Search

This article, titled "Editorial: Yoga for pain relief," explores the potential benefits of yoga in managing pain. The authors discuss how yoga, with its dualistic approach that addresses both the body and mind, can modify individual perceptions and thresholds of pain. The article presents different perspectives on the utility of yoga in pain relief, including its role in pain management strategies, its prevalence among yoga seekers in India, and its use in conventional pain management settings. The authors conclude that yoga is a comprehensive and evidence-based approach that can be integrated into pain management strategies. [Extracted from the article]

Introduction: The philosophical tenets of yoga such as Ashtanga yoga (AY) and Trigunas are seldom considered while designing yoga programs for chronic diseases. This randomized control trial explored the impact of AY principle-based yoga on the anthropometric indices, personality traits, and quality of life (QoL) in abdominal obesity (AO). Materials and Methods: Sixty-two participants with AO were randomized (n = 31 in each arm) into an AY arm or general yoga (GY) arm. For 12 weeks, both the AY and the GY received the same yoga protocol; however, the AY received an additional AY-based orientation session fortnightly. Changes in waist circumference, hip circumference (HC), height, weight, body mass index (BMI), waist–hip ratio, Vedic Personality Inventory for gunas, and World Health Organization QoL-BREF were measured at baseline and at the end of 12 weeks. Results: By the end of 12 weeks, the AY arm significantly differed from the GY arm in HC (P = 0.05) and BMI scores (P = 0.03). The AY arm has shown a significant increase in the sattva guna (P < 0.001) and reduction in the rajas (P < 0.001) and tamas gunas (P = 0.03). There was a significant improvement in the physical and social QoL domain, whereas the other variables examined remained insignificant. The increase in sattva guna was negatively correlated with waist circumference (P = −0.489) and BMI (r = −0.553). Conclusion: Exposing participants to progressive AY philosophy can change the personality traits which are further associated with melioration in the determiners of AO. Future yoga programs for chronic disorders may consider including AY philosophy for substantive outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of this study is to identify the characteristics of patients who underwent yoga therapy for pain in yoga and naturopathy clinical settings in India., Methods: Electronic medical records of patients who received yoga therapy for pain in three inpatient yoga and naturopathy hospitals were reviewed retrospectively from January 2021 to September 2022. Demographic characteristics and details on pain condition, socioeconomic status, comorbidities, ancillary therapies received, and insurance status were collected. In addition, we prospectively collected data on adherence to yoga practice through a telephonic interview., Results: A total of 984 patients were identified from a pool of 3,164 patients who received yoga therapy for pain for an average of 9.48 (1.13) days. Patients aged between 8 and 80 underwent therapy for varying pain conditions and diseases that include pain in the extremities, pain due to infection, trauma, degenerative diseases, autoimmune diseases, and spine and neurological diseases. The majority of the patients were females (66.3%), from middle class families (74.8%), and who did not have any insurance coverage (93.8%). Most of the patients were under naturopathy treatment (99.8%), followed by ayurveda (56%), and physiotherapy (49.3%), along with yoga therapy. All patients reported a significant reduction in pain post-integrated yoga therapy ( p  < 0.001). Adherence to yoga was significantly associated with underlying pain conditions, the presence of comorbidities, the types of therapies used, and socioeconomic status ( p  < 0.001)., Conclusion: This study highlights the real-time application of yoga in pain management in Indian yoga and naturopathy settings, as well as implications for future research., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2023 Nair, Kriplani, Kodali, Maheshwari, Bhalavat, Singh, Saini, Yadav, Keswani, Silwal, Sharma and Tewani.)