Key takeaways
- A randomized controlled trial from Russia, published in Annals of Neurosciences, compared a 12-week yoga program with physical therapy and no exercise for people with multiple sclerosis (MS).
- The yoga group showed significant improvement on quality-of-life measures; symptom measures like balance, walking, and fatigue did not differ significantly between groups.
- The study was small, and roughly half of the participants in both exercise groups did not complete it — reasons to read the headline cautiously.
- Practices for MS should be adapted for balance, fatigue, and heat sensitivity by someone experienced with neurological conditions, and yoga remains a complement to medical care, not a substitute.
A study from Russia, published in Annals of Neurosciences, reported that a three-month yoga program improved quality of life for people with multiple sclerosis more than traditional physical therapy did — a finding that earned headlines framing yoga as the winner. The details are more nuanced than the headline, and the nuance is worth understanding, because it says a lot about what yoga can and cannot be expected to do for people living with MS.
What the study looked at
The trial enrolled 56 participants with MS and randomly assigned them to one of three groups: a yoga program (26 patients), physical therapy (16 patients), or no exercise (14 patients). The yoga group attended twice-weekly sessions for 12 weeks, each lasting about 60 to 75 minutes, held in a specially equipped hall. The Iyengar-informed program used 13 basic and alternative poses, with an emphasis on participant safety and gradual progression. The physical therapy group also met twice weekly, with sessions that included a warmup, endurance training, aerobic exercise, and relaxation techniques. The no-exercise group simply maintained their normal lifestyle.
What it found — and what it did not
On symptom measures — balance, walking function, and fatigue — the study found no significant differences among the three groups at the end of the trial. Where the yoga group stood out was quality of life: participants showed significant improvement on quality-of-life scores, particularly in physical and social functioning, life activity, and mental health.
Two other details matter. Completion rates were low in both active groups — 57.7 percent in the yoga group and 56.3 percent in the physical therapy group, versus 85.7 percent in the no-exercise group — with insufficient motivation cited as the main reason for dropout. And on safety, two patients in the physical therapy group reported side effects including pain, while no side effects were reported in the yoga group. The researchers described regular, professionally supervised yoga as a promising method of non-drug rehabilitation for people with MS and motor disorders, while calling for further research. The full study, Yoga vs Physical Therapy in Multiple Sclerosis, was published in Annals of Neurosciences and covered by Multiple Sclerosis News Today.
How to read results like these
A single small trial with uneven groups and high dropout cannot settle the question of yoga versus physical therapy — and it should not be read as a reason to abandon physical therapy, which remains a well-established part of MS rehabilitation. The honest summary is narrower: in this trial, yoga matched physical therapy on symptom measures and outperformed it on self-reported quality of life. Quality of life is a meaningful outcome — how a person functions socially, how they feel about daily life — but it is not the same as disease improvement. Many people with MS benefit from both approaches, and the two are more complementary than competitive; our article on yoga therapy and physical therapy looks at how they can work together. For the broader research picture across conditions, see our overview of clinical evidence for yoga therapy.
Practical considerations for people with MS
If you are living with MS and considering yoga, a few adaptations make the difference between a practice that helps and one that frustrates:
- Heat sensitivity. Many people with MS find symptoms worsen with heat, so practice in a cool room and avoid heated formats entirely.
- Balance support. A wall, a chair, and props allow standing work without fall risk on days when balance is unreliable.
- Fatigue pacing. Shorter, consistent sessions generally serve better than occasional long ones, and rest is part of the practice, not a failure of it.
- Individual adaptation. Spasticity, numbness, and vision changes all call for modified positioning that a generic routine will not provide.
This is exactly the kind of adaptation a credentialed yoga therapist experienced with neurological conditions is trained to make, ideally in coordination with your neurology team. You can find a qualified yoga therapist near you through our directory. And the standing rule applies here as everywhere: yoga is a complement to medical care for MS — disease-modifying therapy and neurological follow-up come first, and any movement program should be discussed with the clinicians who know your case.