Dr. Mandelbaum says best to yoga is not a sufficient treatment in itself
Article Link: Knee osteoarthritis: Yoga is effective at reducing pain
Knee pain specialists use various therapeutic approaches for helping patients with knee pain due to osteoarthritis. A new study directly compares the effectiveness of two of those therapeutic approaches, yoga and muscle strengthening.
Bert Mandelbaum, MD, not involved in the study, is the co-director of the Regenerative Orthobiologic Center at Cedars-Sinai Orthopaedics in Los Angeles. To him, the study nails down just one detail regarding knee-pain treatment.
Speaking to Medical News Today, Mandelbaum said that, “what we need to know is that [yoga’s] not going to hurt us, but it’s not going to be that robust for us [for treating] arthritis just by itself.” 
“Yoga is a good exercise,” he explained, “and it could be utilized in a multiple-mode exercise regimen. Yoga is not going to hurt you. It’s an important part of an overall program that deals with aerobic conditioning, anaerobic conditioning, interval training, flexibility, and yoga, as well as strength training.”
Mandelbaum noted that osteoarthritis and its symptoms occur in a continuum along which symptoms tend to progress with time and age. As a result, a patient’s appropriate mix of therapies must be continually re-assessed and adjusted as the condition progresses.
“My view of this is to have something that is a controlled multimodal approach where we evaluate where you are in that continuum. Any prescription should be a combination of aerobic conditioning, and then also consider yoga and exercise training.”
