Development, Validation, and Feasibility of a Yoga-based Module for Medically Unexplained Physical Symptoms

Background: Medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS) involve persistent symptoms such as pain, fatigue, and gastrointestinal issues without a clear medical cause, often linked to psychological factors. Yoga has been promising in managing psychiatric comorbidities and alleviating MUPS. However, a validated yoga module specifically for MUPS is lacking. Aim: This study aims to develop, validate, and assess the feasibility of a yoga module tailored for MUPS patients. Materials and Methods: A comprehensive review of traditional and contemporary literature informed the development of a yoga module designed to address pain, fatigue, gastrointestinal issues, and associated psychological distress. The initial module, consisting of 47 practices, was validated by 32 yoga experts using the content validity index (CVI) and content validity ratio (CVR) based on Lawshe’s formula. The final module was tested for feasibility on 12 MUPS patients, evaluating symptom severity using the Patient Health Questionnaire-15 at baseline and after 1 month of intervention. Results: The final module, incorporating 34 practices with CVR >0.37 and expert-recommended modifications, including Sheetali Pranayama, demonstrated a CVI of 0.59. Feasibility testing revealed a significant reduction in symptom severity in patients after 1 month of practice. Conclusion: The developed yoga module for MUPS was found to be safe, feasible, and effective in reducing symptom severity. However, given the pilot nature of this study and the small sample size, further randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm the module’s efficacy.