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| CASE REPORT |
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| Year : 2021 | Volume
: 9
| Issue : 2 | Page : 128-130 |
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Effect of yoga and naturopathy in a patient with uterine fibroid
Y Deepa1, Mooventhan Aruchunan2, T Akshaya Mini2, A Akila3
1 Department of Manipulative Therapy, Government Yoga and Naturopathy Medical College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
2 Department of Research, Government Yoga and Naturopathy Medical College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
3 Department of Acupuncture and Energy Medicine, Government Yoga and Naturopathy Medical College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
| Date of Submission | 16-Oct-2021 |
| Date of Decision | 18-Dec-2021 |
| Date of Acceptance | 22-Dec-2021 |
| Date of Web Publication | 15-Mar-2022 |
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Mooventhan Aruchunan
Department of Research, Government Yoga and Naturopathy Medical College, Arumbakkam, Chennai - 600 106, Tamil Nadu
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/jihs.jihs_28_21
Uterine fibroids (UFs) are common in women during their reproductive age. A 40-year-old married woman was diagnosed with UF and underwent conventional treatment in March 2019. Her symptoms began with dysmenorrhea associated with bloating of the abdomen. Initially, she visited a private hospital, underwent ultrasonogram (USG) of the pelvis in a private diagnostic center, and the report suggests the presence of bulky uterus with fibroid and features of adenomyosis. Her physician advised to undergo a surgery, but she refused and thus visited our hospital. The patient underwent yoga and naturopathy intervention for the period of 11 days. The results of the study showed a reduction in the UF size from 27 mm × 22 mm to 22 mm × 18 mm in the 11 days of yoga and naturopathy intervention. Although the results are encouraging, it may vary because of a single case study. Hence, further well-planned clinical studies are suggested with a large sample size to validate our results.
Keywords: Naturopathy, uterine fibroid, yoga
How to cite this article:
Deepa Y, Aruchunan M, Mini T A, Akila A. Effect of yoga and naturopathy in a patient with uterine fibroid. J Integr Health Sci 2021;9:128-30 |
How to cite this URL:
Deepa Y, Aruchunan M, Mini T A, Akila A. Effect of yoga and naturopathy in a patient with uterine fibroid. J Integr Health Sci [serial online] 2021 [cited 2023 Mar 29];9:128-30. Available from: https://www.jihs.in/text.asp?2021/9/2/128/339655 |
| Introduction | |  |
Uterine fibroids (UFs) are benign tumors that arise from a single genetically altered myometrial stem cell under the influence of gonadal hormones.[1] It is common in women during their reproductive age[2] and characterized with abnormal uterine bleeding and pelvic fullness, may have deleterious effect on patient future fertility,[1] and have a negative impact on women's life.[2] The prevalence of this condition is 18% in black women, 8% in white women, 10% in Hispanic women, and 13% in the “others” group, consisting largely of Asian women.[3] Yoga and naturopathy is a drugless system of medicine that treats the patient as a whole by adopting healthy lifestyle modifications.[4],[5],[6] It consists of yoga, hydrotherapy, diet therapy, massage therapy, mud therapy, fasting therapy, chromotherapy, etc.[5] Although it is widely used in the management of various noncommunicable diseases including women health,[4],[6] there is a lack of scientific evidence reporting the effect of yoga and naturopathy treatments in patients with UF. Hence, the present case study was conducted aiming at to find the effect of yoga and naturopathy treatments in a patient with UF.
| Case Report | | |
A 40-year-old married woman was diagnosed with UF and underwent conventional treatment in March 2019. Her symptoms began with dysmenorrhea associated with bloating of the abdomen. Her pain starts 2 days prior and persists even 2 days later to her menstruation. Initially, she visited a private hospital for the same complaint and was on conventional medication for pain (name of the medicine was not known by the patient). She underwent ultrasonogram (USG) of the pelvis in a private diagnostic center and the report suggests the presence of bulky uterus with fibroid and features of adenomyosis. Her physician advised to undergo a surgery, but she refused. In March 2019, she visited our outpatient department with the above-mentioned complaint along with pain over the left knee and irregular bowel movement for 2 months. She was advised to get admitted to our hospital's inpatients department to undergo yoga- and naturopathy-based lifestyle intervention. Written informed consent was obtained from the participant.
