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Background: Traditional Indian Ayurvedic medicine uses complex treatment approaches, including manual therapies, lifestyle and nutritional advice, dietary supplements, medication, yoga, and purification techniques. Ayurvedic strategies are often used to treat osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee; however, no systematic data are available on their effectiveness in comparison with standard care. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of complex Ayurvedic treatment in comparison with conventional methods of treating OA symptoms in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Methods and design: In a prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trial, 150 patients between 40 and 70 years, diagnosed with osteoarthritis of the knee, following American College of Rheumatology criteria and an average pain intensity of >= 40 mm on a 100 mm visual analog scale in the affected knee at baseline will be randomized into two groups. In the Ayurveda group, treatment will include tailored combinations of manual treatments, massages, dietary and lifestyle advice, consideration of selected foods, nutritional supplements, yoga posture advice, and knee massage. Patients in the conventional group will receive self-care advice, pain medication, weight-loss advice (if overweight), and physiotherapy following current international guidelines. Both groups will receive 15 treatment sessions over 12 weeks. Outcomes will be evaluated after 6 and 12 weeks and 6 and 12 months. The primary endpoint is a change in the score on the Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) after 12 weeks. Secondary outcome measurements will use WOMAC subscales, a pain disability index, a visual analog scale for pain and sleep quality, a pain experience scale, a quality-of-life index, a profile of mood states, and Likert scales for patient satisfaction, patient diaries, and safety. Using an adapted PRECIS scale, the trial was identified as lying mainly in the middle of the efficacy-effectiveness continuum. Discussion: This trial is the first to compare the effectiveness of a complex Ayurvedic intervention with a complex conventional intervention in a Western medical setting in patients with knee osteoarthritis. During the trial design, aspects of efficacy and effectiveness were discussed. The resulting design is a compromise between rigor and pragmatism.
Stress is important in substance use disorders (SUDs). Mindfulness training (MT) has shown promise for stress-related maladies. No studies have compared MT to empirically validated treatments for SUDs. The goals of this study were to assess MT compared to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in substance use and treatment acceptability, and specificity of MT compared to CBT in targeting stress reactivity. Thirty-six individuals with alcohol and/or cocaine use disorders were randomly assigned to receive group MT or CBT in an outpatient setting. Drug use was assessed weekly. After treatment, responses to personalized stress provocation were measured. Fourteen individuals completed treatment. There were no differences in treatment satisfaction or drug use between groups. The laboratory paradigm suggested reduced psychological and physiological indices of stress during provocation in MT compared to CBT. This pilot study provides evidence of the feasibility of MT in treating SUDs and suggests that MT may be efficacious in targeting stress.
Stress is important in substance use disorders (SUDs). Mindfulness training (MT) has shown promise for stress-related maladies. No studies have compared MT to empirically validated treatments for SUDs. The goals of this study were to assess MT compared to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in substance use and treatment acceptability, and specificity of MT compared to CBT in targeting stress reactivity. Thirty-six individuals with alcohol and/or cocaine use disorders were randomly assigned to receive group MT or CBT in an outpatient setting. Drug use was assessed weekly. After treatment, responses to personalized stress provocation were measured. Fourteen individuals completed treatment. There were no differences in treatment satisfaction or drug use between groups. The laboratory paradigm suggested reduced psychological and physiological indices of stress during provocation in MT compared to CBT. This pilot study provides evidence of the feasibility of MT in treating SUDs and suggests that MT may be efficacious in targeting stress.
