A Systematic Review of Quantitative and Qualitative Results of Randomized Controlled Trials Assessing the Effect of Yoga in Adult Women With Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: What Is Known So Far

Overview

Journal Cureus

Specialty Biomedical Engineering

Date 2023 Nov 29

PMID 38021711

Authors

Marya Ali

Mrinal J P Oble

Shamsun Nahar Sonia

Sherie George

Srushti R Shahi

Zahra Ali

Abdelrahman Abaza

Aneeque Jamil

Sai Dheeraj Gutlapalli

Safeera Khan

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Yoga has been increasingly practiced in recent years, with many of its practitioners being female. Adults may seek a complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) modality, such as yoga, to attempt to alleviate symptoms related to mental health conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Our goal for this systematic review was to collect and analyze all available data from quantitative and qualitative reports of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) conducted over the past 10 years on the impact of yoga on women diagnosed with PTSD. We included RCTs with the adult female population in which yoga was practiced for more than one week. We searched the databases PubMed, PubMed Central (PMC), and MEDLINE on June 11, 2022, Embase on June 12, 2022, and Science Direct on June 13, 2022, to find relevant articles. With the Cochrane RoB2 tool and Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) criteria, we checked for their quality, after which we selected 13 high-quality reports comprising seven original study designs and a total of 496 women. Of the 13 reports, nine evaluated effectiveness, four assessed feasibility, three explored acceptability, and four identified qualitative themes. We compared the results based on the assessed themes. Our results found yoga effective, feasible, acceptable, and a viable interoceptive pathway for emotional and personal growth. Limitations in our study include insufficient papers with large sample sizes and not including papers other than RCTs. With our research, we hope to present healthcare providers with research-based data on the effects of yoga so that they may better navigate its role in therapy as the trend of seeing more patients taking an interest in such alternative approaches rises.

Citing Articles

Structure-based multitargeted docking screening, pharmacokinetics, DFT, and dynamics simulation studies reveal mitoglitazone as a potent inhibitor of cellular survival and stress response proteins of lung cancer.

Binshaya A, Alkahtani O, Aldakheel F, Hjazi A, Almasoudi H Med Oncol. 2024; 41(5):101.

PMID: 38546811 DOI: 10.1007/s12032-024-02342-4.

References

Nguyen-Feng V, Hodgdon H, Emerson D, Silverberg R, Clark C . Moderators of treatment efficacy in a randomized controlled trial of trauma-sensitive yoga as an adjunctive treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychol Trauma. 2020; 12(8):836-846. DOI: 10.1037/tra0000963. View

Schrader C, Ross A . A Review of PTSD and Current Treatment Strategies. Mo Med. 2021; 118(6):546-551. PMC: 8672952. View

Clark C, Lewis-Dmello A, Anders D, Parsons A, Nguyen-Feng V, Henn L . Trauma-sensitive yoga as an adjunct mental health treatment in group therapy for survivors of domestic violence: a feasibility study. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2014; 20(3):152-8. PMC: 4215954. DOI: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2014.04.003. View

Martin E, Dick A, Scioli-Salter E, Mitchell K . Impact of a Yoga Intervention on Physical Activity, Self-Efficacy, and Motivation in Women with PTSD Symptoms. J Altern Complement Med. 2015; 21(6):327-32. PMC: 4486144. DOI: 10.1089/acm.2014.0389. View

Opbroek A, Delgado P, Laukes C, McGahuey C, Katsanis J, Moreno F . Emotional blunting associated with SSRI-induced sexual dysfunction. Do SSRIs inhibit emotional responses?. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2002; 5(2):147-51. DOI: 10.1017/S1461145702002870. View

Pearson N, Chesney M . The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Acad Med. 2007; 82(10):967. DOI: 10.1097/ACM.0b013e31814a5462. View

Berger W, Mendlowicz M, Marques-Portella C, Kinrys G, Fontenelle L, Marmar C . Pharmacologic alternatives to antidepressants in posttraumatic stress disorder: a systematic review. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2009; 33(2):169-80. PMC: 2720612. DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2008.12.004. View

Dutton M, Bermudez D, Matas A, Majid H, Myers N . Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Low-Income, Predominantly African American Women With PTSD and a History of Intimate Partner Violence. Cogn Behav Pract. 2013; 20(1):23-32. PMC: 3772725. DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpra.2011.08.003. View

Walter K, Levine J, Madra N, Beltran J, Glassman L, Thomsen C . Gender differences in disorders comorbid with posttraumatic stress disorder among U.S. Sailors and Marines. J Trauma Stress. 2022; 35(3):988-998. PMC: 9306964. DOI: 10.1002/jts.22807. View

10.

Mitchell K, Dick A, DiMartino D, Smith B, Niles B, Koenen K . A pilot study of a randomized controlled trial of yoga as an intervention for PTSD symptoms in women. J Trauma Stress. 2014; 27(2):121-8. DOI: 10.1002/jts.21903. View

11.

Yi L, Lian Y, Ma N, Duan N . A randomized controlled trial of the influence of yoga for women with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. J Transl Med. 2022; 20(1):162. PMC: 8985332. DOI: 10.1186/s12967-022-03356-0. View

12.

Grunert B, Weis J, Smucker M, Christianson H . Imagery rescripting and reprocessing therapy after failed prolonged exposure for post-traumatic stress disorder following industrial injury. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2007; 38(4):317-28. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2007.10.005. View

13.

Reddy S, Dick A, Gerber M, Mitchell K . The effect of a yoga intervention on alcohol and drug abuse risk in veteran and civilian women with posttraumatic stress disorder. J Altern Complement Med. 2014; 20(10):750-6. PMC: 4195227. DOI: 10.1089/acm.2014.0014. View

14.

Dick A, Niles B, Street A, DiMartino D, Mitchell K . Examining mechanisms of change in a yoga intervention for women: the influence of mindfulness, psychological flexibility, and emotion regulation on PTSD symptoms. J Clin Psychol. 2014; 70(12):1170-82. DOI: 10.1002/jclp.22104. View

15.

Rhodes A . Claiming peaceful embodiment through yoga in the aftermath of trauma. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2015; 21(4):247-56. DOI: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2015.09.004. View

16.

Bermudez D, Benjamin M, Porter S, Saunders P, Myers N, Dutton M . A qualitative analysis of beginning mindfulness experiences for women with post-traumatic stress disorder and a history of intimate partner violence. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2013; 19(2):104-8. DOI: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2013.02.004. View

17.

Kelly U, Haywood T, Segell E, Higgins M . Trauma-Sensitive Yoga for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Women Veterans who Experienced Military Sexual Trauma: Interim Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial. J Altern Complement Med. 2021; 27(S1):S45-S59. DOI: 10.1089/acm.2020.0417. View

18.

Page M, McKenzie J, Bossuyt P, Boutron I, Hoffmann T, Mulrow C . The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. Syst Rev. 2021; 10(1):89. PMC: 8008539. DOI: 10.1186/s13643-021-01626-4. View

19.

Mitchell K, Mazzeo S, Schlesinger M, Brewerton T, Smith B . Comorbidity of partial and subthreshold ptsd among men and women with eating disorders in the national comorbidity survey-replication study. Int J Eat Disord. 2011; 45(3):307-15. PMC: 3297686. DOI: 10.1002/eat.20965. View

20.

van der Kolk B . Posttraumatic stress disorder and the nature of trauma. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2011; 2(1):7-22. PMC: 3181584. View