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Background. Hypertension is a significant health concern in India, particularly among young adults. High blood pressure is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, including stroke and heart disease. One potential approach to managing hypertension is through non-pharmacological interventions, such as Yoga. Purpose. This randomised controlled trial aimed to assess the effects of a 12-week yoga intervention on cardiac autonomic function and blood pressure in young Indian adults with hypertension. Methods. A total of sixty-six patients with hypertension (age: 22.4 ± 0.9) were randomly allocated to either the Yoga Program Group (YPG) consisting of (n=33) participants who underwent the 12-week yoga intervention or the Control Group (CG) with (n=33) participants who did not receive any treatment. Assessments were conducted before and after the intervention period, measuring heart rate variability (HRV) and blood pressure. Results. A two-way mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed significant improvements in the YPG for several HRV parameters, including RR interval (p ≤ 0.001), RMSSD (p ≤ 0.001), NN50% (p ≤ 0.001), pNN50% (p ≤ 0.001), and HF (p ≤ 0.001). Additionally, LF (p ≤ 0.001) and LF/HF ratio (p ≤ 0.001) significantly decreased in the intervention group. Blood pressure parameters also demonstrated significant reductions (p ≤ 0.001) in the intervention group when compared to the control group. Conclusion. The findings of this study suggest that a 12-week yoga program positively impacts cardiac autonomic function and blood pressure in young Indian adults with primary hypertension. These results underscore the potential of Yoga as a non-pharmacological intervention for managing hypertension in this demographic.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the effects of two sessions per week plyometric training on different surfaces on the counter movement jump height, take-off force, and maximum concentric power of collegiate athletes. Material and methods: Male collegiate athletes (n=24, age=18.46±1.14 years, weight=64.88±5.61 kg and height=1.72±0.07 metres)) from a physical training centre were randomly and equally assigned to three groups, each trained on different surfaces (synthetic, cinder and sand). The training intervention was implemented twice a week and lasted for 8 weeks. The athletes were tested before and after the intervention to assess changes in the performance of counter movement jump height (CMJHT), take-off force (CMJTOF) and maximum concentric power (CMJMCP). Results: Results showed that overall measurement of CMJHT, CMJTOF and CMJMCP improved significantly (p≤0.05, Δ %=10.50; p≤0.05, Δ%=11.11; p≤0.05, Δ%=11.41). However, training surfaces have no significant effect on the improvement of the selected variables (CMJHT:F(2,21)=2.37, p=0.118, ηp2=0.184; CMJTOF:F(2,21)=1.28, p=0.299, ηp2=0.109; CMJMCP:F(2,21)=0.061, p=0.941, ηp2=0.006). Further, for the synthetic track surface group CMJHT, CMJTOF and CMJMCP improved significantly (p≤0.05, Δ%=16.36; p≤0.05, Δ%=17.50; p≤0.05, Δ%=17.99); for the cinder track surface group CMJHT and CMJMCP improved significantly (p≤0.05, Δ%=9.15; p≤0.05, Δ%=10.33) and for the sand surface group only CMJHT improved significantly (p≤0.05, Δ%=5.68). Conclusions: The findings suggest that plyometric training on different surfaces can effectively improve athletic performance, but the specific surface type does not appear to impact the outcomes significantly. The study further suggested analysing the injury risk associated with plyometric training on various training surfaces and discovering the optimal training surface for minimising injury risk while maximising performance gains.