Background: Yoga seems to be an effective means to cope with a variety of internal medicine conditions. While characteristics of yoga users have been investigated in the general population, little is known about predictors of yoga use and barriers to yoga use in internal medicine patients. The aim of this cross-sectional analysis was to identify sociodemographic, clinical, and psychological predictors of yoga use among internal medicine patients. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted among all patients being referred to a Department of Internal and Integrative Medicine during a 3-year period. It was assessed whether patients had ever used yoga for their primary medical complaint, the perceived benefit, and the perceived harm of yoga practice. Potential predictors of yoga use including sociodemographic characteristics, health behavior, internal medicine diagnosis, general health status, mental health, satisfaction with health, and health locus of control were assessed; and associations with yoga use were tested using multiple logistic regression analysis. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for significant predictors. Results: Of 2486 participants, 303 (12.19%) reported having used yoga for their primary medical complaint. Of those, 184 (60.73%) reported benefits and 12 (3.96%) reported harms due to yoga practice. Compared to yoga non-users, yoga users were more likely to be 50-64 years old (OR = 1.45; 95%CI = 1.05-2.01; P = 0.025); female (OR = 2.45; 95%CI = 1.45-4.02; P < 0.001); and college graduates (OR = 1.61; 95%CI = 1.14-2.27; P = 0.007); and less likely to currently smoke (OR = 0.61; 95%CI = 0.39-0.96; P = 0.031). Manifest anxiety (OR = 1.47; 95%CI = 1.06-2.04; P = 0.020); and high internal health locus of control (OR = 1.92; 95%CI = 1.38-2.67; P < 0.001) were positively associated with yoga use, while high external-fatalistic health locus of control (OR = 0.66; 95%CI = 0.47-0.92; P = 0.014) was negatively associated with yoga use. Conclusion: Yoga was used for their primary medical complaint by 12.19% of an internal integrative medicine patient population and was commonly perceived as beneficial. Yoga use was not associated with the patients' specific diagnosis but with sociodemographic factors, mental health, and health locus of control. To improve adherence to yoga practice, it should be considered that male, younger, and anxious patients and those with low internal health locus of control might be less intrinsically motivated to start yoga.
BACKGROUND:Stress reduction and comprehensive lifestyle modification programs have improved atherosclerosis and cardiac risk factors in earlier trials. Little is known about the impact of such programs on quality-of-life (QoL) and psychological outcomes. Given recent significant improvements in cardiac care, we evaluated the current benefit of stress reduction/lifestyle modification on QoL and emotional distress in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).
METHODS:
101 patients (59.4 +/- 8.6 years, 23 female) with CAD were randomized to a 1-year lifestyle/stress management program (n = 48) or written advice (n = 53). QoL and psychological outcomes were assessed with the SF-36, Beck Depression, Spielberger State/Trait Anxiety, Spielberger State/Trait Anger and Perceived Stress Inventories. Group repeated-measures analyses of variance were performed for all measures.
RESULTS:
Adherence to the program was excellent (daily relaxation practice 39 +/- 5 vs. 5 +/- 8 min, respectively; p < 0.001). Both groups improved comparably in most dimensions of QoL, and significantly greater improvements for the lifestyle group were found for physical function and physical sum score (p = 0.046 and p = 0.045). Depression, anxiety, anger and perceived stress were reduced similarly in both groups. However, intervention x gender interaction effects revealed greater benefits among women in the lifestyle intervention vs. advice group for depression and anger (p = 0.025 and p = 0.040), but no effects for men.
CONCLUSIONS:
A comprehensive lifestyle modification and stress management program did not improve psychological outcomes in medically stable CAD patients. The program did appear to confer psychological benefits for women but not men. Further trials should investigate gender-related differences in coronary patient responses to behavioral interventions.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this trial was to evaluate the effects of yoga on health-related quality of life in patients with colorectal cancer.METHODS: Patients with non-metastatic colorectal cancer were randomly assigned to a 10-week yoga intervention (90 min once weekly) or a waitlist control group. Primary outcome measure was disease-specific quality of life (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Colorectal [FACT-C]) at week 10. Secondary outcome measures included FACT-C subscales: spiritual well-being (FACT - Spirituality); fatigue (FACT - Fatigue); sleep disturbances (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Inventory); depression and anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale); body awareness (Scale of Body Connection); and body-efficacy expectations (Body-Efficacy Expectations Scale). Outcomes were assessed at week 10 and week 22 after randomization.
