Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41845334›Full record

Trial reportBMC complementary medicine and therapies2026

Randomized feasibility trial of tele-yoga versus in-person yoga for treating chronic musculoskeletal pain in veterans.

Louise Mahoney, Shweta Pahade, Heidi Mahoney, Korrine Fitz, Audrey Keaney, Kelly Parker-Bridges, Jasmin M Francisco, Annie Lau, Rita Hitching, Beth Walker and 5 more

Registry-linked trialAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC complementary medicine and therapies, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04074109 (Feasibility of At-Home Telehealth Yoga for Treating Chronic Pain), which is not on this map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT04074109 nacompletednot on this map

Feasibility of At-Home Telehealth Yoga for Treating Chronic Pain

TypeinterventionalSponsorPalo Alto Veterans Institute for ResearchRan2019 to 2021Enrolled34ConditionsChronic Pain, Musculoskeletal PainArmsTeleyoga, In-person yoga
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Louise MahoneyWar Related Illness and Injury Study Center, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA. louise.mahoney2@va.gov.
Shweta PahadeWar Related Illness and Injury Study Center, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Heidi MahoneyWar Related Illness and Injury Study Center, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Korrine FitzWar Related Illness and Injury Study Center, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Audrey KeaneyWar Related Illness and Injury Study Center, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Kelly Parker-BridgesWar Related Illness and Injury Study Center, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Jasmin M FranciscoWar Related Illness and Injury Study Center, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Annie LauWar Related Illness and Injury Study Center, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Rita HitchingWar Related Illness and Injury Study Center, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Beth WalkerOffice of Connected Care, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Telehealth Operations, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Arushi GuptaWar Related Illness and Injury Study Center, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Booil JoDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
Jessica A LohnbergDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
J David ClarkDept of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
Peter J BayleyWar Related Illness and Injury Study Center, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA. peter.bayley@va.gov.

Funding

U.S. National Institutes of Health 1R34AT010364-01
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundChronic pain impacts approximately 20% of the United States adult population and 50–75% of Veterans. It is treatment-resistant, and medications include the risk of addiction or overdose. The VA is promoting complementary and integrative health (CIH) for use along with existing treatments. Yoga can provide effective treatment for many health problems, including pain. Some of the challenges of providing yoga in healthcare include barriers such as space, time, and transportation. We studied the feasibility of conducting a randomized controlled trial (RCT) treating Veterans with chronic musculoskeletal pain with yoga delivered online versus in-person.

methodsWe developed a yoga protocol for treating chronic musculoskeletal pain online using online cohorts (n = 9, 15) with chronic musculoskeletal pain. Optimal treatment parameters were established. The resulting yoga protocol consisted of 12 weekly 75-minute classes with home-practice on 5 non-class days/week. The second phase of the study established the feasibility of conducting an RCT comparing in-person and online yoga. Thirty-four participants (30 male) were randomized to in-person (n = 16) or online yoga (n = 18). Measures were collected at baseline and end-of-treatment.

resultsWe successfully met our Veterans participant recruitment goals for the study. Furthermore, the retention rates were 83% for tele-yoga and 68% for in-person yoga, which exceeded our a priori feasibility target of 65%. Protocol adherence was 8.62 classes (71.8%, range = 2–12) in the tele-yoga group and 9.25 classes (77.1%, range = 4–12) for in-person yoga, again exceeding our feasibility rate of 65%. Treatment satisfaction was measured using a 33-item questionnaire where each item was rated on a 0–4-point scale. Average treatment satisfaction was 3.2 in the tele-yoga group and 3.6 in the in-person group, exceeding the feasibility target of ≥ 2. There were no serious adverse events. Yoga fidelity was assessed by scoring 20% of the classes and was 91% overall. Analysis of secondary outcome measures showed that only the tele-yoga group experienced a statistically significant reduction in pain.

conclusionIt is feasible to conduct an RCT comparing tele-yoga to in-person yoga to treat chronic musculoskeletal pain in Veterans. Treatment may provide a reduction in pain severity and pain interference.

trial registrationclinicaltrials.gov NCT04074109, August 29, 2019.

Indexed as

Chronic PainMusculoskeletal PainVeteransYogaAdultAgedFeasibility StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedTelemedicineChronic painFeasibilityMusculoskeletal painTele-yogaVeteranYoga

Identifiers

PMID41845334
PMCPMC13107856

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.