Yoga Lowers Inflammation and Fatigue In Breast Cancer Survivors

Living through breast cancer can be extremely challenging. But, a few months of yoga can help boost energy levels in cancer survivors. According to a study, yoga also enhances the quality of life by lowering inflammation.

Yoga, an ancient philosophy that began in India is now being followed in several Western countries. The technique is known to offer a wide range of benefits and is now recognized as a potential tool in the management of side-effects related with treatment of chronic diseases like cancer.

The current study,conducted by researchers at the Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, claims that practising yoga for as little as three months helps in reducing fatigue- a common and distressing side effect of breast cancer treatment. Apart from this, yoga also helps in reducing inflammation, which is known to cause devastating health problems such as heart disease. Chronic inflammation can double the risk of cancer recurrence. The study emphasizes the fact that the more a woman practises yoga better, the better results she achieves.

In the study, researchers showed that yoga lowers fatigue by 57 percent and also reduces inflammation by almost 20 percent.

Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, professor of psychiatry and psychology at The Ohio State University and colleagues conducted a randomized controlled study on 200 breast cancer survivors who were between the ages 26 and 76. These candidates had already completed the treatment for either early stage of breast cancer or late-stage.

These participants practiced yoga for 90 minutes in small groups for about twice a week for 12 weeks. They were even encouraged to practice yoga at home. The total weekly practice time was recorded. The control group was put on a wait-list and received the same yoga session only at the end of the trial.

At the end of the trial, participants reported a drop of 41 percent in fatigue score and had a 12 percent increase in vitality score when compared to the control group.

Researchers also checked for inflammatory markers in the blood. They noticed that the women who practiced yoga had almost 15 percent lower inflammation when compared to the control group.

"We were really surprised by the data because some more recent studies on exercise have suggested that exercise interventions may not necessarily lower inflammation unless people are substantially overweight or have metabolic problems," Kiecolt-Glaser said.

The researchers noticed that women who continued to practice yoga even after three months, continued to receive enhanced results. They lowered their fatigue by 57 percent and inflammation decreased between 13-20 percent.

"We think improved sleep could be part of the mechanism of what we were seeing. When women were sleeping better, inflammation could have been lowered by that," explains Kiecolt-Glaser. "Reducing fatigue enables women to engage in other activities over time, so yoga may have offered a variety of benefits in addition to the yoga exercises themselves."

 A related study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology revealed that practicing yoga during menopause helps in reducing insomnia.