‘Integrated Naturopathy and Yoga’ reduces blood pressure and the need for medications among a cohort of hypertensive patients in South India: 3-months follow-up study

Effects of a Yoga-Based Stress Intervention Program on the Blood Pressure of Young Police Officers: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objectives: Despite improvements in health education and treatment, arterial hypertension remains a major health problem of increasing epidemiological importance. The purpose of this randomized controlled trial was to determine the impact of regular yoga breathing exercises on blood pressure, work-related stress, and the prevalence of arterial hypertension in young police academy trainees with no existing comorbidities. Design: A single-center, prospective, randomized controlled trial. Subjects: The study included 120 healthy trainees aged between 18 and 39 years who practiced weekly yoga exercises with an emphasis on breathing (prāṇāyāma) over an observation period of 6 months. Results: These regular exercises lowered the blood pressure of the participants by 1.34 mmHg (right arm, p = 0.007), increased their regenerative capacity (Recovery Experience Questionnaire [REQ] scale +2.77, p < 0.001) and resilience (Resilience Scale [RS] +4.6, p = 0.001), and concomitantly reduced the level of perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale [PSS] -0.9, p < 0.001). In contrast, blood pressure in the control group had slightly increased over the study period by 0.1 mmHg (right arm, p < 0.001) and 1.0 mmHg (left arm, p = 0.03), and subjective scores had significantly worsened (REQ scale -3.4, p < 0.001; RS -2.29, p = 0.001; PSS +0.88, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The results point to a significant correlation between blood pressure and both regenerative capacity and stress level. Thus, the study confirms the hypothesis that yoga exercises reduce perceived stress and exert positive effects on blood pressure. Clinical Trial Registration Number: DRKS00025921.

Whole Medical Systems the Rehabilitation Setting (Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurvedic Medicine, Homeopathy, Naturopathy)

Elements of whole medical systems (WMSs) are re-emerging in a modern, patient-centered care model that leverages the benefits of evidence-based conventional medical practice with WMSs modalities. Many of these re-emerging modalities had their origins in traditional Chinese medicine, ayurvedic medicine, homeopathy, or naturopathy. To date, research has been conducted predominantly on multimodality treatment of experimental groups, drawing conclusions without a comparative control group or using modalities that are not actually WMSs.

The State of the Evidence for Whole-System, Multi-Modality Naturopathic Medicine: A Systematic Scoping Review

OBJECTIVE

To summarize the current state of the research evidence for whole-system, multi-modality naturopathic medicine.

DESIGN

A systematic search for research articles from around the world was undertaken using MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, AMED, and WHO regional indexes. Naturopathic journals and gray literature were hand searched. No language restrictions were imposed.

INTERVENTIONS

All human research evaluating the effectiveness of naturopathic medicine, where two or more naturopathic modalities are delivered by naturopathic clinicians, were included in the review. Case studies of five or more cases were included.

RESULTS

Thirty-three published studies (n = 9859) met inclusion criteria (11 American; 4 Canadian; 6 German; 7 Indian; 3 Australian; 1 United Kingdom; and 1 Japanese) across a range of mainly chronic clinical conditions. The studies predominantly showed evidence for the efficacy of naturopathic medicine for the conditions and settings in which they were based.

CONCLUSIONS

To date, research in whole-system, multi-modality naturopathic medicine shows that it is effective for treating cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal pain, type 2 diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome, depression, anxiety, and a range of complex chronic conditions.