YOGA HELPS ENERGY LEVELS OF BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS
People who have gone through conventional treatment for breast cancer often report that they have difficulty getting their energy levels back to normal. A study published in December 2011 in the journal Cancer demonstrated that yoga helped significantly reduce fatigue after treatment of breast cancer.
According to the UCLA researchers who published this recent data, about one-third of woman who have had chemotherapy or radiation treatment for breast cancer have persistent fatigue for months and even years after the treatment is done. In their study, 31 women were randomly assigned to participate in a 12-week program of either yoga or health education. All of the participants had completed their course of conventional treatment at least six months prior to the start of the study. The researchers measured fatigue at the beginning, the end and three months after the study was completed.
Both groups experienced improvements in symptoms of depression and perceived stress. Fatigue was assessed using the Fatigue Symptom Inventory questionnaire. Fatigue scores in the yoga group declined significantly compared to the women in the health education group. Vitality scores with women in the yoga group increased by nearly 23 points. The researchers also noted that improvements in energy were maintained even three-months after the yoga program was completed.
“Previous studies have shown that yoga can help with insomnia and reduce stress in people recovering from cancer,” explains Lise Alschuler, ND, coauthor of Five to Thrive: Your Cutting-Edge Cancer Prevention Plan (Active Interest Media, 2011). “So it makes sense that individuals may also experience increased energy.”
Fatigue can become a disabling side effect of conventional cancer treatments and can interrupt quality of life. Alschuler says using a targeted exercise approach such as yoga may help people with cancer after they’ve completed their treatment. “This is particularly encouraging for those people who don’t like, or may not be able to, participate in more vigorous aerobic exercise,” she explains.
Alschuler says in addition to physical activity such as yoga, a whole foods diet that features unprocessed, fresh foods with an emphasis on fruits and vegetables will also help combat fatigue.
According to the UCLA researchers who published this recent data, about one-third of woman who have had chemotherapy or radiation treatment for breast cancer have persistent fatigue for months and even years after the treatment is done. In their study, 31 women were randomly assigned to participate in a 12-week program of either yoga or health education. All of the participants had completed their course of conventional treatment at least six months prior to the start of the study. The researchers measured fatigue at the beginning, the end and three months after the study was completed.
Both groups experienced improvements in symptoms of depression and perceived stress. Fatigue was assessed using the Fatigue Symptom Inventory questionnaire. Fatigue scores in the yoga group declined significantly compared to the women in the health education group. Vitality scores with women in the yoga group increased by nearly 23 points. The researchers also noted that improvements in energy were maintained even three-months after the yoga program was completed.
“Previous studies have shown that yoga can help with insomnia and reduce stress in people recovering from cancer,” explains Lise Alschuler, ND, coauthor of Five to Thrive: Your Cutting-Edge Cancer Prevention Plan (Active Interest Media, 2011). “So it makes sense that individuals may also experience increased energy.”
Fatigue can become a disabling side effect of conventional cancer treatments and can interrupt quality of life. Alschuler says using a targeted exercise approach such as yoga may help people with cancer after they’ve completed their treatment. “This is particularly encouraging for those people who don’t like, or may not be able to, participate in more vigorous aerobic exercise,” she explains.
Alschuler says in addition to physical activity such as yoga, a whole foods diet that features unprocessed, fresh foods with an emphasis on fruits and vegetables will also help combat fatigue.
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