Effects of Tele-yoga in Long-term Conditions (TELEYOGA)

Linköping University (LiU)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Chronic Disease

Treatments: Behavioral: Tele-yoga

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03703609

2017/225-31

Details and patient eligibility

About

Long-term illness is common in the Swedish population, especially among older people. These conditions are often associated with impaired quality of life due to high physical and psychological symptom-burden. Medical Yoga is a therapeutic form of Kundalini Yoga with simple movements, breathing exercises and meditation. For people with serious long-term illness, it can be difficult to attend regular yoga-classes. In this study, the investigators therefore set out to develop a tele-yoga intervention and evaluate the impact of medical yoga remotely at home with regard to physical function, quality of life, symptoms of anxiety and depression, biomarkers, sleep and cognition in people with long-term conditions. Health care utilisation as well as satisfaction and experiences with the exercise form and technology used will also be assessed. The evaluation will be conducted in 150 people with long-term illness recruited from three hospitals (one university hospital and two county hospital) randomised to receive either an intervention with medical yoga remotely at home (tele-yoga) for 12 weeks or a control group receiving individualised training to the same extent. The tele-yoga intervention will be provided remotely in the home via a video-transferred yoga instructor twice a week using a tablet and an app for individual daily exercise. Data will be collected at baseline, after 3 and 6 months.

Despite evidence that physical activity improves quality of life and functional capacity and probably survival, it is difficult to motivate and enable elderly people with long-term conditions to engage in physical and mental rehabilitation. In this study, we will test whether a new method conveyed through a technical solution remotely can increase patients' activity and well-being through allowing tele-yoga at home. Can health care resources be reduced, financial gains can also be made.

The study aims to evaluate the impact of medical yoga remotely at home with regard to physical function, quality of life, symptoms of anxiety and depression, biomarkers, sleep and cognition in people with long-term conditions. The investigators will also measure health care utilisation as well as satisfaction and experiences with the exercise form and technology used. The evaluation will be conducted in 300 people with long-term illness randomised to either tele-yoga or a control group.

Full description

A sub-study will be conducted exploring physiological effects of yoga in participants with heart failure. The sub-study will include 40 of the patients with heart failure included in the main study. In the sub-study six additional measures will be performed at baseline and after 3 months in 20 study participants with heart failure in the intervention group; ergospirometry, echocardiography, Holter ECG, microcirculation using the epos system, maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressure. There will be four additional measures in 20 participants from the control-group at baseline and after 3 months; Holter ECG, microcirculation using the epos system and maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressure.

Enrollment: 311 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Long-term illness and cared for at the cardiology clinic or intensive care clinic for at least 48 hours in the last 3-36 months.
• Clinically stable condition at the inclusion.

Exclusion criteria

• Inability to fill in questionnaires.
• Inability to participate in the intervention.
• Expected survival of less than 6 months.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Triple Blind

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311 participants in 2 patient groups

Tele-yoga

Experimental group

Description:

Intervention of doing medical yoga at home (tele-yoga) using (1) an online videoconference system (zoom) for particpating in group-yogaled by a live yoga instructor for 60 minutes twice a week and (2) daily individual yoga for a minimum of 10 minutes using a yoga-app. Participants are provided with a tablet with conference system zoom and yoga app for 12 weeks

Treatment:

Behavioral: Tele-yoga

Individual physical activty advice

No Intervention group

Description:

The active control group will receive advice to be physically active that corresponds to the intervention group in time and effort, equivalent to 60 minutes for 2 days a week and a minimum of 10 minutes for 5 days a week. To compensate for the extra attention received by the intervention group by the instructor via tele-yoga group, the participants in the activecontrol group's patients will be dialed or have SMS contact (the participant chooses a type of contact) with a physiotherapist or nurse after 2, 4, 8 and 12 weeks.