Alternative and Complementary Medicine Commons^™

The Relationship Between Frequency Of Yoga And Meditation On Ptsd Symptoms In Individuals Who Have Experienced Intimate Partner Violence, Kimberly Polignani

Dissertations

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has become a growing phenomenon in the United States,

affecting nearly 13% of the population. The adverse mental health outcomes from people who experience IPV are prevalent and more than half have a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Therefore, therapeutic techniques for PTSD appear to be feasible for IPV survivors and their mental health issues. Complementary and alternative medicine has become a widely accepted approach for PTSD. Being two complementary and alternative medicine techniques, yoga and meditation are effective forms of therapy in many diagnoses, including PTSD. This study utilized a not-for-profit organization called the …

Non-Pharmacological Approaches To Stress Reduction And The Treatment Of Migraines, Megan O'Connell

Senior Honors Projects

Migraines are a disabling neurological medical condition that affects about 12% of the population. Traditionally, migraines are managed with medication however many patients still experience migraines even while on medication. Stress reduction methods such as meditation, deep breathing, reiki, yoga and hypnosis can help with the treatment of a variety of diseases. This study examines the effects of these non-pharmacological treatments on migraines. First, a systematic literature review was completed to explore the effectiveness of alternative treatment approaches. Twenty-four studies were included in the review and the literature concluded patients with migraines can benefit from psychological interventions. Second, a qualitative …

The Heart Of Atrial Fibrillation: Integrating Yoga For Holistic Care, Jessica Lee Mcalpine

Theses and Graduate Projects

Atrial fibrillation (afib) is a chronic disease with no reliable cure that is caused by a chaotic heart rhythm. The heart has both metaphysical and physical meaning as the place where the spirit resides, a symbol of love, and as an organ that provides life. Yoga can be integrated as a holistic modality that has both physical and metaphysical benefits. Literature demonstrates that yoga can reduce self-assessed symptoms of afib, secondary outcomes, and objective episodes of afib. Negative emotional states can increase afib frequency. Yoga has been found to improve emotional states, ability to cope with chronic disease, perceived wellness, …

Yoga As A Women’S Population Health Intervention, Lisa Ann Clow

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Women’s mortality rate in the United States has increased in almost every age group in the past several years. However, more women in the United States are choosing yoga as a complementary health approach to improve general well-being. Thus, research on yoga and other factors that affect women’s health in the United States may inform public health initiatives to address the health disparities in women’s mortality rates. Grounded in the health belief model, the purpose of this study was to explore whether the factors of practicing the components of yoga, doctor’s recommendation for increased physical activity, body mass index (BMI) …

Meditation As A Tool For Blood Pressure Management, Maggie Ray

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

PURPOSE: Appraise existing evidence about meditation and blood pressure in persons with cardiac risk factors and offer evidence-based recommendations about the use of meditation in management of blood pressure

Mindful Mornings: Piloting A Meditation Group With Vulnerable Adults In A Drop-In Center, Iyo Kubota

Master's Projects and Capstones

An accumulation of stress and lack of coping resources can contribute to a higher incidence of mental and physical health disparities. Homeless adults are one of the most vulnerable subgroups who utilize Enterprise Resource Center, a peer-run day-center in Marin County. Because stress from multiple factors was identified in this transient and high-risk population, an intervention for stress reduction and management was explored. The findings from the needs assessment suggested that there was a need for an integrated approach for stress reduction and management. The challenge of sustaining a program was also highlighted during the needs assessment.

A brief mindfulness …

Mindfulness And Law Enforcement: An Effective Approach To Implementing Mindfulness For First Responders, Gina White

Mindfulness Studies Theses

An increasing number of studies show that people employed as first responders in high trauma service jobs tend to experience a high level of stress, at work and after hours. Studies suggest that constant exposure to job related stress leads to both physical and mental dysregulation. This study looks at the effects of implementing mindfulness tools and techniques to those working in law enforcement. Other works on this topic report mindfulness as a successful tool to increase wellbeing to a broad spectrum of populations. The methodology used in this study was designed specifically for first responders. The data findings were …

Mind And Body Training To Improve Functioning And Coping With Chronic Pain: A Pilot Study, Olga Valieva, Leah M. Welsh, Betty Amuzu, Niraj Nijhawan, Jessica J.F. Kram

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Background: Patients with chronic pain are often crippled by psychological distress, depression and fear. These patients also can develop altered pain perception, with enhanced brain activity in pain-responsive regions and those associated with anxiety/depression. Exercise and meditation can impact pain-reducing brain areas and positively influence pain characteristics.

Purpose: To alter pain center activity by reducing the activation of the higher brain and deactivation of the lower brain with somatocognitive and meditative practices, with secondary aim of reducing anxiety/depression and improve overall quality of life.

Methods: We conducted a pilot study on mentally competent adult women with stable chronic pain who …

Breaking Down Barriers: The Intersection Of Medicine And Faith, Kaitlyn Lindgren, Ashley Kethcart

Honors Program: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

While medicine and faith are often presented as contradictory concepts, the two play complementary roles in people's health. Christian prayer and Buddhist meditation practices have an impact on health, as well as alternative forms of medicine. These influences can work in tandem to increase the mental and physical health of all people and also demonstrate that science and faith need not always be in opposition.

