Yoga may be beneficial in prostate cancer
Yoga may benefit men having prostate cancer. To this effect, study leader Dr. Neha Vapiwala, of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, and colleagues recently presented their findings at the Society of Integrative Oncology’s 12th International Conference in Boston, MA.
The team enrolled 68 prostate cancer patients to their study who were undergoing 6-9 weeks of outpatient radiation therapy. Of these, 45 agreed to take part in 75 minutes of Eischens yoga twice weekly during their treatment.
What is Eischens (pronounced ‘eye shins’) yoga – Roger Eischens was an Iyengar teacher with extensive knowledge on human anatomy, physiology and kinesiology. By merging his scientific knowledge with his in-depth Iyengar training, he founded High Energy Yoga, which was renamed Eischens yoga after his death 2004. Eischens yoga addresses imbalances and weakness resulting from injuries or habits by improving alignments and muscle stimulation or relaxation.
‘Eischens yoga incorporates ideas from movement theory and kinesiology and is accessible to all body types and experience levels,’ says the study investigator Tali Mazar Ben-Josef, a certified Eischens yoga instructor and researcher at Penn’s Abramson Cancer Center.
From a series of questionnaires the remaining men completed, the researchers found that throughout the course of radiation therapy and yoga sessions, their quality of life was maintained. Fatigue severity also improved, while prevalence of erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence remained steady.
On these findings, Dr. Vapiwala commented, ‘Data have consistently shown declines in these important measures among prostate cancer patients undergoing cancer therapy without any structured fitness interventions, so the stable scores seen with our yoga program are really good news.’
The researchers note that physiologic data has shown yoga can reduce treatment-related fatigue for cancer patients, and previous studies have suggested yoga may strengthen pelvic floor muscles and increase blood flow, which may explain why the practice appeared to alleviate erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence in this latest research.
‘There may also be a psychosocial benefit that derives from participation in a group fitness activity that incorporates meditation and promotes overall healthiness. And all of this ultimately improves general quality of life,’ adds Dr. Vapiwala.
The team says their findings indicate that yoga is a feasible approach to maintaining quality of life for men being treated for prostate cancer, noting that the participation rate in their study challenges the popular notion that men do not want to engage in the practice.
‘Our participation-rate finding alone is important because it is a caution against making assumptions about patients without proper evidence,’ says Dr. Vapiwala.
In this research, it is sad that 18 of the 68 participants withdrew from the yoga sessions early due to unavoidable clashes between yoga classes and radiation therapy.
The team now plans to conduct a randomized control trial of men with prostate cancer, which will involve comparing the effects of yoga against non-participation. Until then, it may be worthwhile to try this.
