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August 29, 2004
Yoga Helps Some MS Symptoms
A six month study of yoga's affects on Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients found that 60% of the people who practiced it said that it was beneficial in combating fatigue and muscle strength.
This yoga niche, called therapeutic yoga, is not limited to people with MS. Such therapy incorporates poses (asanas), breathing ("pranayama") and meditation techniques to improve quality of life and manage symptoms of various diseases, chronic conditions and illnesses, including asthma, back pain, fibromyalgia, depression and cancer.
A study in 1998 showed that yoga, more than conventional treatment, helped reduce pain and improve hand strength for people with carpal tunnel syndrome. That same year, yoga was shown to be effective in improving the quality of life for people with asthma.
A study in the June issue of the journal Neurology showed that MS patients who practiced yoga for six months had significantly less fatigue than those who didn't practice it. Current studies are evaluating yoga's effectiveness in treating symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression and breast cancer.
Posted by linda at August 29, 2004 10:29 AM
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