Yoga

Increase Body Awareness and Emotional Regulation in College Women with Yoga

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Increase Body Awareness and Emotional Regulation in College Women with Yoga

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Among the suite of tools and strategies that so many of us lean on when it comes to living peacefully (or not) with our emotions, yoga is probably one of the most affecting and effective.” – Monisha Rudhran

 

Yoga training has been shown to improve health and well-being. It has also been found to be effective for a large array of medical and psychiatric conditions, either stand-alone or in combination with more traditional therapies. There are a wide variety of different yoga training techniques. Many varieties employ breath-focused and meditative-focused practices. Although the benefits of yoga practices in general are well studied there is little scientific research comparing breathing and meditative-focused yoga versus only yoga postures.

 

In today’s Research News article “Can Yoga Boost Access to the Bodily and Emotional Self? Changes in Heart Rate Variability and in Affective Evaluation Before, During and After a Single Session of Yoga Exercise With and Without Instructions of Controlled Breathing and Mindful Body Awareness in Young Healthy Women.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.731645/full?utm_source=F-AAE&utm_medium=EMLF&utm_campaign=MRK_1790561_a0P58000000G0YfEAK_Psycho_20211214_arts_A ) Herbert recruited female college students and had them perform 30 minutes of yoga exercises. One randomly assigned group was instructed to “exercise any movement with heightened body awareness and breathing control” while the other received no further instruction. They were measured before and after the 30 minutes of yoga for cardiac activity including heart rate variability with an electrocardiogram, positive and negative emotions, interoceptive awareness, self-referential processing, empathy, affective judgement, and heartbeat counting.

 

They found that cardiac activity was, not surprisingly, increased by yoga, but the two groups did not differ. Also, compared to pre-yoga, after yoga the heart rate was significantly lower during the affective task. In addition, after practicing yoga the participants were significantly faster and more accurate in their affective judgements to emotional stimuli and higher levels of body awareness (heartbeat counting). Hence, there were significant effects of yoga on cardiac activity, emotion regulation, and body awareness, but there was no significant effect of the instruction to be aware of the body and breathing during yoga.

 

The results suggest that a single 30-minute yoga session, like any other exercise, affects cardiac activity and it improves emotional processing and body awareness regardless of body awareness instruction. These findings are not new as it has been established in previous research by other researchers studying different groups that yoga practice improves body awareness and emotion regulation. That this happens after a single 30-minute practice is new and interesting.

 

The lack of a control group participating in another form of exercise, however, limits the conclusions regarding the effects of yoga per se. It is possible that any form of exercise would produce similar effects. In addition, a single 30-minute session may not be sufficient to observe effect of an intention to be aware of the body and breathing. More practice may be necessary. Alternatively, participating in yoga may heighten body and breathing awareness regardless of whether there was an explicit instruction. Nevertheless, short-term exercise appears to be healthful for the heart, body awareness, and the emotions.

 

So, increase body awareness and emotional regulation in college women with yoga.

 

“Change your posture and you change the way you breathe. Change your breathing and you change your nervous system. This is one of the great lessons of yoga: Everything is connected.” – Timothy McCall

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are available on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Herbert C (2021) Can Yoga Boost Access to the Bodily and Emotional Self? Changes in Heart Rate Variability and in Affective Evaluation Before, During and After a Single Session of Yoga Exercise With and Without Instructions of Controlled Breathing and Mindful Body Awareness in Young Healthy Women. Front. Psychol. 12:731645. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.731645

 

Exercise is indispensable for a healthy lifestyle. Yoga exercise can have positive effects on well-being and on cardiac autonomic activity making it an ideal intervention for improving mind-body interactions and resilience to physical and mental stressors. Emotions trigger especially strong bodily and affective-cognitive responses because of their social relevance for the self and their biological relevance of mobilizing the organism for action. This study investigates whether changes in emotion processing related to self-other referential processing and changes in cardiac autonomic activity, reflected by heart rate variability (HRV), occur immediately after already a single session of yoga exercise when yoga postures are practiced with or without breathing- and mindful body awareness instructions. Women, all university students (N = 34, final sample: n = 30, n = 25 naïve to yoga practice) were randomly assigned to two experimental groups who performed the same yoga exercises with or without controlled breathing and mindfulness instructions. Emotional, self-other referential processing, awareness of bodily signals and HRV indicators were investigated before and after the exercise using standardized experimental tasks, standardized questionnaires, and mobile recording devices. Exercising for 30 minutes changed cardiac activity significantly. HRV measures showed adaptability of cardiac activity during the exercise as well as during the affective task post- to pre-exercise. Exercising with breathing instructions and mindful body awareness had no superior effects on cardiac, particularly parasympathetic activity, compared to practicing the same movements without such explicit instructions. Self-referential processing did not change; however, participants were faster and more accurate in their affective judgments of emotional stimuli [regardless of their reference (self/other)], and showed better awareness of bodily signals after compared to before the exercise session. The results support immediate, adaptive effects of yoga exercise on cardiac and affective-cognitive processing in an all-female healthy sample. Therefore, yoga exercise could be recommended as a physical activity for boosting cardiac and emotional resilience in this target group.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.731645/full?utm_source=F-AAE&utm_medium=EMLF&utm_campaign=MRK_1790561_a0P58000000G0YfEAK_Psycho_20211214_arts_A

 

Reduce Complications from Type-2 Diabetes with a Yoga Lifestyle

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Reduce Complications from Type-2 Diabetes with a Yoga Lifestyle

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Yoga can be used as an effective therapy in reducing oxidative stress in type 2 diabetes. Yoga in addition to standard care helps reduce BMI and improve glycemic control in type 2 diabetic patients.” – Shreelaxmi V Hegde

 

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-2 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 a common and increasingly prevalent illness that 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 lifestyle. Unlike Type I Diabetes, Type II does not require insulin injections. Instead, the treatment and prevention of Type 2 Diabetes focuses on diet, exercise, and weight control. Recently, mindfulness practices have been shown to be helpful in managing diabetes. A mindfulness practice that combines mindfulness with exercise is yoga and it has been shown to be helpful in the treatment of Type II Diabetes.

