Effect of Peripheral Heart Action Training and Yoga Exercise Training on Respiratory Functions and C-Reactive Protein of Postmenopausal Women

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of peripheral heart action (PHA) and yoga exercises on respiratory functions and CRP of obese postmenopausal women. In this quasi-experimental study, 40 elderly women (age: 65.3 ± 2.6 years) referring voluntarily to the Sport Counseling Center of Sports and Youth Administration of Qazvin province in 2018 were randomly assigned to three groups: yoga exercise group (n = 14), strength training group (n = 13), and control group (n = 13). The experimental groups performed the exercise protocols (yoga and PHA training) three sessions a week each lasting 40 minutes for two months. Tests were performed to evaluate the subjects’ ventilatory capacity including FVC and FEV1 using spirometry and CRP. The tests were done in pre-test and post-test. Data were analyzed by SPSS software using t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Tukey post hoc test. FEV1 was better in the yoga and PHA exercise groups than in the control group (P = 0.001 and P = 0.016, respectively). Furthermore, CRP was better in the yoga and PHA training groups than in the control group (P = 0.001 and P = 0.02, respectively). There was no significant difference in the study variables between the two training groups (P = 0.97). Based on the obtained results, due to the vulnerability of the elderly to cardiorespiratory and inflammatory problems, it is highly proposed to apply such exercises to improve the physiological functions.