Month: February 2019

Improve Health with Qigong

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Improve Health with Qigong

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“The health benefits from Qigong and Tai Chi comes about both by supporting the body’s natural tendency to return to balance and equilibrium and also gently yet profoundly creating strength, flexibility and balance in the muscles and joints through gentle flowing movements.” – Denise Nagel

 

Qigong and Tai Chi have been practiced for thousands of years with benefits for health and longevity. Qigong and Tai Chi training are designed to enhance function and regulate the activities of the body through regulated breathing, mindful concentration, and gentle movements. Only recently though have the effects of Qigong practice been scrutinized with empirical research. It has been found to be effective for an array of physical and psychological issues. It appears to strengthen the immune system, reduce inflammation, increase the number of cancer killing cells in the bloodstream and improve cardiovascular function.

 

Because Qigong is not strenuous, involving slow gentle movements, and is safe, having no appreciable side effects, it is appropriate for all ages including the elderly and for individuals with illnesses that limit their activities or range of motion. So, with indications of so many benefits it makes sense to step back and review the research on the effects of Qigong training on health and well-being.

 

In today’s Research News article “Beneficial Effects of Qigong Wuqinxi in the Improvement of Health Condition, Prevention, and Treatment of Chronic Diseases: Evidence from a Systematic Review.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6220394/ ), Guo and colleagues review and summarize the published research literature on the effects of Qigong practice on physical and psychological health. They found 28 published research studies.

 

They report that the research finds that Qigong practice by healthy adults produces improvements in cognitive functions including concentration and attention, strengthens the immune system, improves body shape and size, physical function, and the cardiovascular system, improves mood and psychological well-being, improves lipid metabolism, slows physiological indicators of aging, and reduces inflammation. For clinical populations, they report that the research indicates that Qigong practice reduces depression, and improves osteoarthritis, including knee osteoarthritis, metabolic syndrome, and blood fat levels.

 

Conclusions from these very exciting findings must be tempered as the research methodologies were often weak. More tightly controlled studies are needed. Regardless, these findings suggest that Qigong practice produces improved physical and psychological health in both healthy adults and people with mental and physical diseases. These are a remarkable set of benefits from this simple practice and suggest the reason why it has continued to be practiced by large numbers of people for hundreds of years. Hence, this simple, inexpensive, convenient, safe, and fun practice may improve the participants ability to successfully conduct their lives, improving health and well-being.

 

So, improve health with Qigong.

 

““A compelling body of research emerges when Tai Chi studies and the growing body of Qigong studies are combined. The evidence suggests that a wide range of health benefits accrue in response to these meditative movement forms.” – Dr. Mercola

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Guo, Y., Xu, M., Wei, Z., Hu, Q., Chen, Y., Yan, J., & Wei, Y. (2018). Beneficial Effects of Qigong Wuqinxi in the Improvement of Health Condition, Prevention, and Treatment of Chronic Diseases: Evidence from a Systematic Review. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2018, 3235950. doi:10.1155/2018/3235950

 

Abstract

Purpose

Qigong is a modality of traditional Chinese mind-body medicine that has been used to prevent and cure ailments, to improve health in China for thousands of years. Wuqinxi, a Chinese traditional Qigong that focuses on mind-body integration, is thought to be an effective exercise in promoting physical and mental wellbeing. Thus, we summarized the evidence and aim to unravel effects of Wuqinxi on health outcomes.

Methods

We performed a systematic review of Wuqinxi studies published in English or Chinese since 1979. Relevant English and Chinese language electronic data bases were used for literature search. The selection of studies, data extraction, and validation were performed independently by two reviewers.

Results

A total of 28 eligible studies were included in this review, among which three are 3 in English and 25 in Chinese. The studies included in this review involve three different experimental designs: (1) 16 RCTs; (2) 2 historical cohort studies; and (3) 10 pretest and posttest studies (PPS). Participants in this review are categorized as either healthy or clinical populations. The results from this systematic review support the notion that Wuqinxi may be effective as an adjunctive rehabilitation method for improving psychological and physiological wellbeing among different age of healthy populations in addition to alleviating and treating diseases among various clinical populations.

Conclusion

The results indicated that Wuqinxi has been thought to be beneficial to improve health and treat chronic diseases. However, the methodological problems in the majority of included studies make it difficult to draw firm conclusive statements. More methodologically rigorous designed large-scale RCTs with a long-term follow-up assessment should be further conducted to examine the effects of Wuqixi on health-related parameters and disease-specific measures in different health conditions. This systematic review lends insight for future studies on Wuqinxi and its potential application in preventive and rehabilitation medicine.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6220394/

 

Meditation Alters Brain Responses to Negative Stimuli

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Meditation Alters Brain Responses to Negative Stimuli

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“meditation facilitates strengthening the Assessment Center, weakening the unhelpful aspects of the Me Center (that can cause you to take things personally), strengthening the helpful parts of the Me Center (involved with empathy and understanding others) and changing the connections to/from the bodily sensation/fear centers such that you experience sensations in a less reactive, more balanced and holistic way. In a very real way, you literally are changing your brain for the better when you meditate.” – Rebecca Gladding

 

There has accumulated a large amount of research demonstrating that mindfulness has significant benefits for psychological, physical, and spiritual wellbeing. It even improves high level thinking known as executive function. Its positive effects are so widespread that it is difficult to find any other treatment of any kind with such broad beneficial effects on everything from thinking to mood and happiness to severe mental and physical illnesses. This raises the question of how mindfulness training could produce such widespread and varied benefits.

