Meditation and Fibromyalgia
The following is a collection of articles that we have collected to aid a student suffering from fybromyalgia. We are sharing the information here in the hope of informing and helping other sufferers find some relief through meditation. Please visit the sites linked below for more information.
If you have fibromyalgia, you know how difficult it can be to deal with. Fibromyalgia symptoms such as chronic pain and fatigue often make it difficult to go on with your daily routine. These symptoms can sometimes have disastrous effects on your mood, leaving you feeling hopeless or even depressed. If you are feeling especially stressed out by your fibromyalgia, you may find that meditation can help you restore calmness and vitality to your life.
Can Meditation be helpful?
Meditation techniques are increasingly being used by those with this disease to manage fibromyalgia symptoms and lift their moods. Through meditation, people can quiet their minds, reduce stress, and eliminate worries from their lives; at least for a time. Neroja Meditation and other methods of mindful meditation employ focusing on the breath and other techniques to teach means of using the mind as a tool to combat disease.
Meditation has been used for thousands of years by many different cultures. It is not known exactly where meditation began, though early practices can be traced to India and the Eastern World. There are many different types of meditation, including mindfulness meditation, concentration meditation, and transcendental meditation. Most types of meditation have the same goal – to allow a person to achieve mental clarity and a state of extreme calm. Meditation is sometimes used to promote spiritual healing.
Benefits of Meditation
When practiced regularly, all types of meditation can offer numerous physical and mental benefits. Physical benefits include:
Meditation has recently been shown to be very effective in reducing the stress levels and symptoms associated with fibromyalgia syndrome. If you have fibromyalgia, techniques of meditation can help to improve your sleep patterns and reduce your fatigue. Meditation techniques can also help to reduce your pain levels, as it decreases the levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, in your body.
In a 1993 study involving 77 fibromyalgia patients, it was found that daily meditation improved most fibromyalgia symptoms. 51% of participants reported moderate to marked improvement in their symptoms. In 1998, a study on meditation and fibromyalgia found that meditative practices lessened the aches, sleeplessness, muscle pain, and depression experienced by fibromyalgia patients.
http://www.fibromyalgia-symptoms.org/fibromyalgia_meditation.html
Mindfulness Meditation for the Pain of Fibromyalgia Finding new ways to measure the benefits of meditation. By Tina Adler for MSN Health & Fitness
Medically Reviewed By: Gary Haynes, Haynes, Ph.D., M.D.
Research now shows that meditation can help ease the depression associated with and the pain of fibromyalgia, a condition marked by chronic joint and muscle pain, fatigue, and, in some cases, poor memory and thinking. While meditation doesn’t make the pain disappear, it appears to help patients refocus their attention and feel better.
Fibromyalgia is difficult to treat. Doctors normally recommend a combination of exercise and psychosocial interventions, such as learning how to relax. In addition, medications like antidepressants, anti-inflammatory medications and sleeping pills are often prescribed. The cause of fibromyalgia is unclear, but symptoms often begin after a traumatic experience and worsen during times of stress, said Sandy Sephton, a research psychologist at the University of Louisville. Fibromyalgia affects up to 4 percent of the population of the United States and other industrialized countries.
Now researchers have objective evidence to back up patients’ claims on the benefits of meditation. Sephton and her colleagues found that meditating appears to lower levels of cortisol, a hormone associated with stress.
Mindfulness meditation
Sephton and other researchers train patients in a type of meditation called mindfulness meditation. The meditation involves being aware and nonjudgmental of the thoughts that pop into your head while sitting quietly. “We ask people to notice what’s going on in your mind,” said Paul Salmon, a colleague of Sephton’s who trains the study participants in meditation. “Over time, people become more calm and more perceptive of what is happening at the moment,” he said in an interview. Sephton’s team studied patients’ cortisol levels, which serve as a physical measure of stress. Normally, the hormone increases by 50 percent to 60 percent when a person wakes up, but then levels off during the day, explained Sephton. Cortisol levels in some fibromyalgia patients follow a different flow, increasing in the afternoon or evening hours.
In her study of 43 people with fibromyalgia, Sephton’s team found that participants’ morning levels of cortisol were lower when they meditated. Participants were asked to meditate at home for 45 minutes a day, 6 days a week, for 8 weeks. Patients who took medications that altered their cortisol levels were excluded from the study.
Where did my focus go?
Fibromyalgia patients complain about attention problems, but they generally do fine on standard psychological tests designed to measure these functions, said David Vago, a research psychologist at the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York. His study, conducted at the University of Utah, used highly sensitive tests and examined thinking processes “that are almost pre-conscious—that you aren’t even aware of,” he said.
People with fibromyalgia who had undergone mindfulness meditation training were faster at tasks that required staying focused, compared with patients who didn’t meditate, said Vago.
