Short term effect of yoga asana - An adjunct therapy to conventional treatment in frozen shoulder

BACKGROUND: The available treatments for frozen shoulder yield variable results. Physical therapy and analgesics are considered as the first-line treatment for this disorder, but the effects are not uniform. There is some evidence to support that alternative medicine may have a role in its management. OBJECTIVE(S): This study was designed to examine the short-term effects of yoga therapy in patients with frozen shoulder of mild to moderate severity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective randomized controlled trial was conducted on patients with frozen shoulder between 30 and 60 years of age. They were divided into two groups: yoga (Y) and control (NY). A set of Asana exercises called “Standing Group of Asana” was practiced by the yoga group in addition to the conventional therapy as received by the control group. The patients were reviewed at 1, 2 and 4 weeks. The pain and functional assessment were done at baseline and at each review using the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI). RESULTS: There were 16 male and 20 female participants in the Y group, and 15 males and 21 females in the NY group. There was no statistically significant difference in age, sex, and pre-treatment SPADI score between the groups. At the end of the four weeks, the SPADI pain scores in the Y and NY group were 20.47 and 20.14, respectively (p = 0.666). The SPADI disability scores in the Y and NY group were 20.4 and 19.7, respectively (p = 0.599). Overall SPADI scores were 40.67 and 40.03 in the Y and NY group, respectively (p = 0.736). Both groups had a significant reduction in SPADI pain and disability scores. However, there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of SPADI scores. CONCLUSION: The effect of the Standing Group of Asana has no added advantage relative to standard frozen shoulder treatment when practiced for one month.