Yoga Benefits Breast Cancer Survivors

Lisa Franchi February 03, 2014

New research shows that even modest yoga practice over a period of several months can significantly benefit female cancer survivors. The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, found that practising yoga for as little as three months reduced fatigue by 57 per cent and inflammation by up to 20 per cent in women who survived breast cancer.

For the study, the researchers tracked 200 breast cancer survivors (ages 27 to 76) who were two months to three years past the latest surgical or radiation treatment. Women with breast cancer were chosen for the study because the rigors of treatment can be so exhausting. These findings may also apply to people who have issues with fatigue and inflammation.

Participants completed several surveys assessing their fatigue and energy levels, sleep quality, diet, physical activity, and depressive symptoms. Blood samples were also taken from the participants at the beginning of the study to measure levels of several inflammation-related proteins.

“One of the problems they face is a real reduction in cardio-respiratory fitness. The treatment is so debilitating and they are so tired, and the less you do physically, the less you’re able to do. It’s a downward spiral,” said Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, study lead author and professor of psychiatry and psychology at The Ohio State University. “That’s one reason we think there are higher levels of inflammation in cancer survivors, meaning that an intervention that reduces inflammation could potentially be very beneficial.”

After the active phase of the trial, the women who practiced yoga reported, on average, a 41 per cent drop in fatigue and a 12 per cent increase in vitality scores compared to the non-yoga 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.

“In this group, the women didn’t lose weight, but we saw really marked reductions in inflammation. So this was a particularly striking finding biologically.”

Further analysis showed that the more these women practised yoga, the greater the benefits they received. They also showed significant improvement in sleep quality compared to those who didn’t practise yoga.

“Yoga has many parts to it — meditation, breathing, stretching and strengthening. We think the breathing and meditation components were really important in terms of some of the changes we were seeing,” Kiecolt-Glaser added. “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,” Kiecolt-Glaser said. “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.”

Source of this article:

Yoga’s Surprising Benefits for Breast Cancer Survivors