Mental engagement with pain
Fibromyalgia patients have trouble mentally disengaging from negative stimuli, Vago and his colleagues found. When shown a computer screen with pain-related words, patients looked away from the screen less quickly than when they were shown neutral words. This lingering engagement with negative stimuli slows their response time on various tasks, such as simply pushing a button as part of computer exercise, he said. They “grasp on to threatening stimuli to the point where it interferes with processing the task at hand.”
Vago also looked at physical responses, such as blinking, to various stimuli in the laboratory before and after mindfulness meditation training. When people hear a sound, they blink. But the contraction of that blink is stronger if the person is looking at a very sad or disturbing picture than at a pleasant picture. However, the intensity of blink doesn’t change in a highly anxious individual. “Their startle reflex isn’t modulated at all by a positive picture,” Vago said. Preliminary data show that women with fibromyalgia (and most patients are women) who have not meditated, resemble anxious individuals in their blink response.
Fighting fatigue
One of the benefits of less anxiety is less fatigue, Vago suspects. After mindfulness training, patients had a 28 percent reduction in their usual levels of fatigue, he said. “After a good deep meditation that night’s sleep seems to be more restful,” Jaymzlinn Garrett, 45, of Salt Lake City wrote in an e-mail. She has had fibromyalgia for 20 years. She learned mindfulness meditation as a participant in Vago’s studies. She has continued to meditate at least three times a week. It’s not easy, she says, but it’s worth it. “My meditation takes longer than swallowing a pill, but I would rather do the meditation,” she wrote. Meditation “helps with better mental focus, in having clarity of purpose day-to-day.”
MBSR and fibromyalgia Kenneth H. Kaplan, M.D, Don L. Goldenberg, M.D., and Maureen Galvin-Nadeau, M.S., C.S., The Impact of a Meditation-Based Stress Reduction Program on Fibromyalgia. General Hospital Psychiatry 15, 284-289, 1993.
Abstract:
Fibromyalgia is a chronic illness characterized by widespread pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and resistance to treatment.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program on fibromyalgia. Seventy-seven patients meeting the 1990 criteria of the American College of Rheumatology for fibromyalgia took part in a 10-week group outpatient program. Therapists followed a carefully defined treatment approach and met weekly to further promote uniformity.
Patients were evaluated before and after the program. Initial evaluation included a psychiatric structured clinical interview (SCID). Outcome measures included visual analog scales to measure global well being, pain, sleep, fatigue, and feeling refreshed in the morning. Patients also completed a medical symptom checklist, SCL-90-R, Coping Strategies Questionnaire, Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, and the Fibromyalgia Attitude Index. Although the mean scores of all the patients completing the program showed improvement, 51% showed moderate to marked improvement and only they were counted as “responders”.
These preliminary findings suggest that a meditation-based stress reduction program is effective for patients with fibromyalgia.
Meditation for Fibromyalgia Patients
This ancient practice of meditation is a valuable fibromyalgia remedy improving a patient’s overall mental and physical health, making it possible for them to relax and live a healthier life. The positive effects of meditation on fibromyalgia patients begin to show at various levels of practice. Generally, patients develop a greater feeling of self-respect, dealing with physical issues with more confidence. Emotionally, the mind becomes more stable, balanced and centered. Psychosomatic symptoms decrease and the body experiences an abundance of energy.
On a personal level, this relaxation practice brings about positive, significant changes in the quality of person’s friendliness and the respect of another person’s space. A person’s levels of understanding and trust are heightened. Family issues are dealt with more honesty, love, and with a supportive,relaxed attitude.
Meditationby Winnie Yu In a world that bustles around all day, every day, making time to sit still and breathe seems counterintuitive — and certainly counterproductive. But meditation is one of the oldest and most effective ways to reduce stress, ease anxiety, and tame your muscle pain. Meditating can also enhance immunity, improve sleep, and reduce depression.
Meditation comes in many different forms, including transcendental, mindfulness, and Buddhist. Some may involve movement, such as yoga. Others require sitting without movement. Still others involve going through day-to-day routines in a more mindful manner. All types of meditation, however, have one goal: to silence the busy mind and to direct all attention to a single healing entity such as the breath, a mantra, or image. In a quiet state of meditation, your mind is in the present, not contemplating the past or the future.
For people who have fibromyalgia, meditation can induce a state of calm that lessens the pain. It can also help you assume more control of your condition. Andrea, who has fibromyalgia, credits her improved health entirely to her meditation practice.
For years, Andrea was popping ibuprofen and acetaminophen in a futile attempt to silence her fibro pain. She tried different exercises and became a vegan. But she credits her gradual recovery to meditation, a practice she began to cultivate five years ago. Gradually, she built up her practice to sitting twice a day, forty-five minutes at a time.
Although she still has flares and experiences pain, Andrea has become more adroit at coping with it. “It's not that the pain has lessened,” she says. “It's that I'm more in touch with how the sensations actually feel rather than the thoughts about them. I used to think, ‘Oh my gosh, this is killing me. What am I going to do?'When I stopped freaking out, I realized that the actual sensations are bearable.”