 

In today’s Research News article “A Prospective Study on Type-2 Diabetic Complications and Efficacy of Integrated Yoga: A Pan India 2017.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8558979/ ) Patil and colleagues recruited a large randomized cluster sample in India of adults with type-2 diabetes and had them complete a questionnaire regarding complications with the disease. They found that there were high incidence rates of complications including stroke, neuropathy, cardiac surgeries, kidney disease, eye diseases, claudication, and foot ulcers. The incidence of complications was generally higher in women than in men.

 

They then randomly assigned a subset of the sample to a no-treatment control condition or to yoga lifestyle intervention including the practice of yoga for an hour daily for 3 months along with dietary restrictions.  They report that in comparison to baseline and the control group the group that practiced yoga and dietary restrictions had significant reduction in all of the types of complications.

 

These results are very encouraging. But the lack of an active control condition limits the conclusions that can be reached. Placebo and attentional effects are alternate explanations for the results. In addition, the complex yoga lifestyle intervention, involving many component parts, makes it impossible to know what component or combination of components were effective. Nevertheless, previous controlled research has demonstrated the yoga practice is effective in reducing the symptoms of type-2 diabetes. So, the present findings are likely due to the ability of yoga to reduce complications from type-2 diabetes.

 

This is an important conclusion as the complications of type-2 diabetes are very serious and produce serious medical conditions that often lead to death. The reduction in these complications produced by the yoga lifestyle should result in improvements in the health, longevity, and quality of life in patients with type-2 diabetes.

 

So, reduce complications from type-2 diabetes with a yoga lifestyle.

 

“yoga-based practices may have significant beneficial effects on multiple factors important in [type 2 diabetes] management and prevention, including glycemic control, insulin resistance, lipid profiles, body composition, and blood pressure. “ – Kim Innes

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are available on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Patil, S. S., Raghuram, N., Singh, A., Rajesh, S. K., Ahmed, S., & Hongasandra, N. (2021). A Prospective Study on Type-2 Diabetic Complications and Efficacy of Integrated Yoga: A Pan India 2017. Annals of neurosciences, 28(1-2), 21–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/09727531211016271

 

Abstract

Background:

Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) contributes to high mortality and morbidity because of its major complications related to kidney, heart, brain, and eyes. It also poses a high risk for mortality because of COVID-19. Studies suggest the possible implications of Yoga in delaying or attenuating such complications.

Methodology:

This was a pan-India multi centered cluster-randomized (4 level) two-armed trial in the rural and urban population of all populous states of India. Data were obtained using mobile app in all adults in the household of the selected clusters.

Results:

We report the diabetes related complications in 16623 adults (48% males, 52% females) from 65 districts (1 in 10 districts, 2011 census) of 29 (out of 35) states and Union Territories of India; mean age was 48.2 ± 12.46 years. Out of this 40% lived in rural and 62% in urban locations. In high risk diabetes individuals (scored ≥ 60 points on Indian diabetes risk score key), 18.0% had self-reported history of (peripheral neuropathy, 6.1% had h/o major strokes, 5.5% had minor strokes (transient ischemic episodes), 18.1% had lower limb claudication, 20.5% leg ulcers, 4.4% had h/o cardiac surgery, 4.8% angioplasty, and 15.1% had diabetes retinopathy. Complications were higher in rural than in urban areas, higher in people with extended duration of diabetes. Integrated yoga module for three months (one hour daily) showed significantly better reduction in symptoms related to complications as compared to control group (P < .001)

Conclusion:

The alarming high prevalence of complications in diabetes population calls for urgent action, where yoga may show the benefits in reduction of symptoms of complications.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8558979/

 

Improve the Ability of Yoga to Reduce Fatigue in Cancer Patients with Email Reminders

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Improve the Ability of Yoga to Reduce Fatigue in Cancer Patients with Email Reminders

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Yoga works on the principle of mind and body health and it would help women cope with systemic therapy side effects better. Yoga nidra and pranayama also improve sleep patterns. Thus all this together may reduce fatigue and pain.” – Nita Nair

 

Because of great advances in treatment, many patients today are surviving cancer. But cancer survivors frequently suffer from anxiety, depression, mood disturbance, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sleep disturbance, fatigue, sexual dysfunction, loss of personal control, impaired quality of life, and psychiatric symptoms which have been found to persist even ten years after remission. Also, cancer survivors can have to deal with a heightened fear of reoccurrence. So, safe and effective treatments for the symptoms in cancer and the physical and psychological effects of the treatments are needed.

 

Mindfulness training has been shown to help with general cancer recovery. Mindfulness practices have been shown to improve the residual symptoms in cancer survivors. Yoga is both an exercise and a mindfulness practice that has also been shown to be helpful with the residual symptoms in cancer survivors, the psychological and physical ability to deal with cancer treatment and improves sleep. But adherence to practice over time can be a problem with yoga. So, it is important to investigate methods to improve long-term adherence to yoga practice to enhance and maintain its benefits for cancer survivors.