 

Mindfulness practice has been shown to produce improved emotion regulation. Practitioners demonstrate the ability to fully sense and experience emotions, but respond to them in more appropriate and adaptive ways. In other words, mindful people are better able to experience yet control emotions. This ability of mindfulness training to improve emotion regulation may be the basis for a wide variety of benefits that mindfulness provides to mental health.

 

Mindfulness practices may result in beneficial changes in the nervous system that underlie emotion regulation. The nervous system is a dynamic entity, constantly changing and adapting to the environment. It will change size, activity, and connectivity in response to experience. These changes in the brain are called neuroplasticity. Over the last decade neuroscience has been studying the effects of contemplative practices on the brain and has identified neuroplastic changes in widespread areas. In other words, mindfulness practice appears to mold and change the brain, producing psychological, physical, and spiritual benefits.

 

In today’s Research News article “Does Meditation Alter Brain Responses to Negative Stimuli? A Systematic Review.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6243128/ ), Magalhaes and colleagues review and summarize the published research literature on the ability of mindful practice to alter brain responses to improve the regulation of emotions especially reactions to negative events.

 

They identified 11 published studies that used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to assess brain responses to negative stimuli before and after mindfulness training. Six of these studies involved a comparison to a control group while five involved before after comparisons. They found that the research, in general, indicated that mindfulness training resulted in greater activation of the frontal and prefrontal cortical regions of the brain in response to negative emotion eliciting stimuli. A number of studies also identified greater activation of the insular cortical region.

 

These are interesting findings as the frontal and prefrontal cortical regions have been identified as involved in higher level thought processes and particularly attentional processes. This suggests that a top down, cognitive, regulation of emotion is elicited to negative stimuli. Hence, it appears that individuals, trained in mindfulness, deal with negative emotions with attention and reason, analyzing the reality of the situation, and thereby responding less intensely and more adaptively and appropriately.

 

The insular region has been shown to be involved in body sense, particularly interoceptive awareness of the state of the body. Its heightened response to negative stimuli after mindfulness training suggests that trained individuals have a heightened sense of how their bodies are responding to a negative emotion. Many people are unaware of their physiological reactions to emotions. By improving this internal awareness mindfulness training may make individuals better able to detect when a emotion is arising and thereby better able to regulate it.

 

Hence, the published research indicates that mindfulness training results in changes to the brain that improve the detection of emotional reactions and the ability to attend to and rationally process the conditions that elicited them. These neuroplastic changes to the brain may underlie the ability of mindfulness training to enhance emotion regulation in response to negative situations and thereby improve the mental health of practitioners.

 

“Now, as the popularity of mindfulness grows, brain imaging techniques are revealing that this ancient practice can profoundly change the way different regions of the brain communicate with each other – and therefore how we think – permanently.” – Tom Ireland

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Magalhaes, A. A., Oliveira, L., Pereira, M. G., & Menezes, C. B. (2018). Does Meditation Alter Brain Responses to Negative Stimuli? A Systematic Review. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 12, 448. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2018.00448

 

Abstract

Background: Despite several attempts to review and explain how meditation alters the brain and facilitates emotion regulation, the extent to which meditation and emotion regulation strategies share the same neural mechanisms remains unclear.

Objective: We aim to understand the influence of meditation on the neural processing of negative emotional stimuli in participants who underwent meditation interventions (naive meditators) and long-term meditators.

Methodology: A systematic review was conducted using standardized search operators that included the presence of terms related to emotion, meditation and neuro-imaging techniques in PsycInfo, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases.

Results: Searches identified 882 papers, of which 11 were eligible for inclusion. Results showed a predominance of greater prefrontal/frontal activity related to meditation, which might indicate the increased recruitment of cognitive/attentional control resources in naïve and long-term meditators. This increased frontal activity was also observed when participants were asked to simply react to negative stimuli. Findings from emotion-related areas were scarce but suggested increased insular activity in meditators, potentially indicating that meditation might be associated with greater bodily awareness.

Conclusions: Meditation practice prompts regulatory mechanisms when participants face aversive stimuli, even without an explicit request. Moreover, some studies reported increased insular activity in meditators, consistent with the hypothesis that meditation helps foster an interoceptive awareness of bodily and emotional states.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6243128/

 

Meditation’s Reduction of Pain is Independent of Brain Opioid Systems

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Meditation’s Reduction of Pain is Independent of Brain Opioid Systems

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Bit by bit, as I sat noticing my breath and body sensations, I began to feel the deep knots of pain in my body start to untie themselves.” – Avi Craimer

 

We all have to deal with pain. It’s inevitable, but hopefully it’s mild and short lived. For a wide swath of humanity, however, pain is a constant in their lives. At least 100 million adult Americans have chronic pain conditions. The most common treatment for chronic pain is drugs. These include over-the-counter analgesics and opioids. Opioids act on a system in the brain that contains receptors that respond to these drugs. But opioids are dangerous and highly addictive. Prescription opioid overdoses kill more than 14,000 people annually. So, there is a great need to find safe and effective ways to lower the psychological distress and improve the individual’s ability to cope with the pain.

