St. Louis Park Chiropractor Best Practices
Research Commentary;
Mindfulness Practice for Stress and Anxiety
A randomized control trial by
Hoge E, Bui E, Palitz S, Schwarz N, Owens M, et al. The effect of mindfulness meditation training on biological acute stress responses in generalized anxiety disorder. Psychiatry Res. 2018 Apr;262:328-332. DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2017.01.006
Research Reviewed by Dr. Erik Waldeland
Summarized review of conclusion:
This research highlights the positive impact mindfulness practice can have on peoples’ ability to deal with stress and anxiety, which is a growing issue throughout the world. If our bodies are constantly in a state of stress or anxiety, that can have a negative impact both on how we function on a daily basis, but it can also alter how we perceive pain and how we feel physically. This proves that we not only need to eat a proper diet and exercise regularly to stay healthy, but we also need to manage our stress appropriately on a daily basis to allow our bodies to heal and function to the best of its ability.
Below I have referenced key quotes from this research to help summarize the results.
Quotes from the Article:
“We found larger reductions in stress markers for patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder in the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction class compared to control; this provides the first combined hormonal and immunological evidence that MBSR may enhance resilience to stress.”
“Chronic over-secretion of cortisol is associated with metabolic and hemodynamic disturbances such as high systolic blood pressure, fasting glucose, and insulin”
“Higher levels of circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) are associated with other metabolic syndrome elements including higher body-mass index and the development of type 2 diabetes, and with an increased risk for coronary artery disease”
“In conclusion, these findings suggest that mindfulness meditation training, a relatively inexpensive and low-stigma treatment approach, may be a helpful strategy to decrease biological stress reactivity and improve resilience to stressors in patients with GAD”
Introduction to the Research
The purpose of this clinical trial was to investigate the effect mindfulness practice has on the body’s ability to manage stress and anxiety by evaluating hormone and inflammatory markers. There is an abundance of evidence that shows the negative impact chronic stress and inflammation has on the body including being a major cause of high systolic blood pressure, fasting glucose, and insulin leading to type 2 diabetes as well as coronary artery disease.
Research Methodology
Seventy-nine participants completed treatment in the parent RCT study (Hoge et al., 2013). Eligible for the biomarker analysis were the 72 participants (MBSR, n=43; SME, n=29) who agreed to blood collection. Prior to the start of the intervention class, and after baseline questionnaire measurements, participants came to the lab for a testing day, in which they completed the TSST and all blood testing. After the end of the 8-week intervention, they returned to the lab for the second TSST. All study procedures were given ethical approved by the Massachusetts General Hospital/Partners Health Care institutional review board and all participants gave informed written consent before beginning the study.
Research Findings
The findings from this clinical trial suggest that implanting a regular mindfulness routine may help not only individuals with diagnosed anxiety disorders manage their stress and inflammation properly, but everyone could benefit from some degree of mindfulness practice to properly manage their everyday stress levels to avoid chronic systemic issues down the road. This shows that to stay healthy, we need to ensure we are not only eating and moving correctly on a daily basis, but we should also be utilizing strategies to manage our stress correctly.
Research References
As always with these reviews, these are my takeaways from the article and I encourage you to read the article in its entirety. The references used in this article by the authors of this article are listed here.
Our Message
When you are looking for a Chiropractor near you that you can trust, choose one who will not only get rid of your back pain, neck pain, or headaches but who will also guide you to living a healthier lifestyle to keep you out of pain. Our Chiropractors located in St. Louis Park, near the corner of MN-100 S & Lake Rd./Westside Dr., will teach you what the research says about how and why we should eat a better diet, move more and have more positive thoughts. By improving these areas of our lives we can become healthier, stay out of pain and reduce risk of diabetes and other diseases!