Intervention
The patient underwent yoga and naturopathy intervention daily for a period of 11 days. Yoga practice was provided for 45 min to 60 min a day daily for 11 days. The details of the yoga and naturopathy intervention provided to the subject are given in [Table 1].
Assessments
The patient underwent USG of the abdomen and pelvis before and after the intervention.
Follow-up
The patient was followed up through mobile for a period 6 weeks and was advised to follow yoga, diet, and other treatments at home for a period of 6 weeks. The patient did not report any adverse effects of serious health-related problems during the follow-up.
| Results and Discussion | | |
The results of the study showed a reduction in the UF size from 27 mm × 22 mm to 22 mm × 18 mm in the 11 days of yoga and naturopathy intervention [Table 2]. It suggests that yoga and naturopathy treatments such as yoga, diet therapy, hydrotherapy, mud therapy, acupuncture, massage, and electrotherapy might be effective in reducing UF size.
Previous studies suggest that yoga is safe and effective in reducing stress[7] and in improving oxidative stress.[6] Acupuncture reduces pain and inflammation in the body through the release of endogenous opioids and serotonin.[8] Hydrotherapy and massage help in reducing pain, inflammation, stress, anxiety, and depression and in improving hemoglobin levels, quality of sleep, and quality of life.[7] Mud application is shown to produce anti-inflammatory effect.[6] Fruit consumption helps to modify microbial composition that helps to protect against inflammation.[4] Foods rich in fruits and vegetables are known to have antioxidant properties and thus help in reducing oxidative stress level.[6] The improvements in oxidative stress and reduction in inflammation might pave the way for better healing and progress in overall health. Thus, combinations of these therapies might have produced a reduction in the size of the UF.
The strengths of the study
This is the first-ever study that reported the effect of yoga and naturopathy in a patient with UF. No adverse effects were reported by the subject. It is feasible, safe for the patient, and the patient felt comfortable with the treatments.
Limitations of the study
The intervention was provided for short duration, psychological variables and pain assessments could be done; the results may vary because of a single case study. Hence, further well-planned clinical studies are suggested with a large sample size to validate our results.
| Conclusion | | |
The results suggest that yoga and naturopathy might be useful in patients with UF. However, further clinical studies are recommended to validate the results of this study.
Declaration of patient consent
The authors certify that they have obtained all appropriate patient consent forms. In the form, the patient(s) has/have given his/her/their consent for his/her/their images and other clinical information to be reported in the journal. The patients understand that their names and initials will not be published and due efforts will be made to conceal their identity, but anonymity cannot be guaranteed.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
| References | | |
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| 3. | Sparic R, Mirkovic L, Malvasi A, Tinelli A. Epidemiology of uterine myomas: A review. Int J Fertil Steril 2016;9:424-35. |
| 4. | Ratnakumari ME, Manavalan N, Sathyanath D, Ayda YR, Reka K. Study to evaluate the changes in polycystic ovarian morphology after naturopathic and yogic interventions. Int J Yoga 2018;11:139-47. [ PUBMED] [Full text] |
| 5. | Rastogi R. Current approaches of research in naturopathy: How far is its evidence base? J Homeopath Ayurv Med 2012;1:107. |
| 6. | Fathima-Jebin M, Venkateswaran ST, Manavalan N, Mooventhan A. Role of yoga and naturopathy in a patient with left ovarian malignancy and nonalcoholic fatty liver with ascites. Int J Health Allied Sci 2018;7:110-3. [Full text] |
| 7. | Deepa Y, Mooventhan A, Lilly N, Manavalan N. Effect of yoga and naturopathy on disease activity and symptom burdens in a patient with active ulcerative colitis: A case report. J Complement Integr Med 2021;18:869-72. |
| 8. | Amezaga Urruela M, Suarez-Almazor ME. Acupuncture in the treatment of rheumatic diseases. Curr Rheumatol Rep 2012;14:589-97. |
[Table 1], [Table 2]
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