Anyone can learn to meditate. It's easy because it doesn't require any special skills, equipment, or clothing. On the other hand, meditation can be extremely difficult, especially if you aren't comfortable with the idea of sitting still. Some people find it easier to meditate in the company of others. For them, a class might be a good idea. But others prefer to meditate alone. Here's how you can give it a try:
Fibromyalgia is a medical condition that causes wide spread pain. Symptoms can vary from mild to severely debilitating. Some people with fibromyalgia also experience disruptions in sleep leading to overall fatigue. While meditation can not fully manage this condition it can be successfully used as a supplement to regular medical care to help manage symptoms.
Read more: How to Use Meditation to Manage Fibromyalgia Pain | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2199230_use-meditation-manage-fibromyalgia-pain.html#ixzz1OkoBE3t9
Meditation Promotes Self Healing Nonetheless, meditation can directly or indirectly promote self healing. Really, any activity that reduces stress automatically increases the body’s natural ability to heal itself. Simply put, when the body is under stress, it assumes danger is near. Automatically, certain functions such as maintenance and repair are put off. Under chronic stress, such as that experienced by those with Fibromyalgia, the body is always on constant danger alert so self healing becomes a non-essential activity.
For this reason, stress relief is particularly important for those suffering from Fibromyalgia. Meditation is a great answer to this problem. Practice only takes a few minutes a day. On bad body days, exercises can be done laying down. Visualizations can be added to aid symptom management. Done before bed, meditation can promote recuperative sleep. The benefits are numerous: stress relief, more energy, greater concentration, increased production, and the means to let the body naturally repair itself.
Read more at Suite101: Meditation for Fibromyalgia: Fibro Tip | Suite101.com http://www.suite101.com/content/fibro-tip-1-a94822#ixzz1OkoVOuOs
How Does Meditation Help People With FM and CFS?
Research continues to show that meditation can help people who suffer from chronic pain, including the pain associated with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Fibromyalgia (FMS).
Meditation has been shown to reduce overall symptoms of FMS and CFS.
Stress is the major initiator of CFS and FMS.
Reducing stress is a powerful health-enriching endeavor for anyone. However, for CFS and FMS patients, it’s the single most important thing they can do to help reverse their illness.
One study, old, but still valid, conducted in 1993, tested the effects of daily meditation on 77 fibromyalgia patients. 51% of participants reported moderate to significant improvement in their symptoms.
In 1998, researchers studied the effects of meditation on fibromyalgia. They found that meditative practices lessened the aches, sleeplessness, muscle pain, and depression associated with fibromyalgia.
Mindfulness benefits fibromyalgia patients A group of researchers at the University of Basel and University of Vienna have investigated effectiveness of mindfulness in treating patients with Fibromyalgia. The study found that mindfulness intervention to be of potential long-term benefit for female fibromyalgia patients.
Mindfulness Training as an Intervention for Fibromyalgia: Evidence of Post-intervention and 3-Year Follow-Up Benefits in Well-Being
Abstract
Background: Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) proposes a systematic program for reduction of suffering associated with a wide range of medical conditions. Studies suggest improvements in general aspects of well-being, including quality of life (QoL), coping and positive affect, as well as decreased anxiety and depression. Methods: A quasi-experimental study examined effects of an 8-week MBSR intervention among 58 female patients with fibromyalgia (mean, 52 ± 8 years) who underwent MBSR or an active social support procedure. Participants were assigned to groups by date of entry, and 6 subjects dropped out during the study. Self-report measures were validated German inventories and included the following scales: visual analog pain, pain perception, coping with pain, a symptom checklist and QoL. Pre- and postintervention measurements were made. Additionally, a 3-year follow-up was carried out on a subgroup of 26 participants. Results: Pre- to postintervention analyses indicated MBSR to provide significantly greater benefits than the control intervention on most dimensions, including visual analog pain, QoL subscales, coping with pain, anxiety, depression and somatic complaints (Cohen d effect size, 0.40–1.10). Three-year follow-up analyses of MBSR participants indicated sustained benefits for these same measures (effect size, 0.50–0.65). Conclusions: Based upon a quasi-randomized trial and long-term observational follow-up, results indicate mindfulness intervention to be of potential long-term benefit for female fibromyalgia patients.
Reference: Paul Grossman, Ulrike Tiefenthaler-Gilmer, Annette Raysz, Ulrike Kesper, "Mindfulness Training as an Intervention for Fibromyalgia: Evidence of Postintervention and 3-Year Follow-Up Benefits in Well-Being", Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 2007;76:226-233
February 1, 2002 Table of Contents
Letters to the Editor
Use of Mindfulness Meditation for Fibromyalgia
Am Fam Physician. 2002 Feb 1;65(3):380-384.
