Mindfulness and Modified Medical Yoga as Intervention in Older Women with Osteoporotic Vertebral Fracture.

Background

People with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (VCFs) have decreased health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Yoga and mindfulness are methods that can promote well-being.

Objective

The aim of this article was to explore the effect of mindfulness and modified medical yoga on HRQoL, stress, sleep, and pain in people 60 years or older with a diagnosed osteoporotic VCF.

Design

The School of Osteoporosis in Linköping (SOL) is a pilot study with randomized groups. Materials and

Methods

The SOL-study was scheduled to once a week for 10 weeks. Ten people were randomized to a theory (T) group, and ten people were randomized to a theory and mindfulness/medical yoga (MMY) group. The educational sessions lasted 60 min and were similar for the groups, but they took place at different facilities. An experienced physiotherapist supervised the MMY sessions for 60 min. Sleep quality and present stress experience were measured on a symmetric Likert scale. The numeric rating scale was used for pain, and EQ-5D, RAND-36, and Qualeffo-41 were used for HRQoL. The patient enablement instrument (PEI) was used to reflect how the participants coped with their illness.

Results

Eight women in the MMY-group and seven women in the T-group completed the SOL study interventions. The adherence to the intervention program was 89% in the MMY-group and 87% in the T-group. There was no adverse consequence of the MMY training. After the 10-week intervention period, sleep quality (p = 0.018) and present stress (p = 0.043), but not perceived pain were improved in the MMY-group. The social function (SF) domain was improved in the MMY-group that was measured by both RAND-36 (p = 0.028) and Qualeffo-41 (p = 0.012). There was a trend toward a better PEI-score in the MMY-group compared with the T-group postintervention (p = 0.089).

Conclusion

This article suggests that mindfulness and modified medical yoga supervised by a skilled physiotherapist may be a feasible way to improve SF, sleep, and stress in older women with osteoporotic VCFs.