Summary: Why yoga should be considered in occupational therapy intervention when working with individuals who have experienced a CVA?

CVA is one of the most prevalent diseases worldwide, causing devastating impairments, influencing one’s ability to engage in everyday occupations (Lazaridou, Philbrook, & Tzika, 2013).

The physical postures in yoga help CVA survivors to gain strength, and improve flexibility and balance following their CVA, and the breathing exercises associated with yoga help to ease anxiety and depression following a CVA (Thayabaranathan et al., 2012).

Image retrieved from: http://www.zenlines.com/health/benefits-chair-yoga.html 
The physical and mental health benefits associated with moving, being active and mindful are not limited to yoga. Any activity that emphasizes the use of one’s body and mind such as Tai Chi may improve CVA survivor’s emotional and physical wellbeing (Thayabaranathan et al., 2012).

Yoga is easily accessible, economical and provides social interaction if run as part of a group intervention. Yoga is complimentary to occupational therapy intervention, and may be utilised as CVA prevention or post-CVA rehabilitation to improve physical and psychological functioning (Mishra, Singh, Bunch, & Zhang, 2012).

There is very limited research currently available, and yoga techniques would need to be taught by a yoga instructor, specifically trained to work with people who have experienced a CVA, and the yoga techniques would need to be specifically tailored to suit each individual’s needs.


This blog highlights the therapeutic value of yoga in addressing both physical and psychological functioning, and may be a beneficial occupational therapy tool to utilise to promote engagement in everyday meaningful occupations, improving the quality of life of individuals post-CVA.

References:

Lazaridou, A., Philbrook, P., & Tzika, A. A. (2013). Yoga and mindfulness as therapeutic interventions for stroke rehabilitation: A systematic review. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (ECAM), 2013, 1-9. Doi: 2013/357108

Mishra, S. K., Singh, P., Bunch, S. J., & Zhang, R. (2012). The therapeutic values of yoga in neurological disorders. Annals Of Indian Academy Of Neurology, 15(4), 247-254. Doi: 10,4103/0972-2327.104328
Thayabaranathan, T., Andrew, N. E., Immink, M. A., Hillier, S., Stevens, P., Stolwyk, R., & … Cadilhac, D. A. (2017). Determining the potential benefits of yoga in chronic stroke care: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Topics In Stroke Rehabilitation, 24(4), 279-287. Doi: 10.1080/10749357.2016.1277481

Comments

  1. Unknown6 August 2017 at 00:59

    Such an interesting perspective, having never had any experience in stroke rehabilitation I would have never thought to have used something like yoga in the therapeutic process! Will definitely keep this in mind for the future!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown6 August 2017 at 02:30

      Thank you for you feedback! Yoga is definitely a beneficial tool to keep in our therapist toolkit, which we may use with clients that have a range of health conditions.

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