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December I. 2010
Page 7
H EALTHMATTERS
Yoga Used to Fight Chronic Pain
Research
conducted at
OHSU
According to new research con
ducted at Oregon Health & Science
U ni versity, yoga exercises may have
the power to combat fibromyalgia
— a medical disorder characterized
by chronic widespread pain.
“Previous research suggests that
the most successful treatment for
fibromyalgia involves a combina
tion of medications, physical exer
cise and development of coping
skills,” said James Carson, aclinical
health psychologist and an assis
tant professor of anesthesiology
and perioperative medicine in the
OHSU School of Medicine. “Here,
we specifically focused on yoga to
Research at Oregon Health and Sciences University suggests that yoga exercises can have the
power to counteract fibromyalgia, a medical disorder characterized by chronic widespread pain.
determine whether it should be con-
sidered as a prescribed treatment
and the extent to which it can be
successful.
In the study, researchers found
that yoga appears to assist in com-
b atin g a n u m b er o f serio u s
fibromyalgia symptoms, including
pain, fatigue, stiffness, poor sleep,
depression, poor memory, anxiety
and poor balance.
All of these improvements were
shown to be not only statistically
but alsoclinically significant, mean
ing the changes were large enough
to have a practical impact on daily
functioning. For example, pain was
reduced in the yoga group by an
average of 24 percent, fatigue by 30
percent and depression by 42 per
cent.
“Based on the results of this re
search, we strongly believe that
further study o f this potential
therapy is warranted,” Carson said.
As an outcome of this study and
Carson’s previous research show
ing yoga can be helpful with cancer-
related pain, next June, OHSU will
be sponsoring a training course for
U.S. and Canadian yoga teachers
who want to build their skills for
working with individuals who have
chronic pain.
Diabetes Fitness: Aerobics Plus Weights
Combo works
best for lowering
blood sugar
(AP) — People with diabetes
should mix aerobics with weight
training to get the best results in
lowering blood sugar, a new study
s u g g e s ts . T h e c o m b in a tio n
worked best for weight loss too,
com pared to aerobics or weight
training alone.
Blood sugar is fuel to muscles,
and more sugar is burned during
aerobic activity. W eight training
builds more m uscle, and both ac
tivities change m uscle proteins in
ways that enhance the process.
"It's clear that doing both aerobic
and strength training is superior to
either alone," said lead author Dr.
Tim Church of Pennington Biomedi
cal Research Center in Baton Rouge,
La. "It's almost like taking two differ
ent drugs."
Patients in the study, published
in last week's Journal of the Ameri
can Medical Association, achieved
the results over nine months, exer
cising three days a week for about
45 minutes each session.
"P eople can m a n a g e th is
am ount of exercise," said Laurie
G oodyear of Joslin D iabetes Cen
ter in Boston, who wasn't involved
in the new study but does sim ilar
research. "They didn't have to go
bics and weight training combined both legs and her vision to the dis
for all adults.
ease. Too much blood sugar can
"It gave me a lot more energy. damage nerves, eyes, the heart and
That was one of the first things I blood vessels.
noticed," said Deidra Atkins-Ball,
"I remember as a kid having to do
44, a biology professor, diagnosed things for her, going to the store for
with diabetes a year before she joined her," Atkins-Ball said. "It really
the aerobics-weights group.
scared me."
A distant aunt with diabetes lost
The researchers found that only
the group that combined aerobics
and weights both lowered their
blood sugar and lost weight, al
though all three fitness groups re
duced their waist sizes.
Atkins-Ball is trying to get back
into an exercise routine by walking
two miles with her husband in the
mornings.
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Deidra Atkins-Ball, 44, of Baton
Rouge, La., combines aerobics
and weight training to success
fully lower her blood sugar
levels.
on a diet. This was purely an exer
cise effect."
The researchers' goal was to test
three exercise programs that doc
tors could realistically recommend
and patients could stick with. They
compared aerobics alone, weight
training alone and a combination.
U.S. guidelines recommend aero-
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