WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13. 2005
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
3A
FITNESS
Kellv Hutsell/KANSAN
Yoga helps prevent muscle pain
Ashley Cooke, Kansas City, Mo., senior, poses in a backbend in a yoga class yesterday at the Student Recreation Fitness Center. A study shows that yoga may be a good preventative measure for muscle soreness.
BY WHITNEY MATHEWS
correspondent@kansan.com
KANSAN CORRESPONDENT
Adam Engel nearly lives in the gym. The first-year pharmacy student from Salina sweats at the Student Recreation Fitness Center at least five days a week for two hours a day.
But when he is overwhelmed with his studies, Engel has to adjust his workout regimen. During busy periods, he can lift weights only a few times a week. It's during those weeks Engel wakes up the next day with sore muscles.
Engel has a condition called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. DOMS describe the muscle pain after physical activity that the body isn't used to performing. Although there is no specific cure for DOMS, a recent study shows that yoga could be it. The first study to research yoga and DOMS was published last November in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. The results imply that practicing yoga decreases DOMS.
"I can always tell if I'm slacking off," Engel said. "I'll be sore for a couple days."
Yoga is a practice that increases mental and physical endurance and strength. According to Yoga Journal magazine, modern yoga involves a series of physical positions. The sequences of positions release toxins from the body, and improve the mental and physical endurance required for long periods of meditation.
Yoga: A wonder drug?
For every study that demonstrates the effectiveness of a particular DOMS therapy, there is a contrasting study that shows little or no effectiveness for that treatment except for yoga.
Muscles need to be broken down for them to build up. The pain of DOMS is a physical symptom of the breakdown and build-up process. The study shows practicing yoga conditions muscles in a way that decreases soreness by an average of 56 percent
Stephen Sayers, assistant profes
sor of exercise science at the University of Missouri, who contributed to the study, said that treatments have been studied to relieve DOMS symptoms, including acupuncture, laser therapy, oxygen therapy, anti-inflammatory medication and nutritional supplements.
Those treatments focused on easing pain after muscular breakdown had started. Sayers and his colleagues focused their study on preventing muscle soreness before it started.
"We thought it may be that instead of treating the symptoms of muscle damage from DOMS, prevention of damage through muscle adaptation is the best strategy," Savers said.
But Sayers warns that yoga is not an instant cure for DOMS. In fact, some people doing yoga for the first time could experience muscle soreness. He does recommend it to those who work out regularly, and are looking for soreness relief.
"I would especially recommend yoga to athletes during their offseason," Sayers said. "It would be a good way to precondition muscles
to be less susceptible to DOMS."
Margaret Carr, co-owner and codirector of the Yoga Center of Lawrence. 920 Massachusetts St., agreed with Sayers.
"If you're not very athletic, you will experience some soreness the first time you do yoga," Carr said. "But after awhile you'll experience a big increase in muscle condition."
Carr said the type of yoga practiced at the center, Iyengar yoga, would be beneficial for people experiencing DOMS.
Lyengar yoga is known for precisely aligning bones and muscles, and improving posture and toning. Carr said that many of her clients notice differences in their bodies after a few sessions.
"People come into class and tell me they are standing straighter, and more aware of how their body and muscles feel when after certain activities," Carr said. "They tend to pick up quickly that yoga practice is a whole mind and whole body experience."
Appeal for athletes
Carr emphasizes in her classes
"I can always tell if
can always tell if I'm slacking off. I'll be sore for a couple days."
Adam Engel First-year pharmacy student
Adam Engel
that sports tend to isolate a certain muscle group, but yoga works all the body's muscles equally and symmetrically.
A few years ago, the University of Kansas women's tennis team came to the Yoga Center of Lawrence to put variety into their conditioning.
"These 20-year-old girls were telling me about muscles they hadn't worked in years," Carr said. "And they could feel them getting stronger after a few sessions."
Even though people have practiced yoga for thousands of years, scientific research on its benefits has just begun. Sayers said he was happy with the DOMS prevention study, but he would like to see more skeletal and muscular research that used yoga.
Sayers agreed that the benefits of yoga extend far beyond DOMS prevention. He said there was evidence that yoga not only relieved DOMS, but that it improved muscle strength and endurance. There is also evidence that yoga helps prevent cardiac problems, such as heart attacks, and relieves stress.
The Student Recreation Fitness Center offers yoga classes at various times during the week. The classes are a part of the KU Fit program, and free to all KU students.
CORRECTION
"I think there are some important studies that need to be examined." Sayers said. "Especially with mobility limitations, cardiovascular health, and balance-control issues."
The Yoga Center of Lawrence offers eight or nine-week sessions for $70, and has classes for all experience levels.
Edited by Jennifer Voldness
- Friday's University Daily Kansan contained an error. In the article, "Candidate makes comeback to University," Sara Garlick's name was misspelled.
ON THE RECORD
◆ A 20-year-old KU student reported the theft of a PlayStation 2, a Nintendo GameCube and other items to Lawrence police between 6:15 p.m. April 9 and 12:15 p.m. April 10 from the 4500 block of Wimbledon Road. The items are valued at $1,420.
- Phi Kappa Theta fraternity reported three leather couches and a leather chair stolen to Lawrence police between 4 and 9:30 a.m. April 9 from the 1100 block of W. 11th Street. The couches are valued at $2,000 and the chair is valued at $400.
- An 18-year-old KU student reported her purse, items in it and two passports stolen to Lawrence police between 2 and 7 a.m. April 7 from the 2300 block of W. 26th Street. The purse is valued at $10. The items in it are valued at $82, and each passport is valued at $87.
- ♦ A 20-year-old KU student reported her 1994 Nissan Maxima stolen to Lawrence police between 2:30 and 7:45 a.m. April 8 from the 2100 block of Crossgate Drive. The car is valued at $1,500.
- A 20-year-old KU student reported her laptop stolen to Lawrence police between 11:15 and 11:30 p.m. April 9 from the 900 block of Emery Road. The laptop is valued at $550.
♦ The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics will sponsor Pizza and Politics with free pizza and beverages at noon today at the Centennial Room in the Kansas Union. The event will feature Republican operative Joe Gaylord, who will speak on "The Republicans' Prospects in '06 and '08." Call 864-4900 for more information.
ON CAMPUS
- Ecumenical Christian Ministries will sponsor a University Forum featuring KU associate professor of sociology David Smith, who will speak on "New Challenges to Academic Freedom" at 12:30 today in the ECM, 1204 Oread Ave. Call 843-4933 for more information.
- KU international Programs will sponsor a conference on "How the World Views Us: International View of the United States," featuring political scientist Deborah Gerner, from 6:30-8 p.m. at Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union. Call 864-6161 for more information.