CAM and the phenomenology of pain

The effects of meditation on the performance and well-being of a company: A pilot study

The positive effects of meditation on individual well-being have been extensively investigated in the last few decades. The impact that meditation can have on the surrounding environment, including on the well-being of nearby non-meditators, has been mainly studied in regards to Transcendental Meditation and, more recently, through the purported phenomenon of "distant healing". The aim of the present study was to observe how a corporate environment would be affected when a small percentage of their employees meditated together. In an Italian surface coating company of 229 employees, 12 workers (5%) were trained in a Tibetan Meditation technique, which they practiced together daily for a period of 3 months. The effects of meditation were measured both in terms of company performance and in well-being of the non-meditators, the latter by using the Profile of Mood States (POMS) and Short Form 36 (SF36) questionnaires. In terms of company performance indexes, the experimental trimester compared to the previous trimester showed improvements in the quality of production (+6.6%), nonconformity of critical products to standards due to human factors (i.e. mistakes) (-42.6%), and in quarterly productivity (+10.5%). Comparing pre to post meditation periods, psychological well-being measures for non-meditators (N = 217) showed significant improvement in the SF36 sub-scales of social activities (t = -2.76, p < 0.05) and limitations in emotional roles (t = -2.44, p < 0.05), and they showed modest decreases for the POMS subscales of depression (t = 1.92, p = 0.06) and hostility (t = 1.88, p = 0.06). These results are in alignment with the hypothesis that meditation beneficially influences aspects of the local environment, warranting further investigation of this phenomenon.

Effect of Lotus Posture on Acupuncture Meridian Energies: A Controlled Trial

Background:

Many studies have assessed Yoga practices using instruments such as AcuGraph, which measures conductances at Jing-Well points of acupuncture meridians. Such studies find that participation in Yoga programs ranging from a weekend to many months systematically increases subtle energy. Here, we report comparison of Jing-Well point conductances before and after sitting in Lotus Posture with those before and after sitting in a chair.

Methods:

This was a controlled study conducted on 52 male Yoga practitioners (mean age in years 23.03 ± 3.23), all with >1 year experience of Yoga practices. Participants were alternately assigned into two groups, sitting in Lotus Posture and sitting in a chair. Each was measured on 3 successive days, before and after sitting as instructed for 10 min on the 1^st day, 20 min on the 2^nd day, and 30 min on the 3^rd day.

Results:

The two groups yielded completely different results: those sitting in Lotus Posture for 30 min showed increases in subtle energy levels (E_Ls) in all acupuncture meridians; those sitting in chair produced universal decreases. Results for 10 and 20 min showed how these changes in energy values took time to build up with increasing time.

Conclusions:

Sitting in Lotus Posture is held to strongly stimulate subtle E_Ls, so results agreed with the experimental hypothesis. Nevertheless, decreases in E_Ls of those sitting in a chair were surprising since the rest might be expected to have no effect.

Acupuncture Meridian Energies in Patients Who Are Mentally Disturbed

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Acupuncture medicine states that different pathologies exhibit different patterns of excitation in the 24 main acupuncture meridians. Previous exploratory work has shown that groups of patients with the same pathology exhibit such characteristic patterns when limited numbers of acupuncture points are measured with the AcuGraph meridian energy measuring device. This study reports patterns of meridian energies observed in an exploratory assessment of different classes of patient with mental disturbance.

METHODS

This study was a three-group cross-sectional design. Participants were patients who had been diagnosed by their GP with anxiety (n = 21) and depression (n = 26) and who were entering a treatment program, along with age- and sex-matched controls (n = 44). Patients diagnosed with mild mental disturbance who were aged 20-50 years were eligible to take part. Patients with any cut, wart, or mole on their fingertips or with excess sweating, which would interfere with conductance measurements, were excluded. The assessment comprised conductance values at Jing-Well acupuncture points by AcuGraph4 on entry into the treatment program.

RESULTS

Patients with anxiety had higher meridian energy levels (81.84 ± 38.63) and significant Upper-Lower imbalances (p < 0.05) favoring the upper meridians. Patients with depression had lower energy levels and lower standard deviations (53.36 ± 33.48) as a group. Controls exhibited intermediate energy levels but recorded the lowest scoring variances (62.61 ± 27.05) of the three groups. Kidney meridians had the lowest energy for both of the pathology groups. For the group suffering with anxiety, bladder meridians were also low.