TO THE EDITOR: I congratulate Drs. Millea and Holloway1 on an excellent review of treatment options for fibromyalgia. However, the article overlooked mention of the use of mindfulness meditation for treatment in fibromyalgia. Mindfulness meditation is the intentional effort to pay nonjudgmental attention to present-moment experiences and sustain this attention over time. The aim is to cultivate a stable and nonreactive present-moment awareness. Kaplan and colleagues2 demonstrated a significant improvement (40 to 50 percent) among patients with fibromyalgia utilizing mindfulness meditation. In this study, fibromyalgia was defined as a “chronic illness characterized by widespread pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and resistance to treatment.”2
As a family physician who receives fibromyalgia referrals and teaches mindfulness meditation, I have found that patients are grateful for the improvement after learning this mind/body process. Usually, 25 percent of our mindfulness classes consist of patients with fibromyalgia. Often, the gentle stretching of mindful yoga is particularly beneficial; undoubtedly, some of its benefit comes from the active participation by the patient in a supportive group environment, as mentioned in the editorial that accompanied Millea and Holloway's review of fibromyalgia.3
Mindfulness meditation is taught at over 250 sites around the country. A list of local teachers is available from the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine.4 The excellent accompanying editorial3 mentioned the complex of symptom-based diagnoses that are part of a sensory amplification syndrome. It is this group of patients who can benefit the most from mindfulness meditation.
DAVID VON WEISS, M.D.
Park-Nicollet Medical Center
1885 Plaza Drive
Eagan, MN 55122
REFERENCES
1. Millea PJ, Holloway RL. Treating fibromyalgia. Am Fam Physician. 2000;62:1575–82.
2. Kaplan KH, Goldenberg DL, Galvin-Nadeau M. The impact of a meditation-based stress reduction program on fibromyalgia. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 1993;15:284–9.
3. Clauw DJ. Treating fibromyalgia: science vs. art. Am Fam Physician. 2000;62:14921494.
4. Center for Mindfulness. University of Massachusetts Medical School. 55 Lake Avenue North. Worcester, MA 01655.
IN REPLY: We appreciate Dr. von Weiss's pointing out our oversight regarding mindfulness meditation in fibromyalgia. Practicing mindfulness meditation or one of the other trance-inducing techniques on a regular basis can produce remarkable benefits, including reduction in the morbidity associated with pain.1Kabat-Zinn and colleagues2 define mindfulness meditation as “moment to moment, non-judgmental awareness,” and demonstrate how easily patients can be introduced through audio tapes to techniques used to enhance the treatment of chronic conditions.
Research is beginning to uncover the mechanism of action of these techniques. Tooley and associates3determined that melatonin levels increased significantly on the night following a period of meditation by experienced meditators. Lazar and colleagues4 used functional magnetic resonance to study brain activity during meditation by experienced meditators and found significant increases in the regions of the brain associated with attention, modulation of pain perception and control of the autonomic nervous system. The use of Transcendental meditation has also been associated with improved cardiovascular functioning.5 Our article6 noted that some of these same neuroendocrine systems are directly implicated in the pathophysiology of fibromyalgia.
During meditation, a person focuses attention on sensations, including breathing, thoughts, or particular objects. Ideally, what is perceived is unimpeded by evaluative notions or current concerns for previous knowledge. Inhibiting these processes creates a space for awareness within which the perceived often reveals itself in a startling new and rich fashion. Mindfulness and related techniques are potential options when constructing a treatment plan for patients with fibromyalgia.
PAUL J. MILLEA, M.D., M.S.
RICHARD L. HOLLOWAY, PH.D.
Medical College of Wisconsin
8701 Watertown Plank Road
Milwaukee, WI 53226
REFERENCES
1. Astin JA. Stress reduction through mindfulness meditation. Effects on psychological symptomatology, sense of control, and spiritual experiences. Psychother Psychosom. 1997;66:97–106.
2. Kabat-Zinn J, Wheeler E, Light T, Skillings A, Scharf MJ, Cropley TG, et al. Influence of a mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction intervention on rates of skin clearing in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis undergoing phototherapy (UVB) and photochemotherapy (PUVA). Psychosom Med. 1998;60:625–32.
3. Tooley GA, Armstrong SM, Norman T1R, Sali A. Acute increases in night-time plasma melatonin levels following a period of meditation. Biol Psychol. 2000;53:69–78.
4. Lazar SW, Bush G, Gollub RL, Fricchione GL, Khalsa G, Benson H. Functional brain mapping of the relaxation response and meditation. Neuroreport. 2000;11:1581–5.
5. Castillo-Richmond A, Schneider RH, Alexander CN, Cook R, Myers H, Nidich S, et al. Effects of stress reduction on carotid atherosclerosis in hypertensive African Americans. Stroke. 2000;31:568–73.
6. Millea PJ, Holloway RL. Treating Fibromyalgia. Am Fam Physician. 2000;62:1575–82.
The following is a collection of articles that we have collected to aid a student suffering from fybromyalgia. We are sharing the information here in the hope of informing and helping other sufferers find some relief through meditation. Please visit the sites linked below for more information.
