The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

  • Recent Posts

  • Recent Comments

    Potential benefits of yoga for fibromyalgia

    Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition with widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, depression, and low cortisol levels.

    Researchers at York University, in Toronto, Ontario, evaluated women with fibromyalgia before and after a yoga class.

    First, the details.

    • 22 women with fibromyalgia participated in a 75 minute yoga class twice weekly for 8 weeks.
    • Questionnaires concerning pain (intensity, unpleasantness, quality, sum of local areas of pain, catastrophizing, acceptance, disability), anxiety, depression, and mindfulness were administered before, during and after the class.
    • Salivary levels of cortisol were measured 3 times a day for each of 2 days, pre- and post-yoga.

    And, the results.

    • There was significant improvement in continuous pain, pain catastrophizing, pain acceptance, and mindfulness.
    • Cortisol levels were significantly higher after yoga.

    The bottom line?

    The authors concluded, “Yoga intervention may reduce pain and catastrophizing, increase acceptance and mindfulness, and alter total cortisol levels in women with fibromyalgia.”

    This is a preliminary study. More research will be needed to confirm the findings.

    8/1/11 22:19 JR

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