Iyengar Yoga Therapy Intervention for Ischial Pressure Ulcers in a Patient with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Case Study

Descrição / Description

A patient diagnosed with ALS reported the development of ischial pressure ulcers after consistent immobility for 1 year (32 months after her ALS diagnosis). This patient, who was sitting on the wounds, was treated with ointment and morphine; the latter was ineffective in controlling the pain. Moving the patient from sitting to supine, lateral, or semilateral positions, either on the bed or wheelchair, to separate the ulcers from the surface of the chair or bed was deemed impossible because of exaggeration of other symptoms, including shortness of breath and pain in other parts of the body. A new method of postural alignment was developed to alleviate the pain associated with the pressure ulcer. This method, Iyengar yoga therapy, which uses props to reposition a patient, alleviated pain and healing of two pressure ulcers of the patient after 3 weeks of starting this intervention.