Reuters:
By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – People plagued by chronic lower backaches may find some relief in yoga class, researchers reported Monday.

Their study of 101 adults with persistent low back pain found that a gentle yoga class seemed to be a better alternative to either general exercise or a self-help book. Though people in the exercise class eventually improved to a similar degree as their yoga-practicing counterparts, yoga class brought quicker results.

It’s possible that yoga’s benefits for both the body and mind explain the effects on lower back pain, the study’s lead author, Dr. Karen J. Sherman, told Reuters Health.

She stressed, though, that the study participants took a slower-moving form of yoga that was designed for people with lower back problems. Vigorous styles of yoga that include more-advanced poses could potentially make chronic back pain worse.

Sherman, a researcher at the Group Health Cooperative in Seattle, and her colleagues report the findings in the Annals of Internal Medicine this week.

It’s estimated that 14 million Americans practice yoga, often as a way to treat chronic aches and pains. But, in the Western medical literature at least, there have been no published studies on the effects of yoga on chronic back pain, Sherman said.

To look at the question, she and her colleagues randomly assigned 101 adults to take either 12 weeks of yoga class or 12 weeks of a standard therapeutic exercise class, or to follow the advice of a self-care book.

The yoga class was conducted in what’s known as the viniyoga style, which goes by the philosophy that poses should be adapted to the individual’s needs. The instructor was experienced in therapeutic yoga, and the class was limited to basic poses that would not put too much strain on the back, Sherman explained.

After 12 weeks, the yoga practitioners reported better back function than their peers in either of the other two groups. After another three months, those in the exercise group had improved to a similar degree as the yogis.
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Excellent interview with the author of a book about her chronic daily headaches and chronic fatigue. She dismisses toxic causes at one point, but I still think it’s well worth reading.

[subscription required but you can view a commercial to read it free]

Paula Kamen has had a headache for 14 years. Her unlikely and often hilarious memoir explores the secret history of women and pain, and introduces us to a new (but very old) social phenomenon: The Tired Girls.

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By Andrew O’Hehir

April 15, 2005 | Paula Kamen has a headache. On the day I call her in Madison, Wis., where she’s made a stop to promote her new book, “All In My Head,” which is a memoir and a cultural history and a comic odyssey through the licensed and unlicensed health professions and a lot of other things besides, she rates the headache a 3 or 4 on a scale of 10. For most of us that would be a pretty bad day, possibly requiring three or four ibuprofens, a couple of grande Starbucks concoctions, dark sunglasses and a lot of grumbling.

But Kamen says she’s feeling great. See, she got this headache when she was putting in her contacts in a Chicago hotel bathroom — in 1991. Over the last 14 years it’s been her constant companion, waxing and waning like the phases of the moon — sometimes so intense she can’t function at all, sometimes barely noticeable — but never completely going away.

On one level, this is ludicrous: A woman gets a headache and writes a book about it. Kamen is able to appreciate the joke, up to a point. (She’s not so delighted that a New York Times critic cited her book, without reading it, as an example of the glut of self-indulgent memoirs.) But Kamen’s headache is enough to make you suspect there might be a God. If Jehovah chose Job to persecute because he knew that upright man’s faith would never waver, maybe he had his own reasons for afflicting Paula Kamen with a never-ending headache. She was already a first-rate reporter on feminist issues as well as an aspiring humorist with a wry, sardonic tone.

That combination of elements has produced an improbable book, indeed almost an impossible one. “All in My Head” dramatizes Kamen’s suffering without wallowing unduly in self-pity, and her journey along the highways and back roads of both Western and alternative medicine, while often hilariously rendered, will provoke anguished cries of recognition from anyone who’s dealt with chronic pain (and the medical establishment’s general befuddlement by it). More than that, as a reporter Kamen marshals most of what is now known or suspected about headaches and related disorders, and as a feminist she drags into daylight a half-hidden social phenomenon we all recognize but rarely talk about: the Tired Girls.

From YogaJournal.com:

For decades, doctors blamed ADD on bad parenting, character weakness, refined sugar, and a host of other causes. Recent research, however, using sophisticated brain-scanning technology suggests a subtle neurological impairment. Studies report that several brain regions in ADD appear underdeveloped, most notably the right prefrontal cortex�an area of the brain associated with inhibition. It turns out that inhibition acts as a precursor to concentration.

One’s ability to concentrate emerges from restraining mental distractions in a process neurologists call “neural inhibition”�a description that squares with Patanjali’s definition of concentration as “quieting the mind of its compulsions.” Here’s how it works: As you read this sentence, your brain intensifies the neural circuits related to language by suppressing competing stimuli like ambient sounds, peripheral vision, and extraneous thoughts. The contrast created between the circuits highlighted and those inhibited allows you to focus your concentration. In the ADD brain, the inhibiting portion of the system malfunctions. ADD brains get flooded with competing stimuli and lack the means to sort them out; each internal voice shouts as loudly as the others.