 

In today’s Research News article “Yoga therapy to reduce fatigue in cancer: effects of reminder e-mails and long-term efficacy.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8550207/ ) Zetzl and colleagues recruited adult cancer survivors who reported fatigue symptoms and provided them with an 8 weekly 1-hour sessions of yoga practice. They were randomly assigned to no further treatment or to receive email reminders and a description of a yoga posture and encouragement to practice once a week for 24 weeks following the completion of training. They were measured before and after the yoga therapy and 6 months later for fatigue, frequency of yoga practice, depression, and quality of life.

 

They found that in comparison to baseline yoga therapy produced significant reductions in fatigue and depression and significant increases in quality of life, These improvements were maintained 6 months later. In addition, the group that received email reminders compared to the no email reminder group at the 6-month follow-up had greater reductions in fatigue particularly emotional fatigue and they practiced more frequently. A mediation analysis revealed that email reminders were related to reductions in emotional fatigue directly and also indirectly by increasing practice frequency which in turn also decreased fatigue.

 

The study demonstrates that yoga practice by cancer survivors improves their quality of life and reduces depression and fatigue. These findings are not new as yoga practice has been reported by other researchers in a variety of participant types to improve quality of life and reduce depression and fatigue. What is new here is the demonstration that these benefits for cancer survivors can be increased by providing weekly email reminders to practice yoga to increase the frequency of practice.

 

So, improve the ability of yoga to reduce fatigue in cancer patients with email reminders.

 

“yoga may be beneficial as a component of treatment for both fatigue and depression in cancer survivors.” – Jessica Armer

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are available on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Zetzl, T., Pittig, A., Renner, A., van Oorschot, B., & Jentschke, E. (2021). Yoga therapy to reduce fatigue in cancer: effects of reminder e-mails and long-term efficacy. Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 29(12), 7725–7735. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-021-06345-z

 

Abstract

Objective

To examine the efficacy of reminder e-mails to continue yoga therapy on practice frequency and fatigue in cancer patients and long-term effects of yoga on fatigue, depression, and quality of life.

Methodology

One hundred two cancer patients who completed an 8-week yoga therapy were randomly allocated to two groups: reminder (N = 51) vs. no-reminder group (N = 51). After completing yoga therapy, the reminder group received weekly e-mails for 24 weeks, which reminded them of practicing yoga, whereas the no-reminder group did not. Primary outcomes were fatigue and practice frequency, and long-term outcomes were fatigue, depression, and quality of life. Data were assessed using questionnaires after yoga therapy (T1) and 6 months after completing yoga therapy (T2).

Result

A significantly stronger reduction of general (p = 0.038, d = 0.42) and emotional fatigue (p = 0.004, d = 0.59) and a higher increase of practice frequency (p = 0.015, d = 0.52) between T1 and T2 were found for the reminder group compared to the no-reminder group. In the mediation model, practice frequency as a mediator partially explained the changes in emotional fatigue (indirect effect B =  − 0.10). Long-term effects of yoga therapy regarding fatigue, depression, and quality of life were found (F > 7.46, p < 0.001, d > 0.54).

Conclusion

Weekly reminder e-mails after yoga therapy can positively affect general and emotional fatigue and help cancer patients with fatigue establish a regular yoga practice at home. However, higher practice frequency did not lead to higher physical or cognitive fatigue improvement, suggesting other factors that mediate efficacy on physical or cognitive fatigue, such as mindfulness or side effects of therapy.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8550207/

 

Improve Neuropsychological Disorders with Yoga

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Improve Neuropsychological Disorders with Yoga

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“yoga might be considered as an effective adjuvant for the patients with various neurological disorders including stroke, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, headache, myelopathy, neuropathies.” – A.Mooventhan

 

Mindfulness training and yoga practices have been shown to improve health and well-being in healthy individuals. They have also been found to be effective for a large array of medical and psychiatric conditions, either stand-alone or in combination with more traditional therapies. There has accumulated a large amount of research on the effectiveness of yoga practice for the treatment of a variety of physical and mental issues. Hence, it would be useful to summarize what has been learned.

 

In today’s Research News article “Therapeutic role of yoga in neuropsychological disorders.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8546763/ ) Nourollahimoghadam and colleagues review and summarize the published research regarding the effectiveness of yoga practice for the treatment of a variety of neuropsychological disorders.

 

They report that the published research found that yoga practice produced significant improvements in physical illnesses including migraine headaches, Alzheimer’s Disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease, and neuropathy. Yoga practice also produced significant improvements in psychological well-being including anxiety, stress, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, somatoform disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and burnout. They further report that yoga may produce its beneficial effects by altering the chemistry, electrical activity, structures, and connectivity within the brain.

 

Hence Yoga practice appears to have a myriad of positive physical and psychological benefits. The authors, however, point to weaknesses in the research including small sample sizes, short-term follow-up, confounding variables, and lack of appropriate controls. So, more and better controlled studies are needed to verify the benefits of yoga practice. Hence, the present state of knowledge supports the engagement in yoga practice to advance the physical and mental well-being of both ill and healthy individuals.

 

So, improve neuropsychological disorders with yoga.

 

“Yoga can be a helpful practice of self-care for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurological conditions (such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson’s disease, Lyme’s disease, Lou Gehrig’s disease).” – Mary Hilliker

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Nourollahimoghadam, E., Gorji, S., Gorji, A., & Khaleghi Ghadiri, M. (2021). Therapeutic role of yoga in neuropsychological disorders. World journal of psychiatry, 11(10), 754–773. https://doi.org/10.5498/wjp.v11.i10.754

 

Abstract

Yoga is considered a widely-used approach for health conservation and can be adopted as a treatment modality for a plethora of medical conditions, including neurological and psychological disorders. Hence, we reviewed relevant articles entailing various neurological and psychological disorders and gathered data on how yoga exerts positive impacts on patients with a diverse range of disorders, including its modulatory effects on brain bioelectrical activities, neurotransmitters, and synaptic plasticity. The role of yoga practice as an element of the treatment of several neuropsychological diseases was evaluated based on these findings.

