The Effectiveness of Yoga Exercises on the General Health and Self-Esteem of Injured Athletes with Anxiety

Abstract Introduction: In recent years, increasing participation in competitive sports and, consequently, its injuries, has become a priority in understanding psychological stress and exploring ways to deal with it. The aim of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of yoga exercises on general health and self-esteem of injured athletes with anxiety. Methods: This quasi-experimental study with pre-test and post-test design with experimental and control group. The statistical population of this study included 95 volunteer male student athletes from the sport teams of the faculties of Tehran University. Twenty-one of them were selected based on the “Scale of Sport Injury Anxiety” and were randomly divided into control (n = 11) and experimental (n = 10) groups. Initially, the participants completed the General Health Questionnaire and the Eysenck Self-Esteem Questionnaire. The experimental group was then trained five times a week for three consecutive weeks, while the control group did not perform any of the yoga exercises. After completion of yoga training sessions, the questionnaires were again completed by all subjects. Data were analyzed using SPSS.22. Results: There was a significant difference between the control and experimental groups in post-test scores on general health (p <0.001, F = 22,329) and self-esteem (p <0.001, F = 4,525). Conclusions: A yoga training course has a significant effect on the general health and self-esteem of injured athletes with anxiety and improves their general health and self-esteem. It is recommended to use yoga exercises to improve the general health and self-esteem of injured athletes.