Looking for a New Drug

Understanding what causes ADD is child’s play compared with knowing how to treat it. There is no cure, so learning how to control the condition is the focus of treatment. And when it comes to ADD treatment, medication has long been accepted as the best medicine.

Stimulant drug use for hyperactivity dates to 1937, when Charles Bradley, M.D., discovered the therapeutic effects of the amphetamine Benzedrine on behaviorally disturbed children. In 1948, Dexedrine was introduced and shown to be just as effective, without such high dosages. This was followed by Ritalin in 1954. Ritalin had fewer side effects and, since it’s not an amphetamine, less potential for abuse. It soon became the best-known and most prescribed psychoactive drug for ADD children�as well as the most scrutinized: By now hundreds of studies have backed its safety and effectiveness.

But nowadays, Ritalin has taken a back seat to generic versions of methylphenidate�Ritalin’s active ingredient�and ADDerall. A “cocktail” drug of amphetamines, ADDerall offers greater dosage flexibility, works more gradually and on a broad spectrum of symptoms, and eliminates the peaks and valleys of methylphenidate.

Still, these drugs are what continue to make ADD treatment controversial. The greatest fallouts with any stimulant medication are lifelong dependency and possible side effects from such long-term use. General use of ADD drugs can trigger some immediate reactions, such as loss of appetite, insomnia, weight loss, delayed puberty, irritability, and the unmasking of latent tics.

Yet these symptoms are said to be manageable with dosage modifications or by discontinuing the use of medication. And although several studies have shown most side effects are mild and short-term, many researchers add that there are insufficient long-term studies to confirm the safety of these drugs over an extended period.

Then there is the ongoing debate regarding the effectiveness of ADD medication beyond a certain time frame. Enid Haller, Ph.D., a specialist in ADD and director of Behavioral Arts in New York City, considers psychopharmaceuticals a short-term intervention at best. “These drugs stop working after six months to a year, and you have to switch medications or change the dosage,” she says. “Unless the individual with ADD learns to compensate for their deficiencies and exploit their mental strengths, medication alone won’t help in the long term.”

Today, more health-care professionals recommend a multidisciplinary, multimodal approach to the treatment of ADD, which includes medication but also therapy and dietary changes as well as a host of mind-body approaches, such as biofeedback, neurofeedback, and yoga. These treatments work to help ADD sufferers learn how to control their symptoms and relieve both emotional and physical stress.

Read more >>

By Jennifer Koretsky

Exercise is a powerful tool for ADD management. Medical professionals recommend that adults get at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise (such as running or biking) 3-5 times per week to improve their general health. For ADDers, this type of exercise is particularly beneficial, because it may balance production of neurotransmitters and reduce stress levels. Another form of exercise that ADDers are finding valuable is yoga. When practiced regularly, yoga offers numerous health benefits, such as increased strength and flexibility, and decreased blood pressure and cholesterol
levels. However, the greater benefits of yoga are arguably the psychological ones. Yoga combines physical activity with self-awareness, which promotes a mind-body connection that many ADDers lack.

When ADDers report challenges with impulsivity and hyperactivity, they often describe feeling like they don’t have control over their own bodies. They find themselves speaking before thinking their thoughts through, and often regret their words. They constantly fidget, unaware that their bubbling energy can be disruptive to others in work and social situations. And they feel as if they simply cannot stop the whirlwind of thoughts spinning in their heads.

Yoga can help ADDers learn how to forge a mind-body connection that promotes self-awareness and self-control. Yoga practitioners are taught deep breathing and relaxation techniques that help center the mind in the present moment. Practitioners are also guided into holding different postures, called asanas. Each asana is held for an extended period of time, as the practitioner focuses on holding the best posture that they can, while breathing calmly and deeply. The asanas promote stretching, strengthening, and balancing, as the deep breathing promotes relaxation and
mental awareness.

It is important to remember that yoga is not meant to be stressful or taxing on the body. People should be encouraged to concentrate only on themselves and not the others in the class, and to do only what feels comfortable. A practitioner should never feel pressured to perform. If an ADDer finds him/herself at a yoga class that moves too quickly, or focuses heavily on strength training, they will not reap the
intended benefits, and may find themselves overwhelmed. The best place to find yoga instruction is at a yoga center, where the instructors practice yoga as a way of life, and teach both the physical and psychological components.

Yoga can help ADDers feel calm, centered, in control, and in touch with their bodies. Practiced regularly, ADDers will find that yoga is a powerful mental and physical refresher that they can retreat to when feeling out of control or overwhelmed.

Jennifer Koretsky is a Professional ADD Management Coach who helps adults manage their ADD and move forward in life. She encourages clients to increase self-awareness, focus on strengths and talents, and create realistic action plans. She offers a 90-day intensive skill-building program, workshops, and private coaching. Her work has been featured in numerous media, including The New York Times Magazine and The Times (UK). To subscribe to Jennifer’s free email newsletter, The ADD Management Guide, please visit addmanagement.com/e-newsletter.htm

Article Source: EzineArticles.com/