CONCLUSION

Higher variances in AcuGraph4 measurements were observed in patients with either anxiety or depression compared with controls whose variances were the lowest. These results are in accordance with previous observations of greater variance in conductance values in pathology groups. With regard to meridian energies, the lowest were in those with depression, while those with anxiety were the highest. Controls exhibited intermediate energy levels.

Electrodermal Screening of Asthmatics with AcuGraph 4

Traditional Chinese Medicine holds that acupuncture meridian activity is correlated with quality of function of specific organs. This study sets out to determine acupuncture meridian characteristics of subjects with moderate asthma distinguishing them from healthy subjects. Fifty asthma patients (age 35.36 ± 8.68 years) and fifty similarly aged (34.11 ± 7.29 years) healthy volunteers were enrolled in the study. Electrodermal conductances at Jing Well points were measured with Acugraph 4 and also Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) for the asthma group. All mean meridian conductances were lower for the asthma group, significance differences were in Lung and right Bladder meridians. In contrast, all but two of the standard deviations of group meridian conductances for the Asthma group were higher than those for the Healthy group. Difference in mean PEFR values between Asthma and Healthy groups was significant. These suggest that group measures of electrical conductance at Jing Well points can distinguish asthma from healthy individuals. The study provides support for the usefulness of meridian energy measurements to assess organ related dysfunction and for the idea that pathology groups exhibit higher standard deviations i.e. lower quality of regulation.

Can yoga practices benefit health by improving organism regulation? Evidence from electrodermal measures of acupuncture meridians

Objectives:

To document and explain Yoga's effects on acupuncture meridian energies. To understand mechanisms behind Yoga's efficacy by testing links between yoga and traditional Chinese medicine.

Materials and Methods:

The study compared two groups of yoga practitioners: Novice and experienced. Novices consisted of 33 volunteers from a Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (S-VYASA) yoga instructor training module and the experienced practitioners were 20 resident SVYASA students. The intervention was 3 weeks of a yoga training program, new for the novices, but the lifestyle of the experienced group, who were therefore assessed only once. Novices were assessed on day 2 and 23 of their program at SVYASA's Yoga Medicine Hospital, making their data a pre-post, self-as-control, prospective study. Main outcome measures were mean acumeridian energy levels assessed by AcuGraph3 measures of electrodermal resistance at acupoints; additionally, gender differences, standard deviations (SDs) of all measures, and comparison of post and experienced group data.

Results:

Averaged energy levels significantly improved in all 24 meridians (maximum P = 0.032, 4-P < 0.01, and 19-P < 0.001). Females improved more than males (P < 0.05), both ending at similar levels to experienced practitioners, whose SDs were lower than novices on 19/24 meridians (mean F = 3.715, P = 0.0022), and 4/5 average variables.

Conclusions:

AcuGraph3 electrodermal measures contain substantial information, P << 0.00001. Yoga-lifestyle practice can increase and balance acumeridian energies; long-term practice decreases group SD's. These three suggest reasons why yoga practice impacts health: One, increased prana levels are important; two and three, improved physiological regulation is the key. Further studies relating traditional Indian and Chinese medical systems are needed.

Effects of yoga practice on acumeridian energies: Variance reduction implies benefits for regulation

Background and Objective:

This paper concerns mechanisms responsible for the efficacy of yoga medicine, traditionally attributed to the enlivenment of prana. Our strategy was to investigate levels of Qi in acupuncture meridians, since Qi is usually considered equivalent to prana.

Materials and Methods:

Electrodermal measurements at acumeridian endpoints (Tsing points) were made on 32 healthy individuals, pre and post 3 weeks yoga lifestyle program using AcuGraph 3 (an instrument in wide use). A previous study found that inherent errors prevent AcuGraph from precisely evaluating Qi energies in single meridians, so group results are reported: (a) Energy levels, (b) energy stability, and (c) energy balance between (i) Yin/Yang meridians, (ii) upper and lower, and (iii) left and right regions of the body.

Results:

Significant improvements were observed in all but energy stability, supporting the ideas that yoga enlivens prana, and that balance in meridians constitutes health. For balance variables, the study observed shifts toward normal at both ends of variable distributions, reducing standard deviations: post-intervention percentages of subjects with values in the ‘healthy’ range increased.