 

Pain involves both physical and psychological issues. The stress, fear, and anxiety produced by pain tends to elicit responses that actually amplify the pain. So, reducing the emotional reactions to pain may be helpful in pain management. There is an accumulating volume of research findings to demonstrate that mind-body therapies have highly beneficial effects on the health and well-being of humans. Mindfulness practices have been shown to improve emotion regulation producing more adaptive and less maladaptive responses to emotions. Indeed, mindfulness practices are effective in treating pain in adults. It is not known whether meditations effects on pain are mediated by the same system that responds to opioids.

 

In today’s Research News article “Enhancement of Meditation Analgesia by Opioid Antagonist in Experienced Meditators.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6162167/  ), May and colleagues recruited adult experienced meditators who were free of chronic pain and not taking opioid drugs. They were measured for pain responses to an electric shock delivered to the ring finger of the non-dominant hand. They rated the level of pain on a 10-point scale. The participants first rated pain under normal conditions and later while meditating. Those participants who demonstrated a 15% or more reduction in pain while meditating (meditation analgesia) participated in the second half of the experiment. Half the participants received a saline injection and half an injection of Naloxone (an opioid receptor blocker) and repeated the pain testing while meditating. In the next session the participants received either the saline or Naloxone injection that they did not receive in the first session. So, all participants received both saline and Naloxone injections and were tested for their pain sensitivity.

 

They found in the initial test that 85% of the participants demonstrated a 15% or more reduction in pain while meditating (meditation analgesia). This high rate suggests that meditation routinely produces a reduced experience of pain in experienced meditators. In the second phase they found that meditation analgesia was not only not reduced by Naloxone injection but actually significant increased, with larger reductions in both pain intensity and pain unpleasantness to the electric shock after Naloxone injection than after saline injections.

 

The opioid system of the brain is a well-established pain processing system. Its function is blocked by Naloxone. So, the reduction in pain produced by meditation was not affected by disrupting the opioid system. So, meditation analgesia must not be due to changes in this opioid system. It must be processed by a different system in the brain. The increase in meditation analgesia after Naloxone was a surprise, for which there is no viable explanation at this time. Hence, meditation reduces pain sensitivity and does so independent of the brain system that responds to opiates.

 

So, meditation reduces pain sensitivity independent of brain opioid systems.

 

“Mindfulness meditation is believed to be a viable alternative to drugs when it comes to pain management. Although research is still in the beginning phases, pilot studies focusing on the benefits of mindfulness have shown promising outcomes for patients suffering from chronic ailments such as fibromyalgia, back pain, migraines, etc.” – Mindworks

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

May, L. M., Kosek, P., Zeidan, F., & Berkman, E. T. (2018). Enhancement of Meditation Analgesia by Opioid Antagonist in Experienced Meditators. Psychosomatic medicine, 80(9), 807-813.

 

ABSTRACT

Objective

Studies have consistently shown that long-term meditation practice is associated with reduced pain, but the neural mechanisms by which long-term meditation practice reduces pain remain unclear. This study tested endogenous opioid involvement in meditation analgesia associated with long-term meditation practice.

Methods

Electrical pain was induced with randomized, double-blind, cross-over administration of the opioid antagonist naloxone (0.15-mg/kg bolus dose, then 0.2-mg/kg per hour infusion dose) with 32 healthy, experienced meditation practitioners and a standardized open monitoring meditation.

Results

Under saline, pain ratings were significantly lower during meditation (pain intensity: 6.41 ± 1.32; pain unpleasantness: 3.98 ± 2.17) than at baseline (pain intensity: 6.86 ±1.04, t(31) = 2.476, p = .019, Cohen’s d= 0.46; pain unpleasantness: 4.96 ±1.75, t(31) = 3.746, p = .001, Cohen’s d = 0.68), confirming the presence of meditation analgesia. Comparing saline and naloxone revealed significantly lower pain intensity (t(31) = 3.12, p = .004, d = 0.56), and pain unpleasantness (t(31) = 3.47, p = .002, d = 0.62), during meditation under naloxone (pain intensity: 5.53 ± 1.54; pain unpleasantness: 2.95 ± 1.88) than under saline (pain intensity: 6.41 ± 1.32; pain unpleasantness: 3.98 ± 2.17). Naloxone not only failed to eliminate meditation analgesia but also made meditation analgesia stronger.

Conclusions

Long-term meditation practice does not rely on endogenous opioids to reduce pain. Naloxone’s blockade of opioid receptors enhanced meditation analgesia; pain ratings during meditation were significantly lower under naloxone than under saline. Possible biological mechanisms by which naloxone-induced opioid receptor blockade enhances meditation analgesia are discussed.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6162167/

 

Improve Physical and Mental Health with Musculoskeletal Disorders with Mindfulness Practices

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Improve Physical and Mental Health with Musculoskeletal Disorders with Mindfulness Practices

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) is the term given to a variety of painful conditions that affect the muscles, bones, and joints, which are a leading cause of long term sickness absence. . .MSDs are also at risk of developing symptoms of depression . . . Being off work for a significant period of time, whether due to an musculoskeletal disorder or other condition, can cause many other repercussions – including mental health issues.” – Fit for Work

 

Orthopedic Disorders consist of a wide range of problems that are concerned with muscles, ligaments and joints. Disorders are ailments, injuries or diseases that cause knee problems, whiplash, dislocated shoulder, torn cartilages, foot pain and fibromyalgia. The most common forms of orthopedic disorders are arthritis, and back and neck pain.

