Yoga can alleviate symptoms of fibromyalgia

Monday October 18th, 2010

People with the painful condition fibromyalgia may experience relief if they do yoga, research has suggested.

Patients who took part in a "Yoga Awareness" programme in the USA showed significantly greater improvement in their symptoms and functioning compared with those on a standard care programme.

Dr James Carson, a clinical health psychologist and an assistant professor of anaesthesiology and perioperative medicine in the at Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine, USA, said study results suggested that yoga intervention “led to a beneficial shift in how patients cope with pain, including greater use of adaptive pain coping and less use of maladaptive strategies, such as self-isolation, disengagement, confrontation”.

The research, published online today in the journal Pain, enrolled 53 women, all of whom had been previously diagnosed with fibromyalgia.

They were randomly assigned to two research groups, with 25 in the eight-week Yoga of Awareness programme and the remaining 28 receiving standard medication treatments for fibromyalgia.

After the study, researchers found that patients who had done yoga reported a reduction of pain by an average of 24 per cent, fatigue by 30 per cent and depression by 42 per cent.

"One likely reason for the apparent success of this study therapy was the strong commitment shown by the study subjects,” said Dr Carson. “Attendance at the classes was good as was most participants' willingness to practice yoga while at home.

“Based on the results of this research, we strongly believe that further study of this potential therapy is warranted.”

As a result of Dr Carson’s research, and a previous paper that showed how yoga could help with cancer-related pain, the OHSU Department of Anaesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine is to sponsor a training course for North American yoga teachers who want to build their skills for working with individuals who have chronic pain.

A pilot randomised controlled trial of the Yoga of Awareness program in the management of fibromyalgia by James W. Carson, Kimberly M. Carson, Kim D. Jones, Robert M. Bennett, Cheryl L. Wright, and Scott D. Mist. It appears in PAIN, Volume 151, Issue 2 (October 2010) published by Elsevier. doi:10.1016/j.pain.2010.08.020

Tags: Alternative Therapy | North America | Pain Relief | Rheumatology

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