The Effect of Yogic Practices and Siddha Treatments for Lumbar Spondylosis: A Case Report

Lumbar spondylosis is the degeneration of the spinal column from any cause. In the more narrow sense, it refers to spinal osteoarthritis. Yoga is an art and science of healthy living. It is one part of the Siddha system. It develops into a separate field and treating diseases. As per yogic scriptures, the practice of yoga leads to the union of individual consciousness with that of the Universal Consciousness. This is a case of lumbar spondylosis treated with yoga asana and Siddha medicine in an OP set up. The patient was given Siddha medicine in the form of internal oral and topical application. The present case report showed promotive effects of Siddha and yogic intervention on lumbar spondylosis.

Therapeutic Role of Yoga in Type 2 Diabetes

Yoga originated in India more than 5,000 years ago and is a means of balancing and harmonizing the body, mind, and emotions. Yoga practice is useful in the management of various lifestyle diseases, including type 2 diabetes. Psycho-neuro-endocrine and immune mechanisms are involved in the beneficial effects of yoga on diabetes. Incorporation of yoga practice in daily life helps to attain glycaemic control and reduces the risk of complications in people with diabetes. In this review, we briefly describe the role of various yoga practices in the management of diabetes based on evidence from various clinical studies.

Yoga Training Improves Metabolic Parameters in Obese Boys

Yoga has been known to have stimulatory or inhibitory effects on the metabolic parameters and to be uncomplicated therapy for obesity. The purpose of the present study was to test the effect of an 8-week of yoga-asana training on body composition, lipid profile, and insulin resistance (IR) in obese adolescent boys. Twenty volunteers with body mass index (BMI) greater than the 95th percentile were randomly assigned to yoga (age 14.7+/-0.5 years, n=10) and control groups (age 14.6+/-1.0 years, n=10). The yoga group performed exercises three times per week at 40~60% of heart-rate reserve (HRR) for 8 weeks. IR was determined with the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). After yoga training, body weight, BMI, fat mass (FM), and body fat % (BF %) were significantly decreased, and fat-free mass and basal metabolic rate were significantly increased than baseline values. FM and BF % were significantly improved in the yoga group compared with the control group (p<0.05). Total cholesterol (TC) was significantly decreased in the yoga group (p<0.01). HDL-cholesterol was decreased in both groups (p<0.05). No significant changes were observed between or within groups for triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol, glucose, insulin, and HOMA-IR. Our findings show that an 8-week of yoga training improves body composition and TC levels in obese adolescent boys, suggesting that yoga training may be effective in controlling some metabolic syndrome factors in obese adolescent boys.

Effect of pranayama & yoga-asana on cognitive brain functions in type 2 diabetes-P3 event related evoked potential (ERP).

Background & objectives: Electrophysiological evidence of delayed cognition as measured by P300, an evoked potential is observed in Diabetes mellitus. P300 (or P3) is a component of endogenous cerebral evoked response that assesses higher functions of the brain. Our study aims to see the role of pranayama and yoga-asana on P300 latency and amplitude in type 2 diabetic patients. Methods: Sixty patients of type 2 diabetes were recruited from diabetic clinic and divided into two groups - control group on only conventional medical therapy and yoga-group on conventional medical therapy along with pranayama and yoga-asana. Basal recordings of P300 and blood glucose were taken at the time of recruitment and second recordings repeated after forty five days for both the groups. P300 was recorded on Nihon Kohden Neuropack μ MEB 9100 using auditory “odd-ball paradigm”. The data were analysed using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Tukey’s test at 5 per cent level of significance. Results: Statistically significant improvement in the latency and the amplitude of N200, P300 was observed in the yoga group as compared to the control group. Interpretation & conclusions: Our data suggest that yoga has a beneficial effect on P300 and thus can be incorporated along with the conventional medical therapy for improving cognitive brain functions in diabetes.