If you have fibromyalgia, you know how difficult it can be to deal with. Fibromyalgia symptoms such as chronic pain and fatigue often make it difficult to go on with your daily routine. These symptoms can sometimes have disastrous effects on your mood, leaving you feeling hopeless or even depressed. If you are feeling especially stressed out by your fibromyalgia, you may find that meditation can help you restore calmness and vitality to your life.
Can Meditation be helpful?
Meditation techniques are increasingly being used by those with this disease to manage fibromyalgia symptoms and lift their moods. Through meditation, people can quiet their minds, reduce stress, and eliminate worries from their lives; at least for a time. Neroja Meditation and other methods of mindful meditation employ focusing on the breath and other techniques to teach means of using the mind as a tool to combat disease.
Meditation has been used for thousands of years by many different cultures. It is not known exactly where meditation began, though early practices can be traced to India and the Eastern World. There are many different types of meditation, including mindfulness meditation, concentration meditation, and transcendental meditation. Most types of meditation have the same goal – to allow a person to achieve mental clarity and a state of extreme calm. Meditation is sometimes used to promote spiritual healing.
Benefits of Meditation
When practiced regularly, all types of meditation can offer numerous physical and mental benefits. Physical benefits include:
- Reduced heart rate
- Decreased pulse
- Lowered blood pressure
- Reduced nervous system activity
- Fewer mood swings
- Decreased feelings of depression
- Feelings of vigor and vitality
- Increased memory
- Decreased levels of anxiety
Meditation has recently been shown to be very effective in reducing the stress levels and symptoms associated with fibromyalgia syndrome. If you have fibromyalgia, techniques of meditation can help to improve your sleep patterns and reduce your fatigue. Meditation techniques can also help to reduce your pain levels, as it decreases the levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, in your body.
In a 1993 study involving 77 fibromyalgia patients, it was found that daily meditation improved most fibromyalgia symptoms. 51% of participants reported moderate to marked improvement in their symptoms. In 1998, a study on meditation and fibromyalgia found that meditative practices lessened the aches, sleeplessness, muscle pain, and depression experienced by fibromyalgia patients.
http://www.fibromyalgia-symptoms.org/fibromyalgia_meditation.html
Mindfulness Meditation for the Pain of Fibromyalgia Finding new ways to measure the benefits of meditation. By Tina Adler for MSN Health & Fitness
Medically Reviewed By: Gary Haynes, Haynes, Ph.D., M.D.
Research now shows that meditation can help ease the depression associated with and the pain of fibromyalgia, a condition marked by chronic joint and muscle pain, fatigue, and, in some cases, poor memory and thinking. While meditation doesn’t make the pain disappear, it appears to help patients refocus their attention and feel better.
Fibromyalgia is difficult to treat. Doctors normally recommend a combination of exercise and psychosocial interventions, such as learning how to relax. In addition, medications like antidepressants, anti-inflammatory medications and sleeping pills are often prescribed. The cause of fibromyalgia is unclear, but symptoms often begin after a traumatic experience and worsen during times of stress, said Sandy Sephton, a research psychologist at the University of Louisville. Fibromyalgia affects up to 4 percent of the population of the United States and other industrialized countries.
Now researchers have objective evidence to back up patients’ claims on the benefits of meditation. Sephton and her colleagues found that meditating appears to lower levels of cortisol, a hormone associated with stress.
Mindfulness meditation
Sephton and other researchers train patients in a type of meditation called mindfulness meditation. The meditation involves being aware and nonjudgmental of the thoughts that pop into your head while sitting quietly. “We ask people to notice what’s going on in your mind,” said Paul Salmon, a colleague of Sephton’s who trains the study participants in meditation. “Over time, people become more calm and more perceptive of what is happening at the moment,” he said in an interview. Sephton’s team studied patients’ cortisol levels, which serve as a physical measure of stress. Normally, the hormone increases by 50 percent to 60 percent when a person wakes up, but then levels off during the day, explained Sephton. Cortisol levels in some fibromyalgia patients follow a different flow, increasing in the afternoon or evening hours.
In her study of 43 people with fibromyalgia, Sephton’s team found that participants’ morning levels of cortisol were lower when they meditated. Participants were asked to meditate at home for 45 minutes a day, 6 days a week, for 8 weeks. Patients who took medications that altered their cortisol levels were excluded from the study.
Where did my focus go?
Fibromyalgia patients complain about attention problems, but they generally do fine on standard psychological tests designed to measure these functions, said David Vago, a research psychologist at the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York. His study, conducted at the University of Utah, used highly sensitive tests and examined thinking processes “that are almost pre-conscious—that you aren’t even aware of,” he said.
People with fibromyalgia who had undergone mindfulness meditation training were faster at tasks that required staying focused, compared with patients who didn’t meditate, said Vago.
