Migraines are debilitating to experience and challenging for doctors to treat. New research suggests it might be worth trying yoga to reduce the frequency and severity of these nasty headaches.
A small study from India found that a group of migraine sufferers who did gentle yoga postures, breathing exercises, relaxation and meditation for an hour a day, five days a week for three months (except when they actually had a headache or were recovering from one) suffered fewer headaches than they experienced before the study. The study group also reported less pain when a migraine did strike.
A comparison group received education on how to avoid migraine triggers and on helpful diet and lifestyle changes. This strategy didn't work – participants either noticed no difference in the frequency and severity of their headaches, or reported that their migraines actually worsened during the study period.
In addition to having fewer and milder headaches, participants in the migraine study who practiced yoga reported less anxiety and depression connected to their headaches.
The Indian researchers who conducted the research described their findings as encouraging, but preliminary, and called for bigger, longer-term studies to confirm the results, which were published in the May 2007 issue of Headache. I applaud such research - we need more studies on gentle, noninvasive ways to alleviate this painful condition.
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