Core Tip: A multitude of beneficial effects of yoga practice and the underlying mechanisms of action have been reported and point out its role as an influential element in the integrative therapy of various neuropsychological disorders. In the planning of further investigations, studies should be designed to achieve more accuracy and precision in the heterogeneous field of yoga practices and potential fields of application.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8546763/

 

Improve Breast Cancer Survivors Physical and Psychological Health with Yoga

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Improve Breast Cancer Survivors Physical and Psychological Health with Yoga

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“physical activity after a breast cancer diagnosis has potentially “favorable influence on breast cancer incidence and outcome.” Yoga can not only be an effective, low-impact exercise, but it has also been shown in numerous studies to reduce fatigue, improve physical function and quality of sleep, and contribute to an overall better quality of life.” – Gretchen Stelter

 

Because of great advances in treatment, many breast cancer patients today are surviving. But breast cancer survivors frequently suffer from a range of persistent psychological and physical residual symptoms that impair their quality of life. Mindfulness training and exercise have been shown to help with general cancer recovery. Mindfulness practices have been shown to improve the residual symptoms in cancer survivors.  Yoga is both an exercise and a mindfulness practice that has also been shown to be helpful with the residual symptoms in cancer survivors, the psychological and physical ability to deal with cancer treatment and improves sleep. The mechanisms of how yoga produces these benefits are unknown.

 

In today’s Research News article “The high dose of vitamin D supplementation combined with yoga training improve the leukocytes cell survival-related gene expression in breast cancer survivors.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8403369/ ) Zare and colleagues recruited adult survivors of breast cancer and randomly assigned them to receive a high dose of vitamin D (4000 IU), a high dose of vitamin D (4000 IU) plus 12 weeks of yoga practice, or a low dose of vitamin D (2000 IU) plus 12 weeks of yoga practice. Yoga practice consisted of postures, breathing exercises, and meditation and was practiced for 60-90 minutes twice a week for 12 weeks. The participants were measured before and after training for anxiety, body size, aerobic fitness (1-mile walk), shoulder range of motion, blood cortisol, and expression of leukocyte survival genes p53, NF-κB, Bcl2, and Bax.

 

They found that yoga practice resulted in a significant decrease in body fat percentage and anxiety levels and a significant increase in aerobic fitness and shoulder flexibility regardless of the vitamin D dosage. They also found that the high dose of vitamin D produced a significant up regulation of the leukocyte survival genes p53 and Bcl2 regardless of yoga practice.

 

These results suggest/that yoga practice is beneficial for breast cancer survivors improving their psychological and physical well being while high dose vitamin D supplementation improves their cell survival genes. It should be noted that there wasn’t an active comparison, control, condition for yoga practice such as another form of exercise. So, it is unclear if the effects were due to yoga practice per se or to the exercise provided by yoga practice. But previous controlled studies of the effects of yoga practice have shown that yoga practice reduces anxiety and body fat. So, the effects seen here are likely due to yoga practice. Hence the results suggest that the combination of yoga practice plus high dose vitamin D supplementation should be recommended for breast cancer survivors.

 

So, improve breast cancer survivors physical and psychological health with yoga.

 

“Research suggests that there are real benefits to regularly practising yoga after a breast cancer diagnosis, particularly for emotional wellbeing, cancer-related fatigue and pain.” – Brest Cancer Now

 

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

 

Khedmati Zare, V., Javadi, M., Amani-Shalamzari, S., & Kaviani, M. (2021). The high dose of vitamin D supplementation combined with yoga training improve the leukocytes cell survival-related gene expression in breast cancer survivors. Nutrition & metabolism, 18(1), 80. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12986-021-00607-7

 

Abstract

Background

This study aimed to examine the effect of yoga training combined with vitamin D supplementation on the expression of survival-related genes in leukocytes and psycho-physical status in breast cancer survivors.

Methods

Thirty breast cancer survivor women (age, 48 ± 8 yrs) were randomly assigned into three groups: high dose (4000 IU) of vitamin D supplementation (HD) (n = 10); yoga training with a high dose of vitamin D (Y + HD); (n  = 10); yoga training with a low dose (2000 IU) of vitamin D (Y + LD) (n = 10). Participants performed the Hatha yoga style twice a week. Blood samples and a battery of psychological and physical tests were taken before and after the completion of interventions. Expression of p53, NF-κB, Bcl2, and Bax genes was measured in leukocytes.

Results

Body fat percentage (ηp2 = 0.36), shoulder flexibility (ηp2 = 0.38), Rockport walk tests (ηp2 = 0.49), and anxiety (ηp2 = 0.52) were significantly improved in both the Y + HD and Y + LD groups compared to the HD group (p < 0.05). P53 was significantly over-expressed in the Y + HD group while Bcl2 upregulated in both the Y + HD and Y + LD groups. NF-κB and Bax expression downregulated in all groups but were not statistically significant.

Conclusion

yoga training combined with low and high doses of VD improved physical fitness and psychological measures while only in combination with a high dose of VD positively modified the leukocytes cell survival-related gene expression.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8403369/

 

Reduce the Psychological and Physical Responses Before a Major Dental Procedure with Yogic Relaxation

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Reduce the Psychological and Physical Responses Before a Major Dental Procedure with Yogic Relaxation

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Practicing yoga has been effectively proven to reduce stress levels and induce the sense of calmness in individuals, which could help in the management of several stress-induced oral conditions.” – Roquaiya Nishat

 

If you asked most people what’s one of the most common health problems that people have, probably the last thing that they would come up with is oral health. But more than 26% of adults in the United States have untreated tooth decay and 65% of adults had a dental visit every year. A common dental procedure is a root canal that is performed around 15 million times annually. But this procedure is accompanied by great anxiety and stress in the patients. This often results in patients avoiding or delaying needed procedures. There is considerable evidence that yoga practice reduces anxiety and stress. But it is not known if a brief yogic relaxation practice can reduce anxiety and stress prior to a dental root canal procedure.

