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People with cirrhosis may find two available activities that relieve some symptoms: stretching and meditation.
A study by researchers at the University of Michigan compared the two therapies as a way to relieve nocturnal muscle cramps and found that both therapies were effective.
The resulting paper,”RELAX Randomized Controlled Trial: Stretching and Meditation for Nocturnal Muscle Spasm,” was published in the journal Liver International.
Two-thirds of patients with liver cirrhosis experience muscle cramps at night, waking them out of sleep. Because these cramps interrupt rest, they can exacerbate other symptoms.
In previous studies, doctors in Michigan have determined that muscle cramps have the greatest impact on quality of life compared to other cirrhosis related symptoms, and therefore made their treatment a priority.
“We wanted to test two different spasticity treatments: one is meditation, and the other is stretching the body to prevent spasticity from occurring,” said Elliot Tapper, M.D., director of the University of Michigan Liver Cirrhosis Program and lead author of the study. Paper.
“We ultimately found that both interventions significantly reduced the severity of spasms and improved quality of life, which was a little unexpected.”
The unexpected result is the effect of meditation.
After previous studies of mindfulness techniques among caregivers in patients with liver cirrhosis, researchers chose meditation as an active placebo.
In this study, participants in the meditation group and participants in the stretching group both reported reduced seizure severity and improved sleep quality.
“We hope that if we can see some positive effects on patients, then we can use meditation in other studies of systemic chronic pain,” Tapper said. “I just didn’t think it had anything to do with the severity of the cramp. I think it improves quality of life, but it doesn’t reduce cramps.”
Although these cramps are common in patients with liver cirrhosis and chronic liver disease, research on therapies to relieve these cramps remains limited.
A previous study led by Tapper showed that drinking kimchi juice can help relieve cramps, although it does not improve overall quality of life.
Although patients who practiced stretching (79.5%) said they would recommend intervention more often than those who practiced meditation (55.3%), the results suggest that meditation is more likely to improve overall health-related quality of life.
Tapper highlighted this potential to improve quality of life and its accessibility, making meditation an exciting option worthy of further research.
“These results really show that if practiced, these mind-body methods can train people to overcome truly painful physical symptoms,” Tapper said.
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Original text:https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-08-meditation-relieve-cramping-cirrhosis.html
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