Impact of Yoga on Quality of Life in Patients With Chronic Chikungunya: A Randomized Controlled Study

The chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an arbovirus passed to humans by Aedes mosquitoes. Since its description in 1952, CHIKV has caused millions of human infections in Africa, the Indian Ocean islands, Asia, Europe and America (1). In total, since 2013, the epidemic has affected more than 2 million people in the Americas. In Guadeloupe, the emergence of chikungunya cases began in 2013. CHINKV was declared an epidemic in 2014 with an estimated 20,000 infected patients.Human infection with CHIKV is characterized by a sudden onset of severe joint pains, high fever and rash. The infection is self-limited and acute symptoms usually disappear within one or two weeks. However, this polyarthralgia is recurrent in 30 to 40% of infected people and can persist for years. Chikungunya is considered chronic if the symptoms persist after three months. The chronic stage can last from a few months to several years. Chronic chikungunya usually manifests as joint pain and stiffness, polyarthralgia (including rheumatoid arthritis, flare-ups of spondylitis), and other general symptoms such as intermittent headaches, edema, and paresthesia. The consequences of chronic CHIKV can be severe, with patients becoming maladjusted to their lifestyle, feeling weakened and diminished. Depression and medical leaves are very frequent, with many cases of disability. Yoga is an ancestral Indian practice aiming to connect the "body" and the "soul", the "self" and "the other". Traditionally, it is a philosophical way of living, sometimes combined with the practice of physical exercises. In westernized countries, Yoga is usually considered as a physical practice or an alternative therapy, using various techniques of breathing, relaxation and poses to release tensions and decrease pain.

Studies have already shown the effectiveness of yoga practice on various arthralgia's, on the reduction of inflammatory reactions, on psychological disorders/sleep disorders and on quality of life. Considering quality of life as a global experience of balance between physical and mental wellbeing, the hypothesis was that the practice of yoga, by improving these different aspects, would globally improve the quality of life of patients with chronic chikungunya.