Efficacy of yoga for posttraumatic stress disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Yoga appears to be a safe and effective complementary intervention for reducing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depressive symptoms. A systematic review and meta-analysis of 20 randomized controlled trials involving adults with PTSD found that yoga significantly improved self-reported PTSD symptoms and both immediate and long-term depression symptoms compared to control interventions. However, clinician-reported assessments did not show improvement in PTSD symptoms. No serious adverse events were reported across six studies that tracked them. The type of yoga influenced outcomes, and individual studies often had high bias, but overall results suggest yoga is likely beneficial for individuals with PTSD.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Yoga is an increasingly popular complementary intervention to reduce posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and related comorbidities, but its safety and treatment efficacy are not firmly established. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing randomized control trials (RCTs) of yoga interventions for PTSD and related secondary outcomes (e.g., depression). Initial search results found over 668 potential papers. Twenty met inclusion criteria (e.g., RCTs on adult participants with PTSD that evaluated safety or efficacy outcomes). Meta-analysis indicated that, compared to control interventions, participation in yoga interventions significantly improved self-report PTSD (standardized mean difference [SMD]: -0.51; 95 % confidence interval [CI]: -0.68, -0.35) and immediate (SMD: -0.39; 95 % CI: -0.56, -0.22) and long-term (SMD: -0.44; 95 % CI: -0.74, -0.13) depression symptoms. However, using clinician-reported assessments, yoga interventions were not associated with improved PTSD symptoms. Type of yoga differentially predicted outcomes. Sensitivity analysis showed consistent effect sizes when omitting each study from main analyses. Six studies reported whether any serious adverse events occurred. None were indicated. No publication bias was found, although individual intervention studies tended to be high in bias. Results suggest yoga is likely a safe and effective complementary intervention for reducing PTSD and depressive symptoms in individuals with PTSD. More rigorous RCTs are warranted.