ReviewACR open rheumatology2025
Key Features of Effective Yoga Interventions in Addition to Standard Medical Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Review in ACR open rheumatology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Barriers and facilitators to yoga practice among people living with arthritis: a qualitative systematic review.Rheumatology international · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness of Yoga and Combined Exercise in Female With Rheumatoid Arthritis: Randomized Controlled Trial.Musculoskeletal care · 2026Trial
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThis systematic review aimed to synthesize the content, structure, and delivery characteristics of effective yoga interventions in addition to standard medical treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
methodsThe Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines were followed. Seventeen databases were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing yoga's effectiveness in treating RA outcomes (disease activity score, pain, and function). Meta-analyses and narrative synthesis were conducted.
resultsNine articles representing five RCTs were included and had low methodological quality scores. Yoga interventions, in addition to standard medical treatment, improved disease activity scores (standardized mean difference [SMD] -0.46, 95% confidence interval [CI] -0.73 to -0.18) and function (SMD -0.42, 95% CI -0.78 to -0.07) but did not effectively reduce pain (SMD -1.06, 95% CI -2.62 to 0.50) compared to standard medical treatment alone. All five RCTs found yoga's beneficial effects on one or more outcomes. All yoga interventions included center-based (supervised, group) sessions, and two included additional home-based (unsupervised, individual) sessions. All interventions incorporated 20 yogic poses (6 standing, 5 supine, 5 prone, and 4 seated), 7 breathing practices, and 4 meditation and relaxation practices. Two interventions offered RA-specific yogic pose modifications. Center-based sessions were delivered at least once weekly for 8 weeks' median duration and around 68 minutes per session. Home-based yoga was recommended thrice weekly for a 10-week mean duration and 40 minutes per session.
conclusionYoga might be useful in addition to standard medical treatment for RA. Given previous studies' methodological limitations, a high-quality RCT should be conducted based on our synthesized key features of effective yoga interventions.
Identifiers
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.