PONE-D-22-33655The effects of a yoga intervention on balance and flexibility in female college students during COVID-19: A randomized controlled trialPLOS ONE

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PLOS ONE

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Comments to the Author

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Reviewer #1: Partly

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Dear Sirs,

Your paper seems interesting since it deals with a social and health emergency, that is the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on female college students’ balance and flexibility, and it also offers a possible solution, that is yoga.

Nevertheless, some concerns have to be addressed.

ABSTRACT

It is clear and concise.

INTRODUCTION

This section seems repetitive and pleonastic. Lines 117-120 are needless, and the initial hypotheses of the authors are missing.

METHODS

Please specify the recruitment method. Which flyer did you use? What information were included in it?

How do you explain the absence of drop outs?

How did you perform the sample size calculation? Was the sample a convenience one? Please specify it.

Line 164 and everywhere inside the text: no capital letters after the colon

Lines 194-195: please reformulate the sentence.

It is not well expressed what treatment underwent the control group. This is mandatory in a randomized controlled trial. Please clearly explain it.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

You should revise the structure of this sections. Conclusions are too long, and a substantial part of them could be moved to the discussion which seems poor and needs to be better contextualised. Moreover, is not clear if You aimed at improving psychological health, which largely mentioned in the introduction, or at improving the balance and flexibility tout court. To better describe the context in which you did this research, highlighting the peculiarities of Covid-19 pandemic and female teenagers psychophysical profile, I suggest the following references:

Farì, G., Di Paolo, S., Ungaro, D., Luperto, G., Farì, E., & Latino, F. (2021). The impact of covid-19 on sport and daily activities in an italian cohort of football school children. International Journal of Athletic Therapy and Training, 26(5), 274-278. doi:10.1123/ijatt.2020-0066

Notarnicola, A., Farì, G., Maccagnano, G., Riondino, A., Covelli, I., Bianchi, F. P., . . . Moretti, B. (2019). Teenagers’ perceptions of their scoliotic curves. an observational study of comparison between sports people and non- sports people. Muscles, Ligaments and Tendons Journal, 9(2), 225-235. doi:10.32098/mltj.02.2019.11

de Sire, A., Demeco, A., Marotta, N., Spanò, R., Curci, C., Farì, G., . . . Ammendolia, A. (2022). Neuromuscular impairment of knee stabilizer muscles in a COVID-19 cluster of female volleyball players: Which role for rehabilitation in the post-COVID-19 return-to-play? Applied Sciences (Switzerland), 12(2) doi:10.3390/app12020557

REFERENCES

Please check that references are all represented according to editorial guidelines.

Best regards

Reviewer #2: The article is of scientific interest and in line with the purposes of the journal. The authors guidelines have been met and the manuscript does not require proofreading in English by a native speaker. There are some concerns to fix.

KEYWORDS

In order to increase the visibility of the article, do not use keywords already present in the title.

INTRODUCTION

The backround is well described.

The purpose of the study is clearly stated.

"h are facing major threats.". You need a reference. I suggest inserting the following reference:

- de Sire A, Marotta N, Agostini F, Drago Ferrante V, Demeco A, Ferrillo M, Inzitari MT, Pellegrino R, Russo I, Ozyemisci Taskiran O, Bernetti A, Ammendolia A. A Telerehabilitation Approach to Chronic Facial Paralysis in the COVID -19 Pandemic Scenario: What Role for Electromyography Assessment? J Pers Med. 2022 Mar 19;12(3):497 . doi:10.3390/jpm12030497. PMID: 35330496; PMC ID: PMC8949994

METHODS

The inclusion and exclusion criteria have been adequately described.

The measurements are in accordance with the aim of the study.

Statistical analysis was adequately described and performed.

"57 participants who came to the yoga consultation

124 were selected, and 40 participants were enrolled in the study....of 20 women after screening (Figure 1)......articipants (n = 40). The sociodemograph...(Table 1; p > 0.05). ". Move this information, and also figure 1, to the results section. In the methods section, there must be no references to the number of patients, but only inclusion and exclusion criteria.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The results are written very fluently for the reader and adequately argued in the discussion section.

CONCLUSIONS

Appropriate.

REFERENCES

References are recent and relevant to the subject. Add the suggested reference.

TABLES

The tables are clear and adequately complement the text.

FIGURES

The figures are of good quality.

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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The effects of a yoga intervention on balance and flexibility in female college students during COVID-19: A randomized controlled trial

PONE-D-22-33655R1

Dear Dr. Luo,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

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The authors adequately revised their paper.

The manuscript is acceptable in the present form.

Kind regards,

Alessandro de Sire, M.D.

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE