Investigation of tactile acuity of the cervical region and BODY awareness in individuals WHO do yoga practice

The aim of this study was to compare the cervical region tactile sensory acuity and body awareness of healthy individuals who regularly practice yoga and healthy sedentary individuals who do not do yoga. For this purpose, the first group of 60 individuals aged 18-35 included in the study, 30 of whom have been doing vinyasa and hatha yoga regularly for at least 6 months; the other 30 healthy sedentary individuals matched for age, sex, and body mass index formed the second group. In order to objectively evaluate tactile sensory acuity, two-point discrimination (TPD) tresholds measurements were performed with a digital caliper on the C7, C5, C3, C1 and T1 segments in the cervical region of both groups. In order to measure body awareness, the Body Awareness Questionnaire (BAQ), for which Turkish validity and reliability studies were conducted, was used. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS 22.0. When the difference between the TPD data of the groups was examined, it was observed that the TPD thresholds in the cervical region were lower in those who did yoga than in those who did not (p<0.001). When the difference between the BAQ total scores of the groups was examined, it was found that body awareness was higher in yoga practitioners (p<0.001). However, a positive correlation was found between the duration of yoga practice and body awareness (r=0.567, p<0.001). In addition, there was a negative correlation between the duration of yoga practice and the TPD thresholds in all segments measured in the cervical region (p<0.001); the highest correlation was found in the C7 segment (r=-0.844, p<0.001), the lowest correlation was found in the C3 segment (r=0.669, p<0.001). As a result; Adding yoga practices to physiotherapy programs can have a positive effect on pain, functionality and quality of life by increasing body awareness and tactile sensory acuity. Conducting similar studies with long follow-up periods will provide more information about the results of these applications.