 

Arthritis is a chronic disease that most commonly affects the joints. Depending on the type of arthritis symptoms may include pain, stiffness, swelling, redness, and decreased range of motion. It affects an estimated 52.5 million adults in the United States. The pain, stiffness, and lack of mobility associate with arthritis produce fatigue and markedly reduce the quality of life of the sufferers.

 

The most common forms of chronic pain are back and neck pain. Low Back Pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide and affects between 6% to 15% of the population. Back and neck pain interferes with daily living and with work, decreasing productivity and creating absences. Arthritis and back pain can have very negative psychological effects and may lead to depression, isolation, and withdrawal from friends and social activities.

 

There are many different treatments for pain, but few are both safe and effective for chronic musculoskeletal pain conditions. So, alternative treatments are needed. Mindfulness practices are effective in treating pain and have been shown to be safe and effective in the management of arthritis, low back pain and neck pain. In addition, mindfulness practices have been shown to improve mental health. So, it is likely that mindfulness practices will be effective for both the physical and mental health issues that accompany musculoskeletal disorders.

 

In today’s Research News article “Scoping review of systematic reviews of complementary medicine for musculoskeletal and mental health conditions.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6196876/ ), Lorenc and colleagues review and summarize the published research studies on the effectiveness of mindfulness practices for the treatment of the psychological problems that accompany musculoskeletal disorders.

 

They summarize the evidence from 111 published research studies and report that these studies support the effectiveness of yoga for low back pain, and anxiety; Tai Chi for osteoarthritis, depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders; meditation for depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders; and mindfulness for stress and distress. There were no safety problems found with any of these mindfulness techniques.

 

This review indicates that there has accumulated a large body of evidence for the safety and effectiveness of mindfulness practices for the physical and mental health issues that accompany musculoskeletal disorders. Hence the published research to date supports the use of mindfulness practices in the package of treatments for musculoskeletal disorders.

 

So, improve physical and mental health with musculoskeletal disorders with mindfulness practices.

 

“Yoga has been used to alleviate musculoskeletal pain and has been associated with significant improvement in range of motion and function, decreased tenderness, lower levels of depressive symptoms, and decreased pain during activity in patients with musculoskeletal disorders.” – Ruth McCaffrey

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Lorenc, A., Feder, G., MacPherson, H., Little, P., Mercer, S. W., & Sharp, D. (2018). Scoping review of systematic reviews of complementary medicine for musculoskeletal and mental health conditions. BMJ open, 8(10), e020222. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2017-020222

 

Abstract

Objective

To identify potentially effective complementary approaches for musculoskeletal (MSK)–mental health (MH) comorbidity, by synthesising evidence on effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and safety from systematic reviews (SRs).

Design

Scoping review of SRs.

Methods

We searched literature databases, registries and reference lists, and contacted key authors and professional organisations to identify SRs of randomised controlled trials for complementary medicine for MSK or MH. Inclusion criteria were: published after 2004, studying adults, in English and scoring >50% on Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR); quality appraisal checklist). SRs were synthesised to identify research priorities, based on moderate/good quality evidence, sample size and indication of cost-effectiveness and safety.

Results

We included 84 MSK SRs and 27 MH SRs. Only one focused on MSK–MH comorbidity. Meditative approaches and yoga may improve MH outcomes in MSK populations. Yoga and tai chi had moderate/good evidence for MSK and MH conditions. SRs reported moderate/good quality evidence (any comparator) in a moderate/large population for: low back pain (LBP) (yoga, acupuncture, spinal manipulation/mobilisation, osteopathy), osteoarthritis (OA) (acupuncture, tai chi), neck pain (acupuncture, manipulation/manual therapy), myofascial trigger point pain (acupuncture), depression (mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), meditation, tai chi, relaxation), anxiety (meditation/MBSR, moving meditation, yoga), sleep disorders (meditative/mind–body movement) and stress/distress (mindfulness). The majority of these complementary approaches had some evidence of safety—only three had evidence of harm. There was some evidence of cost-effectiveness for spinal manipulation/mobilisation and acupuncture for LBP, and manual therapy/manipulation for neck pain, but few SRs reviewed cost-effectiveness and many found no data.

Conclusions

Only one SR studied MSK–MH comorbidity. Research priorities for complementary medicine for both MSK and MH (LBP, OA, depression, anxiety and sleep problems) are yoga, mindfulness and tai chi. Despite the large number of SRs and the prevalence of comorbidity, more high-quality, large randomised controlled trials in comorbid populations are needed.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6196876/

 

Improve Breast Cancer Symptoms with Mindfulness

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Improve Breast Cancer Symptoms with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Results show promise for mindfulness-based interventions to treat common psychological problems such as anxiety, stress, and depression in cancer survivors and to improve overall quality of life.” — Linda E. Carlson

 

Receiving a diagnosis of cancer has a huge impact on most people. Feelings of depression, anxiety, and fear are very common and are normal responses to this life-changing and potentially life-ending experience. But cancer diagnosis is not necessarily a death sentence. Over half of the people diagnosed with cancer are still alive 10 years later and this number is rapidly increasing. But, surviving cancer carries with it a number of problems. Fatigue and insomnia are common symptoms in the aftermath of surviving breast cancer.

 

Mindfulness training has been shown to help with cancer recovery and help to alleviate many of the residual physical and psychological symptoms, including fatigue, stress,  sleep disturbance, and anxiety and depression. One particularly effective mindfulness training program is Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). The MBSR program consists of 8 weekly 2-hour group sessions involving meditation, yoga, body scan, and discussion. The patients are also encouraged to perform daily practice for 15-45 minutes. The research has been accumulating. It is thus important to take a step back and summarize what has been learned.