RESULTS: Fifty-four patients (mean age 68.3 ± 9.7 years) were randomized to yoga (n = 27; attrition rate 22.2%) and control group (n = 27; attrition rate 18.5%). Patients in the yoga group attended a mean of 5.3 ± 4.0 yoga classes. No significant group differences for the FACT-C total score were found. Group differences were found for emotional well-being at week 22 (∆ = 1.59; 95% CI = 0.27,2.90; p = 0.019), sleep disturbances at week 22 (∆ = -1.08; 95% CI = -2.13, -0.03; p = 0.043), anxiety at week 10 (∆ = -1.14; 95% CI = -2.20, -0.09; p = 0.043), and depression at week 10 (∆ = -1.34; 95% CI = -2.61, -0.8; p = 0.038). No serious adverse events occurred in the yoga group, while liver metastases were diagnosed in one patient in the control group.
CONCLUSION: This randomized trial found no effects of yoga on health-related quality of life in patients with colorectal cancer. Given the high attrition rate and low intervention adherence, no definite conclusions can be drawn from this trial.
BACKGROUND: Emotional distress is an increasing public health problem and Hatha yoga has been claimed to induce stress reduction and empowerment in practicing subjects. We aimed to evaluate potential effects of Iyengar Hatha yoga on perceived stress and associated psychological outcomes in mentally distressed women.MATERIAL/METHODS: A controlled prospective non-randomized study was conducted in 24 self-referred female subjects (mean age 37.9+/-7.3 years) who perceived themselves as emotionally distressed. Subjects were offered participation in one of two subsequential 3-months yoga programs. Group 1 (n=16) participated in the first class, group 2 (n=8) served as a waiting list control. During the yoga course, subjects attended two-weekly 90-min Iyengar yoga classes. Outcome was assessed on entry and after 3 months by Cohen Perceived Stress Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Profile of Mood States, CESD-Depression Scale, Bf-S/Bf-S' Well-Being Scales, Freiburg Complaint List and ratings of physical well-being. Salivary cortisol levels were measured before and after an evening yoga class in a second sample.
RESULTS: Compared to waiting-list, women who participated in the yoga-training demonstrated pronounced and significant improvements in perceived stress (P<0.02), State and Trait Anxiety (P<0.02 and P<0.01, respectively), well-being (P<0.01), vigor (P<0.02), fatigue (P<0.02) and depression (P<0.05). Physical well-being also increased (P<0.01), and those subjects suffering from headache or back pain reported marked pain relief. Salivary cortisol decreased significantly after participation in a yoga class (P<0.05).
CONCLUSIONS: Women suffering from mental distress participating in a 3-month Iyengar yoga class show significant improvements on measures of stress and psychological outcomes. Further investigation of yoga with respect to prevention and treatment of stress-related disease and of underlying mechanism is warranted.
BACKGROUND: Emotional distress is an increasing public health problem and Hatha yoga has been claimed to induce stress reduction and empowerment in practicing subjects. We aimed to evaluate potential effects of Iyengar Hatha yoga on perceived stress and associated psychological outcomes in mentally distressed women.MATERIAL/METHODS: A controlled prospective non-randomized study was conducted in 24 self-referred female subjects (mean age 37.9+/-7.3 years) who perceived themselves as emotionally distressed. Subjects were offered participation in one of two subsequential 3-months yoga programs. Group 1 (n=16) participated in the first class, group 2 (n=8) served as a waiting list control. During the yoga course, subjects attended two-weekly 90-min Iyengar yoga classes. Outcome was assessed on entry and after 3 months by Cohen Perceived Stress Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Profile of Mood States, CESD-Depression Scale, Bf-S/Bf-S' Well-Being Scales, Freiburg Complaint List and ratings of physical well-being. Salivary cortisol levels were measured before and after an evening yoga class in a second sample.
