The Effect of Yoga on Musculoskeletal Pain in Elderly Females: A Clinical Trial

Objectives: Chronic musculoskeletal pain is a common problem in the elderly. Yoga exercise can be considered a non-pharmacological and complementary method for pain control. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of yoga on chronic musculoskeletal pain in elderly females referring to selected health centers in Rafsanjan, Iran. Methods: In this clinical trial, 60 females over 60 years of age with musculoskeletal pain were randomly divided into two intervention and control groups. The intervention group received three one-hour training sessions weekly for eight weeks, and they did yoga for 1 hour in each session. The pain was measured in both groups before the intervention and at weeks four and eight using the McGill Pain Questionnaire. The control group did not receive any special intervention. Results: The mean musculoskeletal pain decreased at the end of the 4th and 8th weeks after performing yoga in the intervention group compared to the control group (P<0.005). The subscales of sensory dimension and severity of pain showed no decrease after four weeks compared to the control group (P>0.005). However, at the end of the eighth week, all the pain subscales decreased in the intervention group (P<0.005). Discussion: The obtained results revealed that practicing yoga continuously could reduce musculoskeletal pain in elderly females; thus, it is suggested that such yoga exercises be included in the treatment of musculoskeletal pain in this group.