 

In today’s Research News article “Effect of Pranayama Techniques with Marmanasthanam Kriya as Yogic Relaxation on Biopsychosocial Parameters Prior to Endodontic Therapy: A Cross Sectional Study Design.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8191219/ ) Thiruvalluvan and colleagues recruited adults between the ages of 25-50 years who were scheduled to undergo a dental root canal procedure and randomly assigned them to receive either guided Yogic relaxation for 15 minutes before the root canal treatment or to simply relax for 15 minutes. Yoga relaxation included breathing practices, mudras, and body scan exercises. The participants were measured before and after the intervention for anxiety, heart rate, and blood pressure.

 

They found that in comparison to baseline and the relaxation control group, the patients who practiced yogic relaxation had a significant decrease in anxiety, heart rate, and diastolic and systolic blood pressure. Hence, yogic relaxation prior to a dental root canal procedure reduced anxiety and physiological arousal in the patients. It is important to note that yogic relaxation produced superior results to simply asking the patient to relax. This suggests that yogic relaxation produces does more than simply relax the patients.

 

Yoga has been repeatedly shown to reduce anxiety, blood pressure, and heart rate in a variety of conditions. The present results demonstrate that a brief yogic relaxation can produce similar effects in patients before a major dental procedure. Anxiety and fear have been found to be major barriers to dental treatment. This leads to patients avoiding or delaying treatment allowing the damage to progress, So, a treatment that can reduce the anxiety before the treatment may be helpful in promoting dental health.

 

So, reduce the psychological and physical responses before a major dental procedure with yogic relaxation.

 

“Yoga is versatile, enjoyable and highly beneficial and a great way for dentists and their patients to battle stress and anxiety. ‘– Saurabh Bhargava

 

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

 

Thiruvalluvan, A., Sekizhar, V., Ramanathan, M., Bhavanani, A. B., Chakravathy, D., & Reddy, J. (2021). Effect of Pranayama Techniques with Marmanasthanam Kriya as Yogic Relaxation on Biopsychosocial Parameters Prior to Endodontic Therapy: A Cross Sectional Study Design. International journal of yoga, 14(2), 146–151. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijoy.IJOY_133_20

 

Abstract

Background:

The root canal treatment is one of the common dental or endodontic therapies associated with high levels of patient anxiety. Yoga therapy (YT) is reported in medical literature as an effective modality in bringing down anxiety in clinical scenarios; however, the reports of the same for dental settings are fewer. The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of YT on biopsychosocial parameters in patients undergoing root canal therapy.

Materials and Methods:

A cross sectional study was conducted on 50 participants who underwent dental root canal therapy. The sample was divided into two groups: Yoga group (Group A; n = 25) who received YT and control group (Group B; n = 25) who were subjected to self-relaxation during dental procedure. The state of anxiety was measured by a 5-point single-item Likert scale and the cardiovascular (CV) parameters (systolic blood pressure [SBP], diastolic blood pressure [DBP], heart rate [HR]) and CV indices (pulse pressure [PP], mean arterial pressure [MAP], rate-pressure product [RPP], and double product [DoP]) were derived and compared between both the groups.

Results:

The intergroup comparison showed statistically significant differences in anxiety score (P < 0.001), SBP (P < 0.001), MAP (P < 0.001), RPP (P < 0.001), DoP (P < 0.001), HR (P < 0.029), DBP (P < 0.003), and PP (P < 0.116).

Conclusion:

A significant reduction was recorded in terms of anxiety and primary and derived CV parameters in the yoga group. The YT can be adopted as an interventional tool for anxiety management in patients indicated for dental root canal therapy.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8191219/

 

Decrease the Development of Diabetes in At-risk Patients with Yoga

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Decrease the Development of Diabetes in At-risk Patients with Yoga

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Yoga can do more than just relax your body in mind — especially if you’re living with diabetes. Certain poses may help lower blood pressure and blood sugar levels while also improving circulation, leading many experts to recommend yoga for diabetes management.” –  Emily Cronkleton 

 

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 a common and increasingly prevalent illness that 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 lifestyle. Unlike Type I Diabetes, Type II does not require insulin injections. Instead, the treatment and prevention of Type 2 Diabetes focuses on diet, exercise, and weight control. Recently, mindfulness practices have been shown to be helpful in managing diabetes. A mindfulness practice that combines mindfulness with exercise is yoga and it has been shown to be helpful in the treatment of Type II Diabetes. But it is not known if yoga practice can prevent people at risk for diabetes to actually become diabetic.

 

In today’s Research News article “Effectiveness of a Yoga-Based Lifestyle Protocol (YLP) in Preventing Diabetes in a High-Risk Indian Cohort: A Multicenter Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial (NMB-Trial).” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8231281/ ) Raghuram and colleagues recruited adults at risk for the development of Type 2 diabetes based upon HbA1c levels and randomly assigned them to receive yoga lifestyle training or to a treatment as usual control condition. Lifestyle training occurred in 9 sessions followed by 3 months of daily practice and included postures, breathing exercises, meditation, and relaxation. They were measured before and after training for HbA1c levels, body size, blood pressure, and physical activity.

