Can one meditate their GI symptoms away? In August 2015, Collective Evolution published an article which was titled “Harvard Study Reveals What Meditation Does to Gastrointestinal (Bowel) Disorders.” According to the article, in a study that was published in PLOS One, researchers found that the relaxation response, which is described as a “physical state of deep rest that changes the physical and emotional responses to stress,”(Benson, n.d.) decreases inflammation of suffers of irritable bowel disease (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Taking a look at the actual study, it does show that engaging in Relaxation Response-Mind Body Interventions (RR-MBI) does have a significant positive effect on decreasing pain and quality of life for the study participants.
While the article produces much excitement and potential about the use of RR-MBI in managing symptoms of chronic illnesses, the research design of the study is weak. The fact that it was not randomized means that the study could have a high amount of bias as a result. It was an uncontrolled study, so we cannot clearly see how much of a difference RR-MBI had in groups who received the intervention and groups who didn’t receive the intervention. Even the researchers admitted that because the study isn’t randomized, they cannot determine if the reported changes had to do with RR-MBI (Kuo et al., 2015). We can only compare across those who have IBS and those who have IBD. In addition, the number of participants was small(only 48), mostly white (95%) and female (67%) (Kuo et al., 2015). Because of this, it would be an overgeneralization to say that meditation will benefit all sufferers of IBS and IBD.
The article was erroneous in saying that it was an eight-week study; it was actually a nine-week study. Given the study was rather short, it can only be suggested that RR-MBI had a positive effect on decreasing pain and increasing quality of life. However, this was more the case for IBD patients than IBS patients during the follow-up period. Studies over a longer time period need to be done to see if there are any definitive long-term effects for both groups. That being said, this was the first study done of its kind and the results elicits the need for further studies.
While this was a short-term study with research design flaws, practitioners still can find this information useful for IBS or IBD patients who suffer from inflammation. Not all patients who suffer from IBS or IBD are keen on merely depending on medication to manage their symptoms. Practitioners could suggest RR-MBI techniques to those patients in helping mitigate their symptoms, but if they do so, it is recommended that they have the patient create a log in which they record their pain level, RR-MBI activities, and prescription use for pain management along with scheduling a follow up appointment to properly see if this intervention is actually effective.
SOURCES
Benson, H. (n.d.). RelaxationResponse.org. Retrieved from http://www.relaxationresponse.org.
Kuo B., Bhasin, M., Jacquart, J., Scult, M.A., Slipp, L, Riklin, E.I.K., Lepoutre, V.,…Denniger, J., (2015). Genomic and Clinical Effects Associated with a Relaxation Response Mind-Body Intervention in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Inflammatory Bowel Disease. PLOS ONE 10(4) 1-26.
Walia, A (5 August 2015). Harvard Study Reveals What Meditation Literally Does to Gastrointestinal (Bowel) Disorders. Collective Evolution. Retrieved from
http://www.collective-evolution.com/2015/08/05/harvard-study-reveals-what-meditation-literally-does-to-gastrointestinal-bowel-disorders/.