Pain reduction, physical performance, and psychological status compared between Hatha yoga and stretching exercise to treat sedentary office workers with mild/moderate neck/shoulder pain: A randomized controlled non-inferiority trial

To investigate pain reduction, physical performance, and psychological status compared between Hatha yoga and stretching exercises. Randomized controlled non-inferiority trial SUBJECTS: 150 sedentary office workers with mild/moderate neck/shoulder pain. Participants received group Hatha yoga or stretching exercise once a week (30 min for 4 weeks), and were asked to practice at home. Subjects were followed up at 4 and 8 weeks. The primary outcome was a numeric rating scale (NRS) score. The secondary outcomes were a sit-and-reach test, Functional Reach Test, Neck Disability Index, pain pressure threshold, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, General Anxiety Disorder-7, and the EuroQoL. Of the 150 subjects, 59 and 71 participants in the Hatha yoga and stretching groups were analyzed. At baseline, no significant differences between groups were found. After 4 weeks, the mean difference in the NRS score was statistically significant between groups (p