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

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.