Mental engagement with pain
Fibromyalgia patients have trouble mentally disengaging from negative stimuli, Vago and his colleagues found. When shown a computer screen with pain-related words, patients looked away from the screen less quickly than when they were shown neutral words. This lingering engagement with negative stimuli slows their response time on various tasks, such as simply pushing a button as part of computer exercise, he said. They “grasp on to threatening stimuli to the point where it interferes with processing the task at hand.”
Vago also looked at physical responses, such as blinking, to various stimuli in the laboratory before and after mindfulness meditation training. When people hear a sound, they blink. But the contraction of that blink is stronger if the person is looking at a very sad or disturbing picture than at a pleasant picture. However, the intensity of blink doesn’t change in a highly anxious individual. “Their startle reflex isn’t modulated at all by a positive picture,” Vago said. Preliminary data show that women with fibromyalgia (and most patients are women) who have not meditated, resemble anxious individuals in their blink response.
Fighting fatigue
One of the benefits of less anxiety is less fatigue, Vago suspects. After mindfulness training, patients had a 28 percent reduction in their usual levels of fatigue, he said. “After a good deep meditation that night’s sleep seems to be more restful,” Jaymzlinn Garrett, 45, of Salt Lake City wrote in an e-mail. She has had fibromyalgia for 20 years. She learned mindfulness meditation as a participant in Vago’s studies. She has continued to meditate at least three times a week. It’s not easy, she says, but it’s worth it. “My meditation takes longer than swallowing a pill, but I would rather do the meditation,” she wrote. Meditation “helps with better mental focus, in having clarity of purpose day-to-day.”
MBSR and fibromyalgia Kenneth H. Kaplan, M.D, Don L. Goldenberg, M.D., and Maureen Galvin-Nadeau, M.S., C.S., The Impact of a Meditation-Based Stress Reduction Program on Fibromyalgia. General Hospital Psychiatry 15, 284-289, 1993.
Abstract:
Fibromyalgia is a chronic illness characterized by widespread pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and resistance to treatment.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program on fibromyalgia. Seventy-seven patients meeting the 1990 criteria of the American College of Rheumatology for fibromyalgia took part in a 10-week group outpatient program. Therapists followed a carefully defined treatment approach and met weekly to further promote uniformity.
Patients were evaluated before and after the program. Initial evaluation included a psychiatric structured clinical interview (SCID). Outcome measures included visual analog scales to measure global well being, pain, sleep, fatigue, and feeling refreshed in the morning. Patients also completed a medical symptom checklist, SCL-90-R, Coping Strategies Questionnaire, Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, and the Fibromyalgia Attitude Index. Although the mean scores of all the patients completing the program showed improvement, 51% showed moderate to marked improvement and only they were counted as “responders”.
These preliminary findings suggest that a meditation-based stress reduction program is effective for patients with fibromyalgia.
Meditation for Fibromyalgia Patients
This ancient practice of meditation is a valuable fibromyalgia remedy improving a patient’s overall mental and physical health, making it possible for them to relax and live a healthier life. The positive effects of meditation on fibromyalgia patients begin to show at various levels of practice. Generally, patients develop a greater feeling of self-respect, dealing with physical issues with more confidence. Emotionally, the mind becomes more stable, balanced and centered. Psychosomatic symptoms decrease and the body experiences an abundance of energy.
On a personal level, this relaxation practice brings about positive, significant changes in the quality of person’s friendliness and the respect of another person’s space. A person’s levels of understanding and trust are heightened. Family issues are dealt with more honesty, love, and with a supportive,relaxed attitude.
Meditationby Winnie Yu In a world that bustles around all day, every day, making time to sit still and breathe seems counterintuitive — and certainly counterproductive. But meditation is one of the oldest and most effective ways to reduce stress, ease anxiety, and tame your muscle pain. Meditating can also enhance immunity, improve sleep, and reduce depression.
Meditation comes in many different forms, including transcendental, mindfulness, and Buddhist. Some may involve movement, such as yoga. Others require sitting without movement. Still others involve going through day-to-day routines in a more mindful manner. All types of meditation, however, have one goal: to silence the busy mind and to direct all attention to a single healing entity such as the breath, a mantra, or image. In a quiet state of meditation, your mind is in the present, not contemplating the past or the future.
For people who have fibromyalgia, meditation can induce a state of calm that lessens the pain. It can also help you assume more control of your condition. Andrea, who has fibromyalgia, credits her improved health entirely to her meditation practice.
For years, Andrea was popping ibuprofen and acetaminophen in a futile attempt to silence her fibro pain. She tried different exercises and became a vegan. But she credits her gradual recovery to meditation, a practice she began to cultivate five years ago. Gradually, she built up her practice to sitting twice a day, forty-five minutes at a time.
Although she still has flares and experiences pain, Andrea has become more adroit at coping with it. “It's not that the pain has lessened,” she says. “It's that I'm more in touch with how the sensations actually feel rather than the thoughts about them. I used to think, ‘Oh my gosh, this is killing me. What am I going to do?'When I stopped freaking out, I realized that the actual sensations are bearable.”
