Treatment of fibromyalgia at the Maharishi Ayurveda Health Centre in Norway. A six-month follow-up study.


Author: Rasmussen LB, Mikkelsen K, Haugen M, Pripp AH,  Førre ØT.

Affiliation: Maharishi Ayurveda Health Centre, Mesnali, Lillehammer, Norway. lars.rasmussen@ayurveda.no
Conference/Journal: Clin Exp Rheumatol.
Date published: 2009 Sep-Oct
Other:
 Volume ID: 27 (5 Suppl 56)   ,  Pages: S46-50   ,  Word Count: 309  
    Abstract: BACKGROUND: Treatments offered at the Maharishi Ayurveda Health Centre in Norway are 

based on Maharishi Vedic medicine, which is also known as Maharishi Ayurveda. It is a consciousness based revival 

of the ancient Ayurvedic medicine tradition in India and is established by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of the 

Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique. OBJECTIVE: To conduct a pilot study of the effect of the treatment pro- 

gram at the Health Centre on fibromyalgia patients. METHODS: Thirty-one women with diagnosed fibromyalgia re- 

ceived an individually designed Maharishi Vedic physiological purification therapy. All subjects received personal 

advice on diet based on Ayurvedic principles, including a novel approach to food into-lerance, and daily routines. In 

addition they were offered instruction in TM (for stress and pain management and personal development) (four sub- 

jects started), and recommended Ayurvedic herbal food products for home treatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEAS- 

URES: A modified Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire included a visual analogue scale for each of the seven out- 

comes: working ability, generalised pain, tiredness, stiffness, tiredness on arising, anxiety and depression. Pre- 

treatment scores were compared with scores at six-month follow-up for levels of statistical significance. RESULTS: 

Twenty-eight subjects (90%) completed the follow-up. The outcome measures were reduced by 25 to 46% by the 

study\'s endpoint: working ability (p<0.002), pain (p<0.001), tiredness (p<0.001), morning tiredness (p<0.001), stiff- 

ness (p<0.005), anxiety (p<0.136), and depression (p<0.001). A group of five excellent responders including all four 

participants who started to practise TM, had almost no symptoms by the endpoint. Compared to the non-meditating 

control group the TM-subgroup showed statistically significant improvements for all outcome measures except depres- 

sion. CONCLUSIONS: In this pilot study fibromyalgia patients undergoing treatment at Maharishi Ayurveda Health 

Centre in Norway showed significant improvements six months post treatment. Because fibromyalgia is considered a 

treatment-resistant condition, these encouraging results warrant further research.