Conclusion:

Yoga improved regulation of Qi levels in acumeridian meridians as well as increasing them.

Can Vitex Agnus Castus be Used for the Treatment of Mastalgia? What is the Current Evidence?

There have been many treatments suggested for the management of mastalgia; one of these is the fruit extract of Vitex Agnus castus L. commonly known as Agnus castus, an extract of a deciduous shrub native to Mediterranean Europe and Central Asia. It is postulated that A. castus suppresses the stress-induced latent hyperprolactinemia which is a release of supra-physiological levels of prolactin in some patients in response to stressful stimuli. It is postulated that A. castus could be effective in the treatment of cyclical mastalgia by inhibiting the release of excess prolactin by blocking Dopamine-2 receptor type on pituitary. The adverse events following A. castus treatment are mild and reversible. The aim of this review is assess the efficacy of A. castus in the treatment of mastalgia. Data from randomized and non-randomized studies regarding the efficacy and safety of A. castus is reviewed in a systematic fashion. It is concluded that A. castus can be considered as an efficient alternative phytotherapeutic agent in the treatment of mastalgia.

An Engineering Approach for Quantitative Analysis of the Lengthwise Strokes in Massage Therapies

Massage therapies are widely used for improving and restoring the function of human tissues. It is generally accepted that such therapies promote human health and well-being by several possible mechanisms, including increase in blood flow and parasympathetic activity, release of relaxation hormones, and inhibition of muscle tension, neuromuscular excitability, and stress hormones. Nonetheless, most of the purported beneficial/adverse effects of massage are based on anecdotal experiences, providing little insight on its effectiveness or the mechanisms underlying its usefulness. Furthermore, most studies to date have not quantitatively demonstrated the efficacy of massage on human health. This might be due to the lack of appropriate tools necessary for the application of quantitatively controlled loading and for the evaluation of the subsequent responses. To address this issue, we developed a device that applies compression in lengthwise strokes to the soft tissues of the New Zealand white rabbit, thereby mimicking the rubbing and effleurage techniques of massage. This device permits control of the magnitude and frequency of mechanical load applied to the rabbit’s hind limb for various durations. The measurement of tissue compliance and the viscoelastic properties as a function of loading parameters was also demonstrated. Findings of this study suggest that this device offers a quantitative analysis of the applied loads on the tissue to determine an optimal range of loading conditions required for the safe and effective use of massage therapies.

Are users of complementary and alternative medicine sicker than non-users?

Higher utilization of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), both in cross-sections and over time, is commonly related to better socioeconomic status and to increased dissatisfaction with conventional medicine and its values. Little is known about health differences between users and non-users of CAM. The objective of the paper is to explore the difference in health measured by the SF-36 instrument between users and non-users of CAM, and to estimate the relative importance of the SF-36 health domains scales to the likelihood of consulting CAM providers. Interviews were used to collect information from a sample of 2000 persons in 1993 and 2500 persons in 2000, representing the Israeli Jewish urban population aged 45–75 in those years. Bivariate and logistic regression analyses were used to explore the above associations. The results show that while users of CAM enjoy higher socioeconomic status and younger age, they tend to report worse health than non-users on the eight SF-36 health domains scales in both years. However, controlling for personal characteristics, lower scores on the bodily pain, role-emotional and vitality scales are related to greater likelihood of CAM use in 2000. In 1993, no scale had a significant adjusted association with the use of CAM. The conclusions are that CAM users tend to report worse health. With CAM becoming a mainstream, though somewhat luxurious, medical practice, pain and affective-emotional distress are the main drivers of CAM use.

Studies of advanced stages of meditation in the tibetan buddhist and vedic traditions. I: a comparison of general changes

This article is the first of two comparing findings of studies of advanced practitioners of Tibetan Buddhist meditation in remote regions of the Himalayas, with established results on long-term practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation programs. Many parallel levels of improvement were found, in sensory acuity, perceptual style and cognitive function, indicating stabilization of aspects of attentional awareness. Together with observed increases in EEG coherence and aspects of brain function, such changes are consistent with growth towards a state of total brain functioning, i.e. development of full mental potential. They are usually accompanied by improved health parameters. How they may be seen to be consistent with growth of enlightenment will be the subject of a second article.