 

In today’s Research News article “Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on breast cancer symptoms: systematic review and meta-analysis.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6282865/ ), Castanhel and Liberali review, summarize and perform a meta-analysis of the published research studies on the effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training for the symptoms of breast cancer patients. They identified 7 published research studies that included a total of 532 women.

 

They report that the literature finds that Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training produces a decrease in fatigue in the breast cancer patients. This is significant as fatigue affects all facet of the patient’s life. Additionally, there is no drug treatments which successfully treat fatigue in these patients. This makes MBSR treatment particularly valuable to be included along with the usual treatments.

 

Mindfulness practices, in general have been shown to be effective in relieving fatigue. One of the components of MBSR treatment, yoga practice, has been previously been shown to also relieve fatigue in breast cancer patients. It is possible that this is the critical component of MBSR practice. But it will require further research to determine exactly which components or combinations of components are essential for the relief of fatigue.

 

So, improve breast cancer symptoms with mindfulness.

 

“some of the most difficult elements of the cancer experience are very well-suited to a mindfulness practice. When a person gets diagnosed, there’s fear and uncertainty about the future. There’s the loss of routine and predictability. There’s the physical aspect, the treatment or surgery, pain, insomnia, which almost everybody gets, and the post-treatment fatigue.” — Linda E. Carlson

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Castanhel, F. D., & Liberali, R. (2018). Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on breast cancer symptoms: systematic review and meta-analysis. Einstein (Sao Paulo, Brazil), 16(4), eRW4383. doi:10.31744/einstein_journal/2018RW4383

 

ABSTRACT

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction practices increase the capacity for concentration and attention, and these practices are particularly effective for people with breast cancer. To analyze the effects of the application of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on breast cancer symptoms. Systematic review and meta-analysis were carried out. To find suitable studies, the PubMed/ MEDLINE database was searched using the keywords “breast cancer” and “Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction”. Studies included were published between 2013 and 2017, written in English and showed methodological quality through the PEDro scale (score greater than 3). They also presented empirical evidence, had an experimental study design (randomized or non-randomized), and had full text available. For the meta-analysis, we used a random-effects model, with standardized mean differences and 95% confidence intervals. Seven studies were included, one non-randomized and containing only an intervention group of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, and six randomized including samples of two or three groups. The non-randomized study showed 6 points on the PEDro scale, the randomized studies of two groups 6 to 7 points and studies with three groups showed 7 points. In the meta-analysis of the two randomized studies, the results, although not significant, revealed a moderate effect for Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on the outcome of fatigue, with a mean difference of −0.42 (95%CI −0.92- −0.07; p=0.09). Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction seems to be a promising alternative for treatment of this disease’s symptoms.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6282865/

 

Reduce Painful Diabetic Neuropathy with Mindfulness

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Reduce Painful Diabetic Neuropathy with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Meditation techniques can help people struggling with neuropathy symptoms live through their pain. It can help to lower stress, improve your coping skills, and decrease your pain intensity. Taking a mind-body approach is a noninvasive technique that provides you with more control over your condition.” – Healthline

 

Managing Diabetes can be difficult on the health and quality of life of the patient. In addition, Diabetes can lead to a very painful condition known as diabetic neuropathy. The high blood glucose levels associated with diabetes can damage nerves and result in a burning pain and numbness, particularly from the legs and feet. It affects the majority of long-term diabetes patients. This is not only painful but is also disruptive to the normal life functions of these patients. There are no cures, but diabetic neuropathy can be prevented by blood glucose control in the diabetic patient with a rigorous program of measured diet and exercise. Treatment for diabetic neuropathy usually involves pain management with drugs.

 

Mindfulness practices have been shown to help with pain management and with quality of life in diabetes patients. It is possible, then, that mindfulness practices may be effective in reducing pain and improving quality of life in patients with diabetic neuropathy. In today’s Research News article “Randomized Trial of the Effect of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Pain-Related Disability, Pain Intensity, Health-Related Quality of Life, and A1C in Patients With Painful Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5734176/ ), Nathan and colleagues examined the effectiveness of mindfulness training on reducing pain and improving the quality of life in patients with Painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (PDPN).

 

They recruited adults with Type II Diabetes and with Painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (PDPN). The participants were maintained on their usual pharmacological treatments and randomly assigned to a wait-list or to receive an additional 8-week program, once weekly 2.5 hour sessions and home practice, of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). The mindfulness program consists of group discussion and training in sitting, walking, and body scan meditations, and yoga practice. They were measured before and after training and 3 months later for pain related disability, pain severity, pain catastrophizing, health related and diabetic neuropathy related quality of life, depression, diabetes self-care, blood sugar reactions, and A1C levels, a measure of long-term blood glucose control.

 

They found that in comparison to baseline and the wait-list control, the participants who received Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training had significantly improved scores on all measures including lower pain related disability, pain severity, pain catastrophizing, depression health related and diabetic neuropathy related quality of life, diabetes self-care, blood sugar reactions, and A1C levels. These improvements were maintained at the 3-month follow-up. In addition, there was a high retention rate with 94% of the treated patients completing the 8-week training and the 3-month follow-up.