 

They found that at the end of the yoga lifestyle intervention that significantly fewer of the yoga group transitioned into diabetes (11%) compared to the control condition (32%). In addition, significantly greater number of yoga lifestyle patients transitioned from prediabetes to normoglycemia than the controls. Hence the yoga intervention was successful in making it less likely that patients at risk for diabetes transition to full-fledged diabetes.

 

The weakness in the study was that the control condition did not receive any treatment. This leaves open some confounding interpretations of the results including placebo effects, attentional effects, experimenter bias etc. Future research should use an active control condition such as another exercise or game playing. But previous controlled research has demonstrated that yoga practice improves blood glucose levels and improve the health of patients with diabetes. So, it is likely that yoga and not some confounding factor was responsible for the improvements in the prediabetic patients.

 

So, decrease the development of diabetes in at-risk patients with yoga.

 

“Yoga is considered to be a promising, cost-effective option in the treatment and prevention of diabetes, with data from several studies suggesting that yoga and other mind-body therapies can reduce stress-related hyperglycemia and have a positive effect on blood glucose control.” – Diabetes UK

 

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

 

Raghuram, N., Ram, V., Majumdar, V., Sk, R., Singh, A., Patil, S., Anand, A., Judu, I., Bhaskara, S., Basa, J. R., & Nagendra, H. R. (2021). Effectiveness of a Yoga-Based Lifestyle Protocol (YLP) in Preventing Diabetes in a High-Risk Indian Cohort: A Multicenter Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial (NMB-Trial). Frontiers in endocrinology, 12, 664657. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2021.664657

 

Abstract

Introduction

Though several lines of evidence support the utility of yoga-based interventions in diabetes prevention, most of these studies have been limited by methodological issues, primarily sample size inadequacy. Hence, we tested the effectiveness of yoga-based lifestyle intervention against diabetes risk reduction in multicentre, large community settings of India, through a single-blind cluster-randomized controlled trial, Niyantrita Madhumeha Bharat Abhiyan (NMB).

Research Design and Methods

NMB-trial is a multicentre cluster-randomized trial conducted in 80 clusters [composed of rural units (villages) and urban units (Census Enumeration Blocks)] randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to intervention and control groups. Participants were individuals (age, 20–70 years) with prediabetes (blood HbA1c values in the range of 5.7–6.4%) and IDRS ≥ 60. The intervention included the practice of yoga-based lifestyle modification protocol (YLP) for 9 consecutive days, followed by daily home and weekly supervised practices for 3 months. The control cluster received standard of care advice for diabetes prevention. Statistical analyses were performed on an intention-to-treat basis, using available and imputed datasets. The primary outcome was the conversion from prediabetes to diabetes after the YLP intervention of 3 months (diagnosed based upon HbA1c cutoff >6.5%). Secondary outcome included regression to normoglycemia with HbA1c <5.7%.

Results

A total of 3380 (75.96%) participants were followed up at 3 months. At 3 months post-intervention, overall, diabetes developed in 726 (21.44%) participants. YLP was found to be significantly effective in halting progression to diabetes as compared to standard of care; adjusted RRR was 63.81(95% CI = 56.55–69.85). The YLP also accelerated regression to normoglycemia [adjusted Odds Ratio (adjOR) = 1.20 (95% CI, 1.02–1.43)]. Importantly, younger participants (≤40 years) were found to regress to normoglycemia more effectively than the older participants Pinteraction<0.001.

Conclusion

Based on the significant risk reduction derived from the large sample size, and the carefully designed randomized yoga-based intervention on high-risk populations, the study is a preliminary but strong proof-of-concept for yoga as a potential lifestyle-based treatment to curb the epidemic of diabetes. The observed findings also indicate a potential of YLP for diabetes prevention in low/moderate risk profile individuals that needs large-scale validation.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8231281/

 

Improve Health in Unhealthy People with Yoga

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Improve Health in Unhealthy People with Yoga

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Incorporating [yoga] into your routine can help enhance your health, increase strength and flexibility and reduce symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety. Finding the time to practice yoga just a few times per week may be enough to make a noticeable difference when it comes to your health.” – Rachel Link

 

Yoga practice has been shown to have a myriad of benefits for psychological and physical health, social, and spiritual well-being. It is both an exercise and a mind-body practice which stresses both mental attention to present moment movements, breath control, and flexibility, range of motion, and balance. But beginning yoga practice has risks and adverse events are known to occur. These can be particularly problematic for people who are not in the best of health. So, it is important to examine the risks and benefits of beginning yoga practice for people in a variety of health conditions.

 

In today’s Research News article “Health-related benefits and adverse events associated with yoga classes among participants that are healthy, in poor health, or with chronic diseases.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8499562/ ) Oka and colleagues recruited first time participants in 3-month, once a week for 60-90 minutes yoga classes. They were separated into 3 groups: healthy, poor health (some somatic or psychological complaints but no medication), and chronic disease (on medication). Before and after the class they completed measures of mood, perceived stress, quality of life, subjective symptoms, satisfaction with the yoga class, and adverse events defined as “undesirable symptoms or responses that occurred during a yoga class”.

 

They found that from the beginning to the end of both the first and last yoga class there was a significant reduction in fatigue and tension-anxiety and increase in vigor in all groups. Over the 3-months of practice there was a significant reduction in perceived stress, subjective symptoms, and increase in health-related quality of life in the poor health and chronic disease groups. Perceived stress in the unhealthy groups reached the level of the healthy group at the end of training. Relatively mild adverse events were reported in all groups but more so in the unhealthy groups. But the symptoms were mild and did not stop participation inn the class in which they occurred.

