation and meditation exercises, also with demonstrated benefits on cognitive function.

Other general benefits of yoga

Among other benefits attributed to the yoga In Medline, although with less scientific evidence, we also found: