Fibromyalgia is an extremely debilitating disorder. Patients experience widespread pain, fatigue and sleep disturbances. They can suffer from the condition for years - even decades.
But a small pilot study found that patients who added yoga to their regular treatment program - which usually consists of various medications, physical exercise and coping skills - reported a significant improvement in their symptoms.
For the study, the researchers at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland recruited 53 women diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Half of them took part in a yoga program that included gentle poses, meditation, breathing exercises and group discussions.
The other volunteers continued with their existing therapies.
When the two groups were compared after several months, those given the yoga training were much better off, according to the results published in the journal Pain. They had fewer aches and pains, more energy, and were sleeping better. What's more, they were less likely to feel depressed or anxious.
Despite the apparent success of the yoga, lead researcher James Cason cautioned that the approach used in the study was tailored to meet the specific needs of fibromyalgia patients.
"It has to start gently and give them time to gradually adjust," explained Dr. Cason, a psychologist. "Yoga [in North America and Europe]has now been largely reduced to a set of stretching exercises … where people are trying do to extraordinary things with their bodies. That is certainly not going to be a good fit for people with chronic pain."
The training program also put a great deal of emphasis on meditation, a component sometimes missing from yoga courses offered in the general community.
Over all, the treatment helped patients adopt what Dr. Cason terms a "healthy acceptance" of their condition and develop better coping skills. "It's not an acceptance that means a resignation and giving up, but an acceptance in the sense that you directly face your difficulties."
Attempts to deny pain, he said, can ultimately lead to feelings of distress that fuel the pain cycle and make it worse.