 

Previous research with varied groups has shown that yoga training results in reduced fatigue and tension-anxiety and increased vigor. So, these findings were not surprising in the present study. The interesting findings here was that participants in ill health benefited more than healthy participants in reduced perceived stress and subjective symptoms and increased health-related quality of life. This suggests that yoga practice is particularly beneficial for individuals who have current somatic symptoms or who have chronic diseases.

 

Yoga practice appears to be beneficial for the psychological and physical well-being of everyone but is particularly beneficial for those who have current or chronic health issues. Although adverse symptoms produced by participation in yoga classes are common and occur more frequently in people with health problems. they tend to be mild, not stopping participation in the classes in which they occurred. So, for everyone the benefits of yoga practice appear to outweigh the costs.

 

So, improve health in unhealthy people with yoga.

 

“there’s also a growing body of science showing that a regular yoga practice may benefit people with a host of chronic health conditions, including asthma, heart disease, and MS.” – Wyatt Meyers

 

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

 

Oka, T., & Lkhagvasuren, B. (2021). Health-related benefits and adverse events associated with yoga classes among participants that are healthy, in poor health, or with chronic diseases.

BioPsychoSocial medicine, 15(1), 17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13030-021-00216-z

 

Abstract

Background

Our previous study demonstrated that 42% of yoga class participants in Japan had chronic diseases requiring medication. This raises the question as to whether those with chronic diseases would benefit from practicing yoga or if they are at higher risk for specific adverse events compared to healthy individuals receiving the same instruction.

Methods

To address these questions, 328 adults who started practicing yoga for the first time were asked to complete the Profile of Mood States (POMS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 8, standard version (SF-8™) and to record any adverse events on the first day of the yoga class and again three months later. The participants consisted of three groups: a healthy (H) group (n = 70), a poor health (PH) group (n = 117), and a chronic disease (CD) group (n = 141). The degree of subjective symptoms was also compared between the pre- and post-intervention period in the PH and CD groups.

Results

Typically, yoga classes were held once a week for 60–90 min. The programs included asanas, pranayamas, meditation, isometric yoga, and sukshma vyayama. In the PH and CD groups, the POMS tension-anxiety and fatigue scores decreased and the vigor score increased significantly after the first class. Furthermore, PSS scores decreased and the SF-8™ scores increased significantly three months later. The degree of subjective symptoms such as easy fatigability, shoulder stiffness, and insomnia also decreased over three months. Individuals in these groups experienced more frequent adverse events than those in the H group. The PH and CD groups also experienced a greater variety of symptoms, including psychological ones, not reported by the H group. Adverse events were not so serious that participants stopped practicing yoga during the class. About 60% of all participants were highly satisfied with participating in yoga classes.

Conclusions

If yoga classes are conducted with attention to possible adverse events, yoga practice in a yoga studio may have beneficial effects for people with functional somatic symptoms and chronic diseases, as well as healthy participants. These benefits include reductions in perceived stress and uncomfortable symptoms as well as improved mood and quality of life.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8499562/

 

Reduce Depression in Older Adults with Mind-Body Practices and Exercise

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Reduce Depression in Older Adults with Mind-Body Practices and Exercise

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Complementary use of mindful exercise, such as Tai Chi and yogic meditation, can improve clinical outcomes of mood disorders in older adults-as demonstrated in brain scans, biomarkers of cellular aging, and mental health rating scales.” – Arline Kaplan

 

The aging process involves a systematic progressive decline in every system in the body, the brain included. This includes our cognitive (mental) abilities and mood. It is inevitable and cannot be avoided. There is some hope for age related decline, however, as there is evidence that it can be slowed. There are some indications that physical and mental exercise can reduce the rate of decline. For example, contemplative practices such as meditation, yoga, and Tai Chi or qigong have all been shown to be beneficial in slowing or delaying physical and mental decline with aging and with improving depression. The research has been accumulating. So, it makes sense to pause and review and summarize what has been learned.

 

In today’s Research News article “Aerobic, resistance, and mind-body exercise are equivalent to mitigate symptoms of depression in older adults: A systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8191520/ ) Miller and colleagues review, summarize, and perform a meta-analysis of the published randomized controlled trials of the effectiveness of mind-body practices, aerobic exercise, and resistance exercise on depression in older adults (over 65 years of age). They identified 69 published research studies including a total of 5,379 elderly participants.

 

They report that the published research found that in comparison to usual care, wait-list controls, or attention controls that mind-body practices, aerobic exercise, and resistance exercise all significantly reduced depression in the elderly participants. Although no significant differences were found between the practices, on average, the effectiveness of the practices were rank ordered mind-body practices followed by aerobic exercise followed by resistance exercise.

 

All three practices involve exercise. Mind-body practices include yoga, Tai Chi, and Qigong all of which provide gentle mild exercise intensity. Aerobic exercise on the other hand provides moderate intensity exercise. This suggests that the intensity of exercise is not important for the relief of depression. What does appear to be important is that exercise be incorporated into the activities of the elderly to raise mood and reduce depression. Hence, the results suggest that the depression that is common in the elderly can be ameliorated with exercise.

 

So, reduce depression in older adults with mind-body practices and exercise.

 

“Higher physical activity levels among older adults in particular may have a preventive effect on the development of depression.36 Recent findings point to the potential efficacy of exercise as a treatment of depression in older adults, in some cases with similar efficacy to antidepressants.” – Maren Nyer

 

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

 

Miller, K. J., Areerob, P., Hennessy, D., Gonçalves-Bradley, D. C., Mesagno, C., & Grace, F. (2020). Aerobic, resistance, and mind-body exercise are equivalent to mitigate symptoms of depression in older adults: A systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. F1000Research, 9, 1325. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.27123.2

 

Abstract

Background: Exercise has been identified as an allied health strategy that can support the management of depression in older adults, yet the relative effectiveness for different exercise modalities is unknown. To meet this gap in knowledge, we present a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to examine the head-to-head effectiveness of aerobic, resistance, and mind-body exercise to mitigate depressive symptoms in adults aged ≥ 65 years.

