The impact of a yoga-based physical therapy group for individuals with traumatic brain injury: results from a pilot study

ABSTRACT

Objective

To compare the impacts of yoga-based physical therapy versus a seated rest within the context of standard rehabilitation practice on sleep, heart rate variability (HRV), anxiety, and fatigue during acute traumatic brain injury (TBI) rehabilitation.

Methods

Eleven individuals participated in this crossover study involving the following interventions in a randomized order: group yoga-based physical therapy (YPT), conventional physical therapy (CPT), and group seated rest in a relaxing environment (SR). HRV and self-reported anxiety and fatigue were measured immediately before and after each group, and sleep after each condition and at baseline. Data was analyzed using generalized linear mixed models with repeated measures.

Results

The interaction between time and treatment was statistically significant (p = .0203). For the SR treatment, wake after sleep onset (WASO) rate was reduced from 14.99 to 10.60 (IRR = 0.71; p = .006). Time and treatment were not found to be statistically significantly associated with any of the secondary outcomes.

Conclusion

Yoga-based physical therapy is feasible and safe in the inpatient rehabilitation setting following TBI. Sleep quality improved following the addition of a one-hour seated rest in a relaxing environment to a standard rehabilitation daily schedule, suggesting that structured rest time may be beneficial to sleep hygiene during inpatient rehabilitation following TBI.

ClinicalTrials.Gov Registration Number: NCT03701594

KEYWORDS:

• Traumatic brain injury
• yoga
• sleep disturbance
• heart rate variability
• anxiety
• fatigue

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab James Brown IV Fellowship which supported the trial, Dr. Kyla Pearce and the LoveYourBrain Foundation, Dr. Kaitlin Reilly, Dr. Libby Robinson, Lindsay Hong, Amanda June, Dr. Ashley Grebe, Dr. Richard Harvey, Ingrid Larson, Dr. Martha Smith, Dr. Sally Taylor, and Francisco Leon.

Disclosure of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, KK, upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab [James Brown IV Fellowship].