Impacts of yoga versus routine exercise on motor proficiency, quality of life, fatigue, and motivation in childhood cancer patients: A randomized controlled trial.

PURPOSE: This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of an 8-week yoga program on motor proficiency, quality of life, fatigue, and motivation in childhood cancer patients. DESIGN AND METHODS: In this single-blind randomized controlled trial, 41 children with cancer (22 males, 19 females; ages 6-12 years) were randomly assigned to the yoga group (n = 20) or control group (n = 21). The yoga group attended sessions twice a week for 8 weeks, whereas the control group continued their routine exercise program. The primary outcome was motor proficiency assessed by the Bruininks-Oseretsky Motor Proficiency, Second Edition, short form (BOT-2 SF). Secondary outcomes included the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Cancer Module, Child Fatigue Scale, and Pediatric Motivation Scale. Outcomes were measured at baseline and post-intervention. The repeated measures ANOVA was applied. The trial registration number was NCT05434871. RESULTS: A significant group-by-time interaction was found in fine motor integration [F(1, 39) = 5.09, p = .03, ηp2 = 0.12], agility [F (1, 39) = 4.59, p = .04, ηp2 = 0.11], and total BOT-2 scores [F (1, 39) = 4.98, p = .03, ηp2 = 0.11], favoring the yoga group. Interest-enjoyment scores of PMS decreased in the yoga group [F (1, 39) = 4.56, p = .04, ηp2 = 0.11]. Within-group improvements were observed in both groups for quality of life, fatigue, bilateral coordination, balance, agility, upper limb coordination, and total BOT-2 score (p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Yoga may enhance fine and gross motor skills among children with cancer. Strategies to enhance motivation should be considered. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Yoga is a promising approach to vary routine exercise programs of pediatric oncology rehabilitation. Exercises improve quality of life of children with cancer.