 

These results are striking and important. Diabetic Neuropathy is a torment for Type II Diabetes patients and mindfulness training was found to markedly improve this condition. It increased quality of life and health and decreased pain and pain associated psychological and physical difficulties. This relief of suffering in important and remarkable and should lead to a recommendation for mindfulness training to be included in the usual care of patients with Painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (PDPN).

 

So, reduce painful diabetic neuropathy with mindfulness.

 

“When people with diabetes are more mindful – being calmly aware of what is going on around them, inside their bodies and in their minds – they can potentially make healthier lifestyle choices, such as diet, medication and exercise, that help lower their blood glucose. Additionally, stress reduction decreases the amount of stress hormones, such as cortisol, in the blood. When elevated for too long, cortisol can cause anxiety, depression, digestive problems, heart disease, sleep problems, weight gain and memory and concentration problems.” – Diabetes Canada

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Nathan, H. J., Poulin, P., Wozny, D., Taljaard, M., Smyth, C., Gilron, I., Sorisky, A., Lochnan, H., … Shergill, Y. (2017). Randomized Trial of the Effect of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Pain-Related Disability, Pain Intensity, Health-Related Quality of Life, and A1C in Patients With Painful Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy. Clinical diabetes : a publication of the American Diabetes Association, 35(5), 294-304.

 

Abstract

IN BRIEF Painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (PDPN) has a large negative impact on patients’ physical and mental functioning, and pharmacological therapies rarely provide more than partial relief. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is a group psychosocial intervention that was developed for patients with chronic illness who were not responding to existing medical treatments. This study tested the effects of community-based MBSR courses for patients with PDPN. Among patients whose PDPN pharmacotherapy had been optimized in a chronic pain clinic, those randomly assigned to treatment with MBSR experienced improved function, better health-related quality of life, and reduced pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, and depression compared to those receiving usual care.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5734176/

 

Mindfulness Area Research: Effects of Mindfulness with Adolescents

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Mindfulness Area Research: Effects of Mindfulness with Adolescents

 

Adolescence is a time of mental, physical, social, and emotional growth. It is during this time that higher levels of thinking, sometimes called executive function, develops. But adolescence can be a difficult time, fraught with challenges. During this time the child transitions to young adulthood; including the development of intellectual, psychological, physical, and social abilities and characteristics. There are so many changes occurring during this time that the child can feel overwhelmed and unable to cope with all that is required. Indeed, up to a quarter of adolescents suffer from depression or anxiety disorders, and an even larger proportion struggle with subclinical symptoms. Mindfulness training in adolescents it has been shown to improve emotion regulation and to benefit the psychological and emotional health.

 

Summaries of recent studies of the application of mindfulness training for the treatment of addictions can be found at the Adolescents link http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/category/research-news/adolesence/ on the Contemplative Studies blog http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/ .

 

Links to the Research

 

Restrain Body Fatness Growth During Adolescence with Yoga

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2019/01/31/restrain-body-fatness-growth-during-adolescence-with-yoga/

 

Mindfulness is Associated with Lower Anxiety and Depression in Adolescents Partly by Higher Emotional Intelligence

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2019/01/30/mindfulness-is-associated-with-lower-anxiety-and-depression-in-adolescents-partly-by-higher-emotional-intelligence/

 

Mindfulness is Associated with Higher Emotional Intelligence

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2018/12/29/mindfulness-is-associated-with-higher-emotional-intelligence/

 

Promote Healthy Eating and Physical Activity in Adolescents with Yoga

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2018/12/28/promote-healthy-eating-and-physical-activity-in-adolescents-with-yoga/

 

Improve Adolescent’s Self-Compassion and Reduce Emotional Eating with Mindful Parenting

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2018/12/19/improve-adolescents-self-compassion-and-reduce-emotional-eating-with-mindful-parenting/

 

Improve Emotional Responding in Adolescents with School-Based Mindfulness Training

 

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2018/12/08/improve-emotional-responding-in-adolescents-with-school-based-mindfulness-training/

 

Improve Psychological Health of Youthful Criminal Offenders with Mindfulness

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2018/12/06/improve-psychological-health-of-youthful-criminal-offenders-with-mindfulness/

 

Improve Emotion Regulation and Gait in Obese Adolescents with Yoga

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2018/10/06/improve-emotion-regulation-and-gait-in-obese-adolescents-with-yoga/

 

Improve Depression in Overweight Adolescent Girls with Mindfulness

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2018/08/24/improve-depression-in-overweight-adolescent-girls-with-mindfulness/

 

Reduce Self-Harming in Adolescents with Mindfulness

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2018/08/14/reduce-self-harming-in-adolescents-with-mindfulness/

 

Improve PTSD and Academic Burnout in Adolescents with Mindfulness and Parental Attachment

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2018/08/02/improve-ptsd-and-academic-burnout-in-adolescents-with-mindfulness-and-parental-attachment/

 

Decrease Adolescent Emotional Problems with Mindful Parenting

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2018/06/07/decrease-adolescent-emotional-problems-with-mindful-parenting/

 

Improve Health Behaviors in Adolescents with Mindfulness

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2018/05/21/improve-health-behaviors-in-adolescents-with-mindfulness/

 

Reduce Psychological Symptoms of Trauma with Mindfulness

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2018/02/21/reduce-psychological-symptoms-of-trauma-with-mindfulness/

 

Improve Pain Responding in Adolescents with Mindfulness

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2018/02/13/improve-pain-responding-in-adolescents-with-mindfulness/