Methods: A PRISMA-NMA compliant review was undertaken on RCTs from inception to September 12 th, 2019. PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, and SPORTDiscus were systematically searched for eligible RCTs enrolling adults with a mean age ≥ 65 years, comparing one or more exercise intervention arms, and which used valid measures of depressive symptomology. Comparative effectiveness was evaluated using network meta-analysis to combine direct and indirect evidence, controlling for inherent variation in trial control groups.

Results: The systematic review included 82 RCTs, with 69 meeting eligibility for the network meta-analysis ( n = 5,379 participants). Pooled analysis found each exercise type to be effective compared with controls (Hedges’ g = -0.27 to -0.51). Relative head-to-head comparisons were statistically comparable between exercise types: resistance versus aerobic (Hedges’ g = -0.06, PrI = -0.91, 0.79), mind-body versus aerobic (Hedges’ g = -0.12, PrI = -0.95, 0.72), mind-body versus resistance (Hedges’ g = -0.06, PrI = -0.90, 0.79). High levels of compliance were demonstrated for each exercise treatment.

Conclusions: Aerobic, resistance, and mind-body exercise demonstrate equivalence to mitigate symptoms of depression in older adults aged ≥ 65 years, with comparably encouraging levels of compliance to exercise treatment. These findings coalesce with previous findings in clinically depressed older adults to encourage personal preference when prescribing exercise for depressive symptoms in older adults.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8191520/

 

Relieve Cancer-Related Fatigue in Breast Cancer Patients with Mind-Body Exercise

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Relieve Cancer-Related Fatigue in Breast Cancer Patients with Mind-Body Exercise

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“mindfulness has both direct and indirect effects on the fatigue of breast cancer survivors and that mindfulness can be used to more effectively reduce their fatigue.” – Kaori Ikeuchi

 

Receiving a diagnosis of breast 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 breast cancer diagnosis is not necessarily a death sentence. Over half of the people diagnosed with breast cancer are still alive 10 years later and this number is rapidly increasing. But surviving breast cancer carries with it a number of problems. Anxiety, depression, fatigue and insomnia are common symptoms in the aftermath of surviving breast cancer. These symptoms markedly reduce the quality of life of the patients.

 

Mindfulness training has been shown to help with cancer recovery and help to relieve chronic pain. It can also help treat the residual physical and psychological symptoms, including stress, sleep disturbance, fear, and anxiety and depression. Mind-body practices such as Tai Chi or Qigong, and yoga have been shown to be effective in improving the psychological symptoms occurring in breast cancer patients. The research has been accumulating. So, it makes sense to review and summarize what has been learned.

 

In today’s Research News article “A Meta-Analysis: Intervention Effect of Mind-Body Exercise on Relieving Cancer-Related Fatigue in Breast Cancer Patients.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8275388/ ) Liu and colleagues review, summarize, and perform a meta-analysis of the published randomized controlled trials on the effectiveness of mind-body practices in relieving the chronic fatigue that occurs in breast cancer survivors. They identified 17 published randomized controlled trials that included a total of 1133 breast cancer patient. The mind-body practices employed in the published trials were yoga, Tai Chi, and Qigon.

 

They report that the published research found that mind-body practices significantly reduced the fatigue of patients with breast cancer. They further found that Tai Chi practice produced significantly greater reductions in fatigue than yoga practice and that practicing for over 40 minutes duration produces greater reductions in fatigue than shorter practice durations. Hence, the published research to date suggests that practicing yoga and particularly Tai Chi can successfully reduce cancer-related fatigue in patients with breast cancer. This is important as fatigue greatly interferes with the quality of life of the patients and their ability to reengage in normal daily activities. Mind-body practices, then, can improve the lives of breast cancer patients.

 

So, relieve cancer-related fatigue in breast cancer patients with mind-body exercise.

 

“Mindfulness-and in particular nonreactivity, nonjudging, and describing-may be a personal resource for women with metastatic breast cancer in coping with complex symptoms of this life-threatening illness.” – Lauren A Zimmaro

 

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

 

Liu, C., Qin, M., Zheng, X., Chen, R., & Zhu, J. (2021). A Meta-Analysis: Intervention Effect of Mind-Body Exercise on Relieving Cancer-Related Fatigue in Breast Cancer Patients. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2021, 9980940. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/9980940

 

Abstract

Objective

This paper aims to systematically evaluate the intervention effect of mind-body exercise on cancer-related fatigue in breast cancer patients.

Methods

Databases including PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang Data, and SINOMED were retrieved to collect randomized controlled trials on the effects of mind-body exercise on relieving cancer-related fatigue in breast cancer patients. The retrieval period started from the founding date of each database to January 6, 2021. Cochrane bias risk assessment tools were used to evaluate the methodological quality assessment of the included literature, and RevMan 5.3 software was used for meta-analyses.

Results

17 pieces of researches in 16 papers were included with a total of 1133 patients. Compared with the control group, mind-body exercise can improve cancer-related fatigue in breast cancer patients. The combined effect size SMD = 0.59, 95% CI was [0.27, 0.92], p < 0.00001. Doing Tai Chi for over 40 minutes each time with an exercise cycle of ≤6 weeks can improve cancer-related fatigue in breast cancer patients more significantly. Sensitivity analysis shows that the combined effect results of the meta-analysis were relatively stable.

Conclusion

Mind-body exercise can effectively improve cancer-related fatigue in breast cancer patients.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8275388/