Rusie Dutton traditional Thai exercise promotes health related physical fitness and quality of life in menopausal women

•Rusie Dutton, a traditional Thai exercise, is a mind-body exercise and popular among tourists and the locals alike.•Rusie Dutton incorporates slow movements, stretching of the limbs and body, controlled deep breathing and meditation.•Rusie Dutton practice can improve flexibility, cardiorespiratory fitness and quality of life in menopausal women.

ObjectiveTo examine the effects of “Rusie Dutton” on health and quality of life in menopausal women.MethodMenopausal women (aged 45-59) were recruited and randomly allocated to 2 groups. Rusie Dutton group (n = 24) practiced Rusie Dutton conducted by Wat Pho Thai Traditional Massage School for 13 weeks. The control group (n = 26) was assigned to a waiting list and received no intervention. BW, BMI, restingHR, BP, flexibility, VO2max, and MENQOL including vasomotor, physical, psychosocial and sexual domains were measured at the beginning and the end. A paired-sample t-test and independent sample t-test were used for statistical analysis.ResultsSignificant improvement was found in all variables within group (p < .05) in Rusie Dutton group, and a significant difference between groups was found (p < .05) in all variables except BW and BMI. Therefore, it is concluded that the traditional Thai exercise Rusie Dutton can promote health related physical fitness and QOL in menopausal women.