Biochemical Effects Of Meditation: A Literature Review, William C. Daube, Charles E. Jakobsche

Scholarly Undergraduate Research Journal at Clark (SURJ)

Meditation is an activity that can help reduce stress and anxiety from daily life as well as help cultivate overall feel- ings of peacefulness, relaxation, and contentment. This review describes several studies that have been used to assess how meditation can influence the body at the molecular level. The presented results focus on small-molecule metab- olites, which are broadly defined as naturally-produced molecules that weigh less than approximately 1000 Da. The results show that meditation can significantly affect hormones and neurotransmitters such as cortisol, dehydroepi- androstrone, serotonin, melatonin, and epinephrine. Some common and modern experimental techniques that are relevant to …

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction And Transcendental Meditation: Current State Of Research, Adam Holt

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

This article summarizes the current state of meditation research, specifically focusing on mindfulness-based stress reduction and transcendental meditation. Despite significant methodological problems with the studies reported to date on the subject, there is consistent evidence that meditation can produce changes in the nervous system and physiology of the meditator, and can help with various psychological markers of well-being. Regarding improvement in specific clinical diseases, research is generally mixed and preliminary. Strong recommendations cannot be made based on current evidence, and further studies are needed. In general, there is a stronger body of evidence supporting mindfulness-based stress reduction than for transcendental …

The Effects Of Mindfulness Meditation On Rumination In Depressed People, Rachel A. Sluder

Honors Theses and Capstones

Mindfulness meditation is a practice of focus, awareness, and non-judgmental acceptance of one's thoughts (Deyo et al., 2009; Kenny et al., 2007). Rumination is a maladaptive pattern of thought that is common in people with depression and other mood disorders. It can lead to further episodes of depression, and can be very destructive in that way (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2008). This paper reviews several studies on mindfulness meditation, depression, and rumination, with a focus on certain areas and phenomena such as alpha asymmetry (Keune et al 2013) and gamma band activity (Berkovich-Ohana et al., 2012). Modalities such as fMRI and EEG are …

Effects Of Reiki, Yoga, Or Meditation On The Physical And Psychological Symptoms Of Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: A Randomized Pilot Study, Paul G. Clark, Geronima Cortese-Jimenez, Eric Cohen

Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work Faculty Research and Scholarship

Three complementary approaches for managing physical and psychological symptoms related to chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy were evaluated against an education-only control arm. This study included 26 participants who were randomly assigned to weekly, hour-long sessions of yoga, Reiki, meditation, or an educational control experience for 6 weeks. Each participant completed pre–post measures of neurotoxicity, quality of life, psychological distress, and mindfulness. Descriptive analysis of the data indicated that all experimental group participants demonstrated improved within-group scores on quality of life and neurotoxicity outcomes following intervention; however, the improvements were not statistically significant. Neurotoxicity worsened significantly in the control group, but there …

Enhanced Psychosocial Well-Being Following Participation In A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program Is Associated With Increased Natural Killer Cell Activity., Carolyn Y Fang, Diane K Reibel, Margaret L Longacre, Steven Rosenzweig, Donald E Campbell, Steven D Douglas

Marcus Institute of Integrative Health Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programs have consistently been shown to enhance the psychosocial well-being of participants. Given the well-established association between psychosocial factors and immunologic functioning, it has been hypothesized that enhanced psychosocial well-being among MBSR participants would be associated with corresponding changes in markers of immune activity.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to examine changes in psychosocial and immunologic measures in a heterogeneous patient sample following participation in a MBSR program.

DESIGN: A single-group, pretest/post-test design was utilized.

SETTING: The intervention was conducted at an academic health center.

SUBJECTS: This pilot study involved 24 participants (aged …

Complementary Medicine In Chronic Cancer Care, Daniel A. Monti, Jingduan Yang

Marcus Institute of Integrative Health Faculty Papers

Although advancements in cancer care have led to increased cure rates and survival times, those coping with the long-term sequelae of a cancer diagnosis often report high levels of distress, poor health-related quality of life, and unmet psychosocial needs. The shortcomings of the conventional biomedical system at sufficiently addressing these chronic illness issues are a primary reason that many patients turn to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Although patients usually use such treatments in addition to conventional care, they often do not discuss doing so with their conventional physicians, who are perceived as being unreceptive to the topic. Physicians may …

Alternative Therapies To Treat Cardiovascular Disease, Brent D. Jergens

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction And Health-Related Quality Of Life In A Heterogeneous Patient Population, Diane K. Reibel, Jeffrey M. Greeson, George C. Brainard, Steven Rosenzweig Md

Marcus Institute of Integrative Health Faculty Papers

This study examined the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on health-related quality of life and physical and psychological symptomatology in a heterogeneous patient population. Patients (n=136) participated in an 8-week MBSR program and were required to practice 20 min of meditation daily. Pre- and post-intervention data were collected by using the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), Medical Symptom Checklist (MSCL) and Symptom Checklist-90 Revised (SCL-90-R). Health-related quality of life was enhanced as demonstrated by improvement on all indices of the SF-36, including vitality, bodily pain, role limitations caused by physical health, and social functioning (all P<.01). Alleviation of physical symptoms was revealed by a 28% reduction on the MSCL (P<.0001). Decreased psychological distress was indicated on the SCL-90-R by a 38% reduction on the Global Severity Index, a 44% reduction on the anxiety subscale, and a 34% reduction on the depression subscale (all P<.0001). One-year follow-up revealed maintenance of initial improvements on several outcome parameters. We conclude that a group mindfulness meditation training program can enhance functional status and well-being and reduce physical symptoms and psychological distress in a heterogeneous patient population and that the intervention may have long-term beneficial effects.