mind-body interventions

Note: I caught this term while listening to a podcast about health this morning. Here is my short google search summary  

Mind-body interventions (MBI) are activities that purposefully affect mental and physical fitness. The list of activities consist of among others: yoga, tai chi, Pilates, guided imagery, guided meditation and forms of meditative praxis, hypnosis, hypnotherapy, and prayer, as well as art therapy, music therapy, and dance therapy. 

The concept that the mind is important in the treatment of illness is integral to the healing approaches of traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine, dating back more than 2,000 years. While this integrated approach was maintained in traditional healing systems in the East, developments in the Western world by the 16th and 17th centuries led to a separation of human spiritual or emotional dimensions from the physical body. This separation began with the redirection of science, during the Renaissance and Enlightenment eras, to the purpose of enhancing humankind's control over nature. 

Technological advances (e.g., microscopy, the stethoscope, the blood pressure cuff, and refined surgical techniques) demonstrated a cellular world that seemed far apart from the world of belief and emotion. The discovery of bacteria and, later, antibiotics further dispelled the notion of belief influencing health. Fixing or curing an illness became a matter of science (i.e., technology) and took precedence over, not a place beside, healing of the soul. As medicine separated the mind and the body, scientists of the mind (neurologists) formulated concepts, such as the unconscious, emotional impulses, and cognitive delusions, that solidified the perception that diseases of the mind were not "real," that is, not based in physiology and biochemistry.

During World War II, the importance of belief reentered the web of health care. On the beaches of Anzio, morphine for the wounded soldiers was in short supply, and Henry Beecher, M.D., discovered that much of the pain could be controlled by saline injections. He coined the term "placebo effect," and his subsequent research showed that up to 35 percent of a therapeutic response to any medical treatment could be the result of belief.4 Investigation into the placebo effect and debate about it are ongoing.

Most studies of MBI and related techniques are small and have low scientific validity. Some of the individual studies do show positive results, but this may be due to chance or placebo effects and the significance may diminish when groups are randomized. 

However, there are documented benefits of several mind-body interventions derived from scientific research: treatment a range of conditions including headaches, coronary artery disease and chronic pain; ameliorating disease and the symptoms of chemotherapy-induced nausea, vomiting, and localized physical pain in patients with cancer and the enhancement of immune function outcomes, including defense against and recovery from infection and disease.

Meditation, one of the MBI techniques could help to get the body and mind to relax, and to reduce the levels of stress hormones in the body, so that your immune system is better able to fight off illness. One type of mediation that could be used is the mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) which involves present moment awareness and interception. Typical practice of MBSR consists of sitting meditation, a sensing practice called body scan to reestablish the connection of mind to body and breath, and walking meditation to apply these practices in moving form. Clinical trials show that MBSR helps to manage many physical and mental symptoms in women with hot flashes and patients with AIDS. In patients with cancer, MBSR reduces distress and improves cancer-related mental impairment, mood, sleep, and well-being. 

Mind-body approaches have potential benefits and advantages. In particular, the physical and emotional risks of using these interventions are minimal. Moreover, once tested and standardized, most mind-body interventions can be taught easily. Finally, future research focusing on basic mind-body mechanisms and individual differences in responses is likely to yield new insights that may enhance the effectiveness and individual tailoring of mind-body interventions. In the meantime, there is considerable evidence that mind-body interventions, even as they are being studied today, have positive effects on psychological functioning and quality of life, and may be particularly helpful for patients coping with chronic illness and in need of palliative care.