Meditation and stretching Relieves Symptoms of PTSD: Study

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a severe anxiety disorder that is often treated as a self-contained illness. A new study has found a method to relieve the overwhelming symptoms of the disorder. According to the latest finding, practicing a form of meditation and stretching helps to relieve the symptoms, and also normalize the stress hormone levels.

Study reports suggest that more than 7 million adults are diagnosed with PTSD in a year. It causes anxiety, flashbacks and other symptoms. Those suffering with PTSD have high levels of corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH), and low levels of cortisol. These two hormones are responsible for regulating the body's response to stress.

The levels of the stress hormone cortisol rise in response to pressure, but PTSD victims have abnormally low levels of cortisol, and benefit when these levels increase. In this study, the researchers noticed that cortisol levels responded positively in subjects who took part in mind-body exercise for an eight-week period.

"Mind-body exercise offers a low-cost approach that could be used as a complement to traditional psychotherapy or drug treatments," said the study's lead author, Sang H. Kim, PhD, of the National Institutes of Health. "These self-directed practices give PTSD patients control over their own treatment and have few side effects."

In a controlled clinical trial, researchers studied the impact of mind-body practices in nurses, as they are at a high risk of PTSD due to repeatedly being exposed to severe and extreme stressors.

The study included 28 nurses from University of New Mexico Hospital, of which 22 had PTSD symptoms. Participants were divided into two groups. The first group took 60-minute mind-body sessions, in which they performed some stretching, balancing and deep breathing exercise while fully concentrating on their body's movements, sensations and surroundings. This form of meditation is known as mindfulness. On the other hand, the control group never participated in the classes, which were conducted twice a week.

Apart from this, the female participants also underwent some blood tests so as to measure their stress hormone levels and had to complete the government's PTSD checklist for civilians.

Researchers noticed a rise in the levels of cortisol among those who underwent the mind-body course. The levels of cortisol rose by 67 percent. There was a 41 percent drop in the PTSD checklist scores, showing fewer symptoms of the disorder. Whereas the control group had just a 4 percent decline in the checklist score, and a 17 percent rise in the blood cortisol levels during the same period.

"Participants in the mind-body intervention reported that not only did the mind-body exercises reduce the impact of stress on their daily lives, but they also slept better, felt calmer and were motivated to resume hobbies and other enjoyable activities they had dropped," Kim concluded.

The study was published in the journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM)