Treatment of fibromyalgia at the Maharishi Ayurveda Health Centre in Norway II—a 24-month follow-up pilot study

Abstract

Treatments offered at the Maharishi Ayurveda Health Centre in Norway are based on Maharishi Vedic Medicine (MVM). MVM is a consciousness-based revival by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program of the ancient Ayurvedic medicine tradition in India. To extend from 6 to 24 months, a pilot study of the effects of the treatment program at the Health Centre on fibromyalgia. Retesting 2 years after a clinical trial. In this intention to treat study, 31 women with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia received an individually tailored program of (1) physiological purification therapy (Maharishi Panchakarma) and (2) Ayurvedic recommendations regarding daily routine and diet including a novel approach to food intolerance. Five subjects chose to learn TM for stress reduction, pain management and personal development. All were recommended Ayurvedic herbal products for follow-up treatment. A modified Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) that included seven dimensions. Scores at 24 months follow-up were compared with pre-treatment scores. At 24-months follow-up, there were significant reductions (26% to 44%) in six of the seven fibromyalgia dimensions: impairment of working ability, pain, tiredness, morning tiredness, stiffness and anxiety. The 7th, depression, decreased 32% (borderline significant). At 24 months, the four subjects who continued practising TM, had almost no symptoms and significantly lower FIQ change scores (-92% to 97%) than the non-meditators on all outcomes. This pilot study suggests that the treatments and health promotion programs offered at the Maharishi Ayurveda Health Centre in Norway lead to long-term reductions in symptoms of fibromyalgia, which is considered a treatment-resistant condition, and further studies are warranted.

In-Patient Treatment of Fibromyalgia: A Controlled Nonrandomized Comparison of Conventional Medicine versus Integrative Medicine including Fasting Therapy

“…A small uncontrolled study in 28 patients found an Ayurvedic program, also focusing on nutrition and mind-boy techniques, to be effective with a lasting effect up to 24 months [36]. However, the treatment was not compared to another intervention, thus selection bias and unspecific effects were most likely contributing factors to the effect.…”

Additive Complex Ayurvedic Treatment in Patients with Fibromyalgia Syndrome Compared to Conventional Standard Care Alone: A Nonrandomized Controlled Clinical Pilot Study (KAFA Trial)

“…Among those, Ayurveda is one of the fastest growing CAM systems [17, 18]. First and small clinical trials have hinted at a possible effectiveness of Ayurveda in the treatment of FMS, yet the available data is still too weak to draw definite conclusions as these trials were uncontrolled [29–32] and included meditation as part of the Ayurveda-labeled treatment [29, 30]. Several Ayurveda trials have been done on other disease entities from the field of rheumatology, for example, on rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis; here the quality of data seems to be clearly better (e.g., [17, 24, 25]).…”

“…Clinical experience and preliminary evidence from uncontrolled prospective studies suggest that a CIM approach focusing on Ayurveda may help to decrease symptoms of FMS [29–32]. However, it would be useful to know how such an approach would act, if compared with CoM FMS treatment, as established in specialized hospital units of rheumatology or pain medicine.…”

Mehr als nur die Symptome behandeln

“…Es liegen Veröffentlichungen vor, in denen die Ayurveda-Medizin bei FMS untersucht wurde [8,9] Zur Wirksamkeit ayurvedischer Therapieverfahren bei Erkrankungen mit Schmerzkomponenten liegen zudem zahlreiche weitere Studien vor [10].…”

“…Selbst wenn aktuelle Leitlinien zum FMS Massagen allgemein als negativ bewerten, so zeigt sich dieser im Ayurveda hochspezialisierte Therapiezweig als wirksam [9], sofern er nach genauer Indikationsstellung individualisiert und in geeigneter Kombination angewendet wird. Ohne den Wirkmechanismus an dieser Stelle genauer beleuchten zu wollen, werden zudem regelmäßige nasale Anwendungen von pflanzlichen Substanzen in einem fettbasierten Medium verabreicht.…”