Investigation of the effect of hatha yoga exercises on body composition, pain and quality of life in migraine patients

The purpose of this study; to examine the effects of Hatha Yoga (HY) exercises on body composition, pain and quality of life in migraine patients. Volunteer female individuals aged 18-55, diagnosed with chronic migraine (n = 32; experimental group n = 15; control group n = 17), were included in this study (mean age of the experimental and control groups, respectively: 35.80 ± 7.78 years; mean age: 36.65 ± 9.62 years). HY exercise program is planned for 12 weeks, 3 days a week, 30 - 90 minutes a day. As a measurement method; anthropometric and flexibility measurements were taken along with a personal information form, visual analogue scale (VAS), headache impact test in migraine patients (HIT-6), migraine disability assessment questionnaire (MIDAS), quality of life assessment scale. Measurements were carried out in three different time periods. As statistical analysis; along with descriptive statistics, independent sample t test, Mann Whitney U test, Friedman test and Fisher's exact tests were used. The significance level was taken as p<0.050. A significant difference was found between VAS, HIT-6 and MIDAS data between measurements made at different times (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in body composition in the experimental and control groups when compared within and between groups (p˃0.05). A significant difference was found in the flexibility measurement data in the intra-group comparison (p <0.001). As a result, it seems that HY exercises have a positive effect on migraine patients on pain intensity, frequency and number of days lost due to pain. It is thought that HY exercises can be recommended as complementary treatment in migraine patients.