Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common joint condition that causes pain and limits movement, especially in the knees. It affects more than 595 million people around the world.
To help manage knee OA, doctors often recommend exercise therapy as the first treatment. Two popular forms of exercise for OA are yoga and strengthening exercises. But which one works better?
A new study published in JAMA Network Open found that yoga is just as effective as strengthening exercises for relieving knee pain and improving physical function in people with knee OA. Although yoga and strength training use different approaches to help the body, the researchers found no major difference between them in terms of results.
In the study, researchers looked at how people with knee OA responded to 12 weeks of either yoga or strength-based workouts. They found that both groups felt less pain after the program, and the results lasted even as participants continued the exercises on their own for another 12 weeks.
The improvement in pain and physical function was similar between the two groups, suggesting that yoga could be used as an alternative or complement to traditional strengthening exercises.
Strength training helps by building muscles around the knee, which can reduce joint stress and improve movement. Yoga uses stretches, breathing exercises, and mindfulness to improve flexibility, reduce stress, and ease discomfort.
Although yoga is already included in some treatment guidelines for knee OA, past studies on its effectiveness were often small and poorly designed. This study aimed to fill that gap with more reliable data.
To do this, the researchers recruited 117 people with knee OA in Southern Tasmania, Australia. All participants had moderate to severe knee pain, scoring at least 40 on a 100-millimeter pain scale. Participants were split into two groups: one did yoga, and the other followed a strength training program.
Each group attended two supervised classes and did one home session per week for the first 12 weeks. Then, for the next 12 weeks, they continued with three home sessions per week on their own.
The main goal of the study was to see how much each group’s pain levels changed after 12 weeks. Both groups improved, and the difference between them was very small—just 1.1 millimeters on the pain scale—far below the 15-millimeter difference needed to say that one treatment is clearly better than the other.
This means that yoga was not worse than strengthening exercises. In fact, it performed equally well.
The results are promising for people with knee OA who are looking for non-drug treatments. Yoga may offer additional benefits beyond pain relief, such as improving mental health and quality of life. The researchers noted that adding yoga into standard care could be helpful, especially for those who prefer a more holistic or gentle approach to exercise.
In summary, this study confirms that yoga is a valid and effective choice for managing knee osteoarthritis. It gives people with OA more flexibility in choosing an exercise routine that suits their preferences and lifestyle—whether that’s lifting weights or rolling out a yoga mat.
If you care about arthritis, please read studies about extra virgin olive oil for arthritis, and pomegranate: A natural treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.
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The research findings can be found in JAMA Network Open.
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