People suffering from cirrhosis may find some symptom relief from two accessible activities: stretching and meditation. A study from the University of Michigan compared the two therapies as a means to relieve nocturnal muscle cramps and found both effective. The resulting paper, "The RELAX randomized controlled trial: Stretching versus meditation for nocturnal muscle cramps," appeared in Liver International.
The study Two out of every three people with cirrhosis experience muscle cramps at night that wake them from sleep. Since these cramps interrupt rest, they exacerbate other symptoms. In previous research, Michigan doctors determined that muscle cramps have the highest impact on quality of life, relative to other cirrhosis-related symptoms, making their treatment a priority.
We wanted to test two different treatments for cramps: One was coping with meditation and the other was physically stretching to prevent the occurrence of the cramp. What we ended up finding was that both interventions significantly reduced cramps severity and improved quality of life, which was somewhat unexpected." Elliot Tapper M.
D., director of the University of Michigan's Cirrhosis Program, and lead author on the paper Related Stories Review highlights the interplay of TGF-β and HIPPO pathways in liver regeneration and disease Transcendental Meditation empowers female youth in Uganda with improved self-esteem and resilience Stroop-CN: A rapid diagnostic tool for minimal hepatic encephalopathy The.