Mind-body therapies, including meditation, yoga, Tai Chi, qi gong and mindfulness, create an interaction between the mind and body to enhance health. These approaches are perceived by both patients and healthcare professionals as valuable in the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but medical research has been lacking to support the long history of the use of these techniques. In recent decades, more attention has been given to the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with options other than solely using medication.
Lifestyle interventions to increase the quality of life include meditation, yoga, and mindfulness. These examples of mind-body therapies are techniques that create an interaction between the mind and bodily functions in order to reduce stress-induced inflammation, relaxation and enhance overall health.
Many studies now demonstrate beneficial effects, which were mostly on the vitality, functioning, and mental health of patients with RA, but also on symptoms related to disease activity.
RA patients with recurrent depression seemed to benefit more from these non-pharmacological therapies than patients without recurrent depression.
These safe and non-toxic strategies show added value in the management of RA.