 

Improve Children’s Absorption of Micronutrients with Yoga

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2017/12/19/improve-childrens-absorption-of-micronutrients-with-yoga/

 

Mindfulness is Associated with Reduced Inflexibility and Psychopathology in Adolescents

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2017/12/14/mindfulness-is-associated-with-reduced-inflexibility-and-psychopathology-in-adolescents/

 

Improve Emotions of Ethnically Diverse At-Risk Students with Mindfulness

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2017/12/13/improve-emotions-of-ethnically-diverse-at-risk-students-with-mindfulness/

 

Improve Adolescent Mental Health and School Performance with Yoga

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2017/08/15/improve-adolescent-mental-health-and-school-performance-with-yoga/

 

Improve Anxiety in Adolescents with Mindfulness

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2017/07/15/improve-anxiety-in-adolescents-with-mindfulness/

 

Improve Sleep Problems in Adolescents with Mindfulness

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2017/06/08/improve-sleep-problems-in-adolescents-with-mindfulness/

 

Decrease Alcohol Intake and Related Consequences in Teens with Mindfulness

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2017/06/06/decrease-alcohol-intake-and-related-consequences-in-teens-with-mindfulness/

 

Improve Adolescents Psychological Health Self-Compassion and Mindfulness

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2017/04/11/improve-adolescents-psychological-health-self-compassion-and-mindfulness/

 

Reduce Adolescent Risk Taking with Mindful Parenting

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2017/03/29/reduce-adolescent-risk-taking-with-mindful-parenting/

 

Reduce Youth Dissociative Disorders with Mindfulness

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2017/02/22/reduce-youth-dissociative-disorders-with-mindfulness/

 

Help Headaches in Adolescents with Mindfulness

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2016/12/12/help-headaches-in-adolescents-with-mindfulness/

 

Mindfulness is Associated with Less On-Line Reduce Dating Violence

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2016/11/19/mindfulness-is-associated-with-less-on-line-reduce-dating-violence/

 

Produce Better Diabetes Management in Adolescents with Mindful Parenting

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2016/11/05/produce-better-diabetes-management-in-adolescents-with-mindful-parenting/

 

 

Decrease Depressive Rumination with Mindfulness

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Decrease Depressive Rumination with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Rumination starts off as a dim light that we stop putting energy into, allowing it to get darker and darker until we can’t see anymore.” – Laura Meyer

 

Worry (concern about the future) and rumination (repetitive thinking about the past) are associated with mental illness, particularly depression. Mindfulness training been shown to be an effective treatment for depression and its recurrence even in the cases where drugs fail. This is especially true for Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) which was specifically developed to treat depression. MBCT involves mindfulness training, containing sitting, walking and body scan meditations, and cognitive therapy That is designed to alter how the patient relates to the thought processes that often underlie and exacerbate psychological symptoms. These include rumination. It is possible that ruminative thinking is reduced by MBCT and this, in turn, is responsible for the effectiveness of MBCT in reducing depression.

 

In today’s Research News article “Mindfulness-based interventions for the treatment of depressive rumination: Systematic review and meta-analysis.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6220915/ ), Perestelo-Perez and colleagues review, summarize, and perform a meta-analysis of the published research studies on the effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) on ruminative thinking for patients with at least one major depressive episode. They found 11 published research studies that were either randomized controlled studies or pseudorandomized controlled studies comparing MBCT to treatment as usual for depression.

 

They report that the literature finds that MBCT significantly reduces ruminative thinking with moderate effect size and that this effect is still present one month later. Five of the studies performed a meditation analysis and reported that the reductions in rumination significantly mediated the effectiveness MBCT on depression. Hence, MBCT appears to reduce the levels of repetitive thinking about the past and this is responsible, in part, for MBCT’s ability to reduce depression.

 

Mindfulness training focuses the mind on the present moment, reducing the influence of memories of the past and projections about the future. So, it would seem to be unsurprising that Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) would reduce the frequency with which the mind is focused on memories of the past (rumination). In addition, since depression is characterized by rumination it is also unsurprising that MBCT would effectively reduce depression.

 

So, decrease depressive rumination with mindfulness

 

“Know that practicing is an act of self care and helps stop the cycle of rumination and cultivates more patience, compassion, and peace. Mindfulness is not a panacea for depression, but it’s a good foundation for preventing relapse.” – Elisha Goldstein

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Perestelo-Perez, L., Barraca, J., Peñate, W., Rivero-Santana, A., & Alvarez-Perez, Y. (2017). Mindfulness-based interventions for the treatment of depressive rumination: Systematic review and meta-analysis. International journal of clinical and health psychology : IJCHP, 17(3), 282-295.

