Research Questions, aim or hypothesis
Tasso has PTSD which is a mental complication that occurs when the patient witnesses a terrifying occurrence like a car accident. Some of the symptoms of the condition include severe anxiety, nightmares, and flashbacks (Seligowski, Lee, Bardeen, & Orcutt, 2015). The symptoms of mental complication interfere with the ability of an individual to conduct daily activities. However, proper medication and self-care restore normalcy in the patient’s life. Psychotherapy remedies like exposure and cognitive therapy eliminate the symptoms of PTSD. The GP can also prescribe medications like antidepressants to lower the levels of anxiety in patients. However, a recent study has indicated that yoga is an effective remedy for PTSD (Jindani, & Khalsa, 2015). This essay will critically appraise the above research paper on the impacts of Yoga.
The authors’ affiliations and qualifications make it easy for an individual to accept and trust the credibility of the study. Doctor Farah Jindani is a PhD holder working at the CAMH at Toronto Canada. Khalsa G.F is a lecturer at the University of Toronto, at the Multi-Faith Centre for Spiritual Study and practice. The two scholars are well-known, and their work is peer-reviewed and has been accepted by the medical fraternity. The conflict of interest can arise due to the origin of the two authors. They are both from Toronto, Canada; thus readers outside Canada can assume that yoga only works in that country. The authors also involve more women (31) than men (9) in the study thereby questioning the fairness of the investigation.
The study seeks to understand the perception of PTSD patients on the impacts of Kulandini yoga. The ineffectiveness and the shortcomings of the conventional methods of managing PTSD necessitated the authors to explore a complementary treatment option. The shortfalls and the side effects of psychotherapy and other medications like antidepressants create room yoga. Recent research has shown that not all oral therapies are active on the patients (McCullough, Risley-Curtiss, & Rorke, 2015). Exposure therapies can also worsen the symptoms of stress disorder. The therapies can also awaken the trauma or memories of the tragic event. Therefore, exposure treatment does not improve the occupational, health, and social functioning of the patient (Gentry, Baranowsky, & Rhoton, 2017). The limitations of the existing therapies trigger the need to search for an effective remedy for a stress disorder. The authors conducted the study to provide a viable alternative for the management of the mental complication.
Results and Limitation of the Study
The study applied the Randomized Control Trial (RCT) design to outline the facts of the research. The investigators asked the eighty participants who turned up for the survey to choose either the waitlist control or the intervention group. Twenty-one participants moved to the control group while the remaining fifty-nine chose the intervention group (Jindani, & Khalsa, 2015). After the yoga exercise, the researchers noted changes in both groups. However, the intervention group showed a significant reduction of symptoms in comparison with the waitlist group.
The RCT design is useful for the research question under investigation since it is unbiased among other reasons. The investigators wanted to analyse the feelings of the PTSD patients after undergoing the yoga treatment. The design also creates room for the comparison of two competing variables as the researchers get the opportunity to gauge both the control and the intervention group. The interpretation of statistical data in the RCT is more comfortable than the other designs (Agar et al., 2015).
The investigators targeted PTSD patients residing outside any treatment facility. The researchers placed posters at public places to alert the Toronto residents about the upcoming yoga exercise. The investigators used online bulletin to reach clients at the CAHM. Additionally, patients learnt about the activity from advertisements. The study used the interview approach to collect data from the participants. The interviews were either audio-recorded from a telephone conversation or were semi-structured. Each group or individual meeting took an average of thirty minutes. The research also used the qualitative thematic method as the technique for data analysis. Interviews enable the interviewer and the interviewee to develop a productive working relationship (Gorham et al., 2017). The method also makes the interviewer select the appropriate candidates for a given study. However, interview sessions can be tedious and time-consuming (Al?Amer, Ramjan, L., Glew, Darwish, & Salamonson, 2015). Thematic analysis is suitable for large sets of data and also favours numerous researchers (Hong et al., 2016). However, it is unreliable due to varied interpretation from different investigators. The data analysis method also limits the ability of an individual to make sense of information continuity.
The results and the conclusion of the study answer the research question. The study intended to gauge the perception of the PTSD patients about the impact of yoga on their systems. The results indicate that the patients noted a reduction of the symptoms after the Kundalini yoga. The desirable effects of the exercise make the researchers conclude that caregivers should suggest yoga to the patients of PTSD. The first limitation of the study is that the participants were healthy and had an immense interest in the yoga exercise. Secondly, the sample size was small, and the study lacked an adequate control group. Finding solutions to the limitations improves the credibility of the research.
Conclusion
I would apply the Kundalini yoga in clinical practice due to its various advantages over the other remedies like exposure and cognitive therapies. The Yoga program reduces stress and enables the PTSD patient to tolerate the trauma from tragic events (Vacchiano, Wofford & Titch, 2014). The exercise also reduces the severity of PTSD symptoms and enables the patients to control their emotions. Yoga empowers the patients and allows the clients to regulate their healing. The experts conduct the yoga sessions in groups; thus ensuring social support to the participants. Patients admit that the yoga program improves their health and wellbeing. The numerous advantages of the remedy make it indispensable in the clinical set-ups. However, a few barriers can prevent the application of the solution. Elderly patients might find the exercise to be strenuous; hence only effective for young patients. The language barrier between the trainers and the participants may also prevent the continuity of the training (Meuter, Gallois, Segalowitz, Ryder, & Hocking, 2015).
Conclusion
Yoga is an efficient remedy for PTSD patients according to the above research paper. The authors of the article, Jindani, and Khalsa are well-known, and their work is peer-reviewed; hence improving credibility. However, the fact that the authors are all from Toronto raises the question of biases. Gender bias also occurs as the authors recruit nine men and thirty-one females for the study. The research intended to gauge the perception of PTSD patients on the impact of yoga on their symptoms. The study applies RCT design which eliminates bias and creates room for the comparison of variables. The investigators use interviews and qualitative thematic method to collect and analyse data respectively. The study has few limitations; however, yoga is effective for PTSD patients.
References
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Gentry, J. E., Baranowsky, A. B., & Rhoton, R. (2017). Trauma competency: An active ingredients approach to treating posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Counseling & Development, 95(3), 279-287. Retrieved from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jcad.12142
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Jindani, F. A., & Khalsa, G. F. S. (2015). A yoga intervention program for patients suffering from symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder: A qualitative descriptive study. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 21(7), 401-408. doi:10.1089/acm.2014.0262
McCullough, L., Risley-Curtiss, C., & Rorke, J. (2015). Equine facilitated psychotherapy: A pilot study of the effect on posttraumatic stress symptoms in maltreated youth. Journal of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychotherapy, 14(2), 158-173. Retrieved from: https://pressto.amu.edu.pl/index.php/sr/article/view/10417
Meuter, R. F., Gallois, C., Segalowitz, N. S., Ryder, A. G., & Hocking, J. (2015). Overcoming language barriers in healthcare: A protocol for investigating safe and effective communication when patients or clinicians use a second language. BMC health services research, 15(1), 371. Retrieved from:
https://academictree.org/linguistics/publications.php?pid=26535
Seligowski, A. V., Lee, D. J., Bardeen, J. R., & Orcutt, H. K. (2015). Emotion regulation and posttraumatic stress symptoms: A meta-analysis. Cognitive behaviour therapy, 44(2), 87-102. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25421727
Vacchiano, C. A., Wofford, K. A., & Titch, J. F. (2014). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Annual Review of Nursing Research, Volume 32, 2014: Military and Veteran Innovations of Care, 32, 1. Retrieved from: https://nursing.duke.edu/faculty-names/charles-vacchiano?page=4
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