Yoga for Adult Women with Chronic PTSD: A Long-Term Follow-Up Study.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to determine whether yoga, including mindfulness, could serve as an adjunctive treatment for PTSD symptoms and whether long-term yoga practice enhances these benefits.
Results Summary
The study found that yoga significantly reduced PTSD symptom severity, depressive symptoms, and the likelihood of PTSD diagnosis, with greater benefits linked to more frequent long-term practice. Group assignment in the original study did not predict outcomes, but ongoing yoga practice did.
Population
60 women with chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD and associated mental health problems from prolonged or multiple trauma exposures.
Effective Dosage
10 sessions (frequency not specified)
Duration
1.5 years (follow-up after initial 10-session intervention)
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
yoga | decrease | PTSD symptom severity | women with chronic, treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and associated mental health problems stemming from prolonged or multiple trauma exposures | - | exhibited statistically significant decreases | #1 |
yoga | decrease | PTSD diagnosis | women with chronic, treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and associated mental health problems stemming from prolonged or multiple trauma exposures | - | greater likelihood of loss of PTSD diagnosis | #2 |
yoga | decrease | engagement in negative tension reduction activities (e.g., self-injury) | women with chronic, treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and associated mental health problems stemming from prolonged or multiple trauma exposures | - | significant decreases | #3 |
yoga | decrease | dissociative and depressive symptoms | women with chronic, treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and associated mental health problems stemming from prolonged or multiple trauma exposures | - | greater reductions | #4 |
frequency of continuing yoga practice | decrease | PTSD symptom severity | women from the randomized controlled trial | - | significantly predicted greater decreases | #5 |
frequency of continuing yoga practice | decrease | depression symptom severity | women from the randomized controlled trial | - | significantly predicted greater decreases | #6 |
frequency of continuing yoga practice | decrease | PTSD diagnosis | women from the randomized controlled trial | - | greater likelihood of a loss of PTSD diagnosis | #7 |
INTRODUCTION: Yoga-the integrative practice of physical postures and movement, breath exercises, and mindfulness-may serve as a useful adjunctive component of trauma-focused treatment to build skills in tolerating and modulating physiologic and affective states that have become dysregulated by trauma exposure. A previous randomized controlled study was carried out among 60 women with chronic, treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and associated mental health problems stemming from prolonged or multiple trauma exposures. After 10 sessions of yoga, participants exhibited statistically significant decreases in PTSD symptom severity and greater likelihood of loss of PTSD diagnosis, significant decreases in engagement in negative tension reduction activities (e.g., self-injury), and greater reductions in dissociative and depressive symptoms when compared with the control (a seminar in women's health). The current study is a long-term follow-up assessment of participants who completed this randomized controlled trial. METHODS: Participants from the randomized controlled trial were invited to participate in long-term follow-up assessments approximately 1.5 years after study completion to assess whether the initial intervention and/or yoga practice after treatment was associated with additional changes. Forty-nine women completed the long-term follow-up interviews. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to examine whether treatment group status in the original study and frequency of yoga practice after the study predicted greater changes in symptoms and PTSD diagnosis. RESULTS: Group assignment in the original randomized study was not a significant predictor of longer-term outcomes. However, frequency of continuing yoga practice significantly predicted greater decreases in PTSD symptom severity and depression symptom severity, as well as a greater likelihood of a loss of PTSD diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Yoga appears to be a useful treatment modality; the greatest long-term benefits are derived from more frequent yoga practice.