 

Abstract

Background/Objective: This systematic review aims to evaluate the effect of interventions based on the mindfulness and/or acceptance process on ruminative thoughts, in patients with depression. Method:Electronic searches in Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central, PsycInfo, and Cinahl until December 2016, in addition to hand-searches of relevant studies, identified eleven studies that fulfilling inclusion criteria. Results: A meta-analysis of the effect of the intervention compared to usual care showed a significant and moderate reduction of ruminative thoughts (g = −0.59, 95% CI: −0.77, −0.41; I2 = 0%). Furthermore, findings suggest that mindfulness/acceptance processes might mediate changes in rumination, and that they in turn mediate in the clinical effects of interventions. A meta-analysis of three studies that compared the intervention to other active treatments (medication, behavioral activation and cognitive-behavioral therapy, respectively) showed no significant differences. Conclusions: Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy compared to usual care, produces a significant and moderate reduction in rumination. This effect seems independent of the treatment phase (acute or maintenance) or the number of past depressive episodes, and it was maintained one month after the end of treatment. However, further controlled studies with real patients that compare the most commonly used cognitive-behavioral techniques to treat ruminative thoughts to the acceptance and mindfulness techniques are needed.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6220915/

 

Tai Chi Practice Improves Type II Diabetes

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T

ai Chi Practice Improves Type II Diabetes

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Gentle exercise has been shown by studies to prevent diabetes in 60 percent of cases. Therefore, since tai chi is a gentle exercise, we can assume that it’s effective in preventing and improving the control of diabetes.” – Paul Lam

 

Diabetes is a major health issue. It is estimated that 30 million people in the United States and nearly 600 million people worldwide have diabetes and the numbers are growing. Type II Diabetes results from a resistance of tissues, especially fat tissues, to the ability of insulin to promote the uptake of glucose from the blood. As a result, blood sugar levels rise producing hyperglycemia. Diabetes is heavily associated with other diseases such as cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, stroke, blindness, kidney disease, and circulatory problems leading to amputations. As a result, diabetes doubles the risk of death of any cause compared to individuals of the same age without diabetes.

 

Type 2 diabetes is largely preventable. One of the reasons for the increasing incidence of Type 2 Diabetes is its association with overweight and obesity which is becoming epidemic in the industrialized world. A leading cause of this is a sedentary life style. Current treatments for Type 2 Diabetes focus on diet, exercise, and weight control. Recently, mindfulness practices have been shown to be helpful in managing diabetes. Tai Chi is mindfulness practice and a gentle exercise. As such, it is reasonable to investigate its usefulness in preventing and treating Type 2 Diabetes.

 

In today’s Research News article “The Effects of Tai Chi on Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Meta-Analysis.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6079589/ ), Chao and colleagues review, summarize, and perform a meta-analysis of the published randomized controlled trials of the efficacy of Tai Chi practice for the treatment of Type II Diabetes. They identified 14 published research studies.

 

They found that the published research reports that Tai Chi practice produces a significant reduction in fasting blood glucose, blood glucose 2 hours after eating, and HbA1c levels in comparison to non-exercise control conditions, but equivalent reductions to aerobic exercises. The levels of HbA1c in the blood is a marker of blood glucose fluctuations. Diabetes management requires reducing fluctuations of blood glucose fluctuations. So, reduced HbA1c levels indicates better control. Hence, Tai Chi practice is as effective as aerobic exercises such as walking, running, and dancing in improving blood glucose levels and reduced fluctuations in blood glucose in people with Type II Diabetes.

 

This is important as Tai Chi practice is completely safe, can be used with the elderly and sickly, is inexpensive to administer, can be performed in groups or alone, at home or in a facility or even public park, and can be quickly learned. In addition, it can also be practiced in social groups without professional supervision. This can make it fun, improving the likelihood of long-term engagement in the practice. Hence, Tai Chi would appear to be an excellent treatment for helping to control blood glucose levels in  people with Type II Diabetes.

 

So, Tai Chi practice improves Type II Diabetes.

 

“Combining tai chi with a healthful diet, other daily exercises and solid medical care could help people with diabetes and pre-diabetes to increase their health, manage their condition and prevent further symptoms.” – Mark Stibich

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Chao, M., Wang, C., Dong, X., & Ding, M. (2018). The Effects of Tai Chi on Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of diabetes research, 2018, 7350567. doi:10.1155/2018/7350567

 

Abstract

Objective

To investigate the effects of Tai chi in type 2 diabetes mellitus (type-2 DM) patients using systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods

Seven electronic resource databases were searched, and randomized controlled trials on the role of Tai chi in type-2 DM patients were retrieved. The meta-analysis was performed with RevMan 5.3, and research quality evaluation was conducted with the modified Jadad scale.

Results

Fourteen studies, with 798 individuals related to the intervention of Tai chi on diabetes, were included. The results showed that, compared with nonexercise, Tai chi had the effect of lowering fasting blood glucose [MD = −1.39, 95% CI (−1.95, −0.84), P < 0.0001] and the subgroup effect size decreased with the increase of total exercise amount, there is no significant difference between Tai chi and other aerobic exercises [MD = −0.50, 95% CI (−1.02, 0.02), P = 0.06]; compared with nonexercise, Tai chi could reduce HbA1c [MD = −0.21, 95% CI (−0.61, 0.19), P = 0.31], and the group effect size decreased with the increase of total exercise amount. The reducing HbA1c effect of Tai chi was better than that of other aerobic exercises, but the difference was at the margin of statistical significance [MD = −0.19, 95% CI (−0.37, 0.00), P = 0.05]; compared with nonexercise, Tai chi had the effect of reducing 2 h postprandial blood glucose [MD = −2.07, 95% CI (−2.89, −1.26), P = 0.0002], there is no significant difference between Tai chi and other aerobic exercises in reducing 2 h postprandial blood glucose [MD = −0.44, 95% CI (−1.42, 0.54), P = 0.38].

Conclusion

Tai chi can effectively affect the management of blood glucose and HbA1c in type-2 DM patients. Long-term adherence to Tai chi has a better role in reducing blood glucose and HbA1c levels in type 2 DM patients.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6079589/