Re: Meditation may help RA

nice article og - don't know if you've read any of her other stuff -
she's got a variety of issues she runs studies on. it's good to on a
personal note, i've used it for many years and anecdotally find it very
helpful - one more tool for the kit.


be well

paul

OldGoat wrote:

Couldn't hurt--og
*****************************************************

Meditation May Help Rheumatoid Arthritis Sufferers
By Alan Mozes
HealthDay Reporter1 hour, 44 minutes ago

FRIDAY, Sept. 28 (HealthDay News) -- For rheumatoid arthritis sufferers
whose painful illness prompts depression, relief may come from the practice
of an age-old technique already embraced by millions around the world:
meditation.

Researchers found that a half-year exposure to meditation techniques helped
patients shave as much as one-third of their psychological distress.

The research team, led by Elizabeth K. Pradhan of the University of Maryland
School of Medicine's Center for Integrative Medicine, based its conclusions
on an analysis of a specific training course called "Mindfulness-Based
Stress Reduction" (MBSR).

Pradhan and her colleagues said the MBSR concept of "mindfulness" is
designed to guide patients to focus on the "here and now," while emphasizing
the value of calmness, clarity, well-being, and a compassion for oneself and
others.

The Arthritis Foundation has said that several so-called "mind-body
practices" may help arthritis patients alleviate stress, pain, anxiety and
depression.

In addition to meditation, the organization acknowledges the potential of
electronic monitoring techniques such as biofeedback; the mental health
benefits of guided imagery and hypnosis; and the ability of physical
activities such as yoga and tai chi to both calm and energize patients.

The Maryland researchers noted that prior studies had already shown that the
MBSR course, in particular, seems to have a positive impact on the
psychological symptoms of patients with conditions such as anxiety
disorders, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, cancer and multiple sclerosis.
Patients recovering from organ transplant surgery also seem to derive some
benefit, the researchers said.

For their study, published in the October issue of Arthritis Care &
Research, Pradhan and her colleagues focused specifically on rheumatoid
arthritis. It was the first-ever analysis of MBSR and its impact on
depression, general well-being, and disease progression among rheumatoid
arthritis patients, the researchers said.

Thirty-one patients were offered the mediation course over an eight-week
period, followed by a four-month maintenance program. Another 32 patients
did not participate but were told they would be offered free meditation
training once the study was completed.

With an average age of 54, most of the patients were female, white, married,
college-educated, middle-class, and all were free of either psychiatric
illness or alcohol or drug addiction.

During the trial, all the patients continued to be treated by their regular
doctor and to take whatever medication they'd been taking before the study
began.

At the start of the study, and two and six months later, all the patients
completed questionnaires to assess depressive symptoms and psychological
distress. Also, blood measures of inflammation were taken and an assessment
of tender and swollen joints was done to evaluate current RA status.

By the two-month mark, both the meditation and the non-meditation groups had
shown equal levels of improvement in terms of depression and emotional
symptoms.

But by six months, there was a "significant" difference in perceived
psychological distress between the two groups -- those practicing mediation
reported a 35 percent reduction in psychological distress.

The researchers emphasized, however, that the meditation had no impact on
the progression and activity of RA disease itself.

Pradhan and her team concluded that the meditation technique offered
rheumatoid arthritis patients a safe and appealing way to improve their
sense of well-being, when offered alongside traditional medical care.

"There's a fair amount of emotional distress that accompanies RA in terms of
stability, worrying about the future, worrying about the ability to take
care of oneself, to keep a job, to say nothing about the daily pain,"
Pradhan said. "There's just a lot to deal with. So, I think this is a novel
and innovative way to handle this emotional distress and one that hasn't
been tried before, and we were happy to see that it did make a difference
along those lines.

"It doesn't really change disease status. That didn't happen," she said.
"But in terms of ability to cope with a chronic and debilitating condition,
meditation did appear to be quite helpful. And there was really high
satisfaction with the intervention. So, I think this bodes well for the
future.

"The other thing I think is important to note about our study," Pradhan
said, "is that mindfulness meditation can be combined with any
rheumatological therapy. It is truly complementary medicine in that sense,
done in addition to pharmacological or other intervention. So, for
physicians and patients who wonder what they can do to improve well-being,
beyond taking medications, this study offers evidence for a beneficial
approach to dealing with the psychological distress of RA.

Dr. Stephen Lindsey, head of rheumatology at Ochsner Health Systems in Baton
Rouge, La., applauded Pradhan and her team for managing to get a scientific
handle on a phenomenon he has observed throughout his practice.

"If someone is having stress and trouble with their arthritis, if you can
somehow decrease the stress, you might be able to increase their function,"
Lindsey said. "And when you're meditating, you're trying to relax your body
and get rid of the tension. It doesn't necessarily have to be a meditation
scheme. It could be yoga, or Pilates, or a self-help course. But I'm in
favor of using everything possible to help people, and this would be just
one more way to help patients improve their lives."

More information

To learn more about meditation and arthritis, visit the Arthritis
Foundation.

--
Be Sure to Check Out the PAYNE HERTZ blog, for people with chronic pain, by
people with chronic pain.
join in at: http://paynehertz.blogspot.com

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