Anyone can learn to meditate. It's easy because it doesn't require any special skills, equipment, or clothing. On the other hand, meditation can be extremely difficult, especially if you aren't comfortable with the idea of sitting still. Some people find it easier to meditate in the company of others. For them, a class might be a good idea. But others prefer to meditate alone. Here's how you can give it a try:
Fibromyalgia is a medical condition that causes wide spread pain. Symptoms can vary from mild to severely debilitating. Some people with fibromyalgia also experience disruptions in sleep leading to overall fatigue. While meditation can not fully manage this condition it can be successfully used as a supplement to regular medical care to help manage symptoms.
Read more: How to Use Meditation to Manage Fibromyalgia Pain | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2199230_use-meditation-manage-fibromyalgia-pain.html#ixzz1OkoBE3t9
Meditation Promotes Self Healing Nonetheless, meditation can directly or indirectly promote self healing. Really, any activity that reduces stress automatically increases the body’s natural ability to heal itself. Simply put, when the body is under stress, it assumes danger is near. Automatically, certain functions such as maintenance and repair are put off. Under chronic stress, such as that experienced by those with Fibromyalgia, the body is always on constant danger alert so self healing becomes a non-essential activity.
For this reason, stress relief is particularly important for those suffering from Fibromyalgia. Meditation is a great answer to this problem. Practice only takes a few minutes a day. On bad body days, exercises can be done laying down. Visualizations can be added to aid symptom management. Done before bed, meditation can promote recuperative sleep. The benefits are numerous: stress relief, more energy, greater concentration, increased production, and the means to let the body naturally repair itself.
Read more at Suite101: Meditation for Fibromyalgia: Fibro Tip | Suite101.com http://www.suite101.com/content/fibro-tip-1-a94822#ixzz1OkoVOuOs
How Does Meditation Help People With FM and CFS?
Research continues to show that meditation can help people who suffer from chronic pain, including the pain associated with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Fibromyalgia (FMS).
Meditation has been shown to reduce overall symptoms of FMS and CFS.
Stress is the major initiator of CFS and FMS.
Reducing stress is a powerful health-enriching endeavor for anyone. However, for CFS and FMS patients, it’s the single most important thing they can do to help reverse their illness.
One study, old, but still valid, conducted in 1993, tested the effects of daily meditation on 77 fibromyalgia patients. 51% of participants reported moderate to significant improvement in their symptoms.
In 1998, researchers studied the effects of meditation on fibromyalgia. They found that meditative practices lessened the aches, sleeplessness, muscle pain, and depression associated with fibromyalgia.
Mindfulness benefits fibromyalgia patients A group of researchers at the University of Basel and University of Vienna have investigated effectiveness of mindfulness in treating patients with Fibromyalgia. The study found that mindfulness intervention to be of potential long-term benefit for female fibromyalgia patients.
Mindfulness Training as an Intervention for Fibromyalgia: Evidence of Post-intervention and 3-Year Follow-Up Benefits in Well-Being
Abstract
Background: Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) proposes a systematic program for reduction of suffering associated with a wide range of medical conditions. Studies suggest improvements in general aspects of well-being, including quality of life (QoL), coping and positive affect, as well as decreased anxiety and depression. Methods: A quasi-experimental study examined effects of an 8-week MBSR intervention among 58 female patients with fibromyalgia (mean, 52 ± 8 years) who underwent MBSR or an active social support procedure. Participants were assigned to groups by date of entry, and 6 subjects dropped out during the study. Self-report measures were validated German inventories and included the following scales: visual analog pain, pain perception, coping with pain, a symptom checklist and QoL. Pre- and postintervention measurements were made. Additionally, a 3-year follow-up was carried out on a subgroup of 26 participants. Results: Pre- to postintervention analyses indicated MBSR to provide significantly greater benefits than the control intervention on most dimensions, including visual analog pain, QoL subscales, coping with pain, anxiety, depression and somatic complaints (Cohen d effect size, 0.40–1.10). Three-year follow-up analyses of MBSR participants indicated sustained benefits for these same measures (effect size, 0.50–0.65). Conclusions: Based upon a quasi-randomized trial and long-term observational follow-up, results indicate mindfulness intervention to be of potential long-term benefit for female fibromyalgia patients.
Reference: Paul Grossman, Ulrike Tiefenthaler-Gilmer, Annette Raysz, Ulrike Kesper, "Mindfulness Training as an Intervention for Fibromyalgia: Evidence of Postintervention and 3-Year Follow-Up Benefits in Well-Being", Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 2007;76:226-233
February 1, 2002 Table of Contents
Letters to the Editor
Use of Mindfulness Meditation for Fibromyalgia
Am Fam Physician. 2002 Feb 1;65(3):380-384.