RESULTS: Compared to waiting-list, women who participated in the yoga-training demonstrated pronounced and significant improvements in perceived stress (P<0.02), State and Trait Anxiety (P<0.02 and P<0.01, respectively), well-being (P<0.01), vigor (P<0.02), fatigue (P<0.02) and depression (P<0.05). Physical well-being also increased (P<0.01), and those subjects suffering from headache or back pain reported marked pain relief. Salivary cortisol decreased significantly after participation in a yoga class (P<0.05).
CONCLUSIONS: Women suffering from mental distress participating in a 3-month Iyengar yoga class show significant improvements on measures of stress and psychological outcomes. Further investigation of yoga with respect to prevention and treatment of stress-related disease and of underlying mechanism is warranted.
Between 60 and 90% of patients consult their family doctor for stress-associated complaints. Not infrequently, a considerable number of these patients already have elevated blood pressure. The positive effect on high blood pressure of relaxation techniques has been confirmed in various studies. Accordingly, stress management should now have a permanent place in effective antihypertensive treatment. Appropriate relaxation techniques include, for example, autogenic training, progressive muscle relaxation, visualization and breathing exercises, chi gong and yoga. These practices are incorporated in various lifestyle programs. They act in different ways, and can be offered to the patient in accordance with his/her individual wishes.
Between 60 and 90% of patients consult their family doctor for stress-associated complaints. Not infrequently, a considerable number of these patients already have elevated blood pressure. The positive effect on high blood pressure of relaxation techniques has been confirmed in various studies. Accordingly, stress management should now have a permanent place in effective antihypertensive treatment. Appropriate relaxation techniques include, for example, autogenic training, progressive muscle relaxation, visualization and breathing exercises, chi gong and yoga. These practices are incorporated in various lifestyle programs. They act in different ways, and can be offered to the patient in accordance with his/her individual wishes.
Yoga has been found effective in the treatment of chronic low back pain. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of lyengar yoga in chronic neck pain by means of a randomized clinical trial. Seventy-seven patients (aged 47.9 +/- 7.9, 67 female) with chronic neck pain who scored >40 mm on a 100-mm visual analog scale (VAS) were randomized to a 9-week lyengar yoga program with weekly 90-minute classes (n = 38) or to a self-care/exercise program (n = 38). Patients were examined at baseline and after 4 and 10 weeks. The primary outcome measure was change of mean pain at rest (VAS) from baseline to week 10. Secondary outcomes included pain at motion, functional disability, quality of life (QOL), and psychological outcomes. Twelve patients in the yoga group and 11 patients in the self-care/exercise group were lost to follow-up, with higher study nonadherence in the self-care group (5 versus 10 patients). Mean pain at rest was reduced from 44.3 +/- 20.1 to 13.0 +/- 11.6 at week 10 by yoga and from 41.9 +/- 21.9 to 34.4 +/- 21.1 by self-care/exercise (group difference: -20.1, 95% confidence interval: -30.0, -10.1; P < .001). Pain at motion was reduced from 53.4 18.5 to 22.4 +/- 18.7 at week 10 by yoga and from 49.4 +/- 22.8 to 39.9 +/- 21.5 by self-care/exercise (group difference: -18.7, 95% confidence interval: -29.3, -8.1; P < .001). Significant treatment effects of yoga were also found for pain-related apprehension, disability, QOL, and psychological outcomes. Sensitivity analyses suggested minimal influence of dropout rates. Both programs were well tolerated. In this preliminary trial, yoga appears to be an effective treatment in chronic neck pain with possible additional effects on psychological well-being and QOL. The effectiveness of yoga in chronic neck pain should be further tested by comparative effectiveness studies with longer observation periods. Perspective: This article presents the results of a randomized controlled trial on the clinical effects of a 9-week yoga program or self-care exercise in patients with chronic neck pain. Yoga led to superior pain relief and functional improvements and might be a useful treatment option for chronic neck pain. (C) 2012 by the American Pain Society