Meditation is one natural way of helping speedy recovery of almost any disease which has stood the test of time. From depression and stress to diseases like cancer and diabetes, meditation is often the safest and most trusted practices aimed at recovery.
It has been proved that meditation helps relieve conditions of arthritis. Researchers found that a half-year exposure to meditation techniques helped patients shave as much as one-third of their psychological distress.
The research team, led by Elizabeth K. Pradhan of the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Center for Integrative Medicine, based its conclusions on an analysis of a specific training course called “Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction” (MBSR).
The Arthritis Foundation has said that several so-called “mind-body practices” may help arthritis patients alleviate stress, pain, anxiety and depression. Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore are studying others like Isicoff to see if meditation helps sufferers of the autoimmune disorder, which affects about 2.1 million Americans, mostly women. Those with the disease often have general fatigue, soreness, stiffness and aches at first. Joints may swell and become damaged over time.
Groups of rheumatoid arthritis patients are being trained in “mindfulness,” a form of stress reduction meditation developed 30 years ago at the University of Massachusetts. Their progress is being compared to patients not in the program.
Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia (General Hospital Psychiatry, 2001) looked at the benefits of a particular form of meditation on the physical and psychological health of 136 people with various chronic illnesses, including arthritis. The participants took part in an 8-week program where they learned to perform meditation and related relaxation techniques. At the end of the program, the participants reported having more energy, less pain, and fewer limitations caused by health problems than when they began.