TO THE EDITOR: I congratulate Drs. Millea and Holloway1 on an excellent review of treatment options for fibromyalgia. However, the article overlooked mention of the use of mindfulness meditation for treatment in fibromyalgia. Mindfulness meditation is the intentional effort to pay nonjudgmental attention to present-moment experiences and sustain this attention over time. The aim is to cultivate a stable and nonreactive present-moment awareness. Kaplan and colleagues2 demonstrated a significant improvement (40 to 50 percent) among patients with fibromyalgia utilizing mindfulness meditation. In this study, fibromyalgia was defined as a “chronic illness characterized by widespread pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and resistance to treatment.”2
As a family physician who receives fibromyalgia referrals and teaches mindfulness meditation, I have found that patients are grateful for the improvement after learning this mind/body process. Usually, 25 percent of our mindfulness classes consist of patients with fibromyalgia. Often, the gentle stretching of mindful yoga is particularly beneficial; undoubtedly, some of its benefit comes from the active participation by the patient in a supportive group environment, as mentioned in the editorial that accompanied Millea and Holloway's review of fibromyalgia.3
Mindfulness meditation is taught at over 250 sites around the country. A list of local teachers is available from the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine.4 The excellent accompanying editorial3 mentioned the complex of symptom-based diagnoses that are part of a sensory amplification syndrome. It is this group of patients who can benefit the most from mindfulness meditation.
DAVID VON WEISS, M.D.
Park-Nicollet Medical Center
1885 Plaza Drive
Eagan, MN 55122
REFERENCES
1. Millea PJ, Holloway RL. Treating fibromyalgia. Am Fam Physician. 2000;62:1575–82.
2. Kaplan KH, Goldenberg DL, Galvin-Nadeau M. The impact of a meditation-based stress reduction program on fibromyalgia. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 1993;15:284–9.
3. Clauw DJ. Treating fibromyalgia: science vs. art. Am Fam Physician. 2000;62:14921494.
4. Center for Mindfulness. University of Massachusetts Medical School. 55 Lake Avenue North. Worcester, MA 01655.
IN REPLY: We appreciate Dr. von Weiss's pointing out our oversight regarding mindfulness meditation in fibromyalgia. Practicing mindfulness meditation or one of the other trance-inducing techniques on a regular basis can produce remarkable benefits, including reduction in the morbidity associated with pain.1Kabat-Zinn and colleagues2 define mindfulness meditation as “moment to moment, non-judgmental awareness,” and demonstrate how easily patients can be introduced through audio tapes to techniques used to enhance the treatment of chronic conditions.
Research is beginning to uncover the mechanism of action of these techniques. Tooley and associates3determined that melatonin levels increased significantly on the night following a period of meditation by experienced meditators. Lazar and colleagues4 used functional magnetic resonance to study brain activity during meditation by experienced meditators and found significant increases in the regions of the brain associated with attention, modulation of pain perception and control of the autonomic nervous system. The use of Transcendental meditation has also been associated with improved cardiovascular functioning.5 Our article6 noted that some of these same neuroendocrine systems are directly implicated in the pathophysiology of fibromyalgia.
During meditation, a person focuses attention on sensations, including breathing, thoughts, or particular objects. Ideally, what is perceived is unimpeded by evaluative notions or current concerns for previous knowledge. Inhibiting these processes creates a space for awareness within which the perceived often reveals itself in a startling new and rich fashion. Mindfulness and related techniques are potential options when constructing a treatment plan for patients with fibromyalgia.
PAUL J. MILLEA, M.D., M.S.
RICHARD L. HOLLOWAY, PH.D.
Medical College of Wisconsin
8701 Watertown Plank Road
Milwaukee, WI 53226
REFERENCES
1. Astin JA. Stress reduction through mindfulness meditation. Effects on psychological symptomatology, sense of control, and spiritual experiences. Psychother Psychosom. 1997;66:97–106.
2. Kabat-Zinn J, Wheeler E, Light T, Skillings A, Scharf MJ, Cropley TG, et al. Influence of a mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction intervention on rates of skin clearing in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis undergoing phototherapy (UVB) and photochemotherapy (PUVA). Psychosom Med. 1998;60:625–32.
3. Tooley GA, Armstrong SM, Norman T1R, Sali A. Acute increases in night-time plasma melatonin levels following a period of meditation. Biol Psychol. 2000;53:69–78.
4. Lazar SW, Bush G, Gollub RL, Fricchione GL, Khalsa G, Benson H. Functional brain mapping of the relaxation response and meditation. Neuroreport. 2000;11:1581–5.
5. Castillo-Richmond A, Schneider RH, Alexander CN, Cook R, Myers H, Nidich S, et al. Effects of stress reduction on carotid atherosclerosis in hypertensive African Americans. Stroke. 2000;31:568–73.
6. Millea PJ, Holloway RL. Treating Fibromyalgia. Am Fam Physician. 2000;62:1575–82.