The Effect of Body Awareness Therapy on Pain, Fatigue and Health-related Quality of Life in Female Patients with Tension-type Headaches and Migraine

ABSTRACT Objective: To examine the effect of body awareness therapy on pain, fatigue and quality of life in women with tension-type headaches (TTH) and migraine. Methods: Socio-demographic features of patients who are included in the study were recorded. Visual analogue scale was used for pain and fatigue severity scale was used for fatigue, Nottingham health profile (NHP) was used for life quality related to health. Following the first evaluation, body awareness therapy (BAT) was applied to patients for six weeks per 60 minutes in three sessions. Results: Among patients with TTH, there was statistical difference between visual analogue scale, fatigue severity scale and total NHP score before and after BAT (p < 0.05). Among patients with migraine, there was statistical difference between total NHP score before and after BAT (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Body awareness therapy is an effective method that can be used in order to increase life quality related to health among female patients with TTH and migraine.

Trastornos Alimentarios y Terapia de la Conciencia Corporal Basal: un enfoque de "Fisioterapia en Salud Mental" / Eating Disorders and Basic Body Awareness Therapy: A "Physiotherapy in Mental Health" approach

La Terapia de la Conciencia Corporal Basal intenta lograr la calidad del movimiento corporal a través de patrones motores musculares libres de presión y tensión, con el objetivo de promover la conciencia corporal y optimizar el esquema corporal de la persona. El objetivo de esta revisión narrativa de la literatura es determinar los beneficios que la Terapia de la Conciencia Corporal Basal puede brindar en el tratamiento de los trastornos alimentarios. Los estudios incluidos en esta revisión de la literatura respaldaron la eficacia de la Terapia de la Conciencia Corporal Basal como terapia adyuvante de los Trastornos Alimentarios, aunque muchos estudios tienen importantes limitaciones con respecto a su metodología. El papel del fisioterapeuta está ganando protagonismo en el tratamiento de pacientes con Trastornos Alimentarios, ya que las técnicas fisioterapéuticas como la Terapia de la Conciencia Corporal Basal proporcionan una mejora significativa en la calidad de vida, los síntomas psiquiátricos y la salud física de los pacientes afectados.

The Basic Body Awareness Therapy attempts to achieve the quality of body movement through muscular motor patterns free of pressure and tension with the aim of promoting body awareness and optimizing the person's body scheme. The aim of this narrative review of the literature is to determine the benefits that Basic Body Awareness Therapy can provide as a treatment for Eating Disorders. The studies including in this review of the literature supported the efficacy of Basic Body Awareness Therapy as an adjunctive therapy of Eating Disorders, but many studies have important limitations regarding their methodology. The role of the Physiotherapist is gaining prominence in the treatment of patients with Eating Disorders, as physiotherapeutic technics such as Basic Body Awareness Therapy provide significant improvement in the quality of life, psychiatric symptoms, and physical health of the affected patients.

Benefits of psychodynamic group therapy on depression, burden and quality of life of family caregivers to Alzheimer’s disease patients

Abstract Background Family members providing continuous care to demented patients suffer from severe burden that impairs quality of life and often evolves to depression. Objective This study aims to evaluate the effect of psychodynamic group psychotherapy (PGT) compared to body awareness therapy (BAT) on caregiver burden, depressive symptoms, and quality of life among family caregivers to Alzheimer disease (AD) patients. Methods Thirty-seven healthy family caregivers were randomly allocated to receive PGT (n = 20) or BAT (n = 17). Interventions were administered in the format of 14 weekly group sessions. Outcome measures were: modification of scores on Zarit Burden Scale, Beck Depression Inventory and WHO-QoL Scale. Results Participants in the PGT group displayed significant reduction on burden (p = 0.01) and depression scores (p = 0.005), and improved quality of life (p = 0.002), whereas those in the BAT group showed improvements in burden of care (p = 0.001) and quality of life (p = 0.01), but not on depressive symptoms (p = 0.13). Discussion Psychodynamic psychotherapy was associated with amelioration of depressive symptoms, but overall benefits on burden of care and quality of life were similar irrespective of the type of intervention, i.e., psychologically-oriented or not. We hypothesize that these interventions can be complementary to improve depression and burden of care among family caregivers of AD patients.