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Yoga versus Aerobic Exercise: An Alternative Intervention for Neuropathic Pain Among African Americans with Diabetes
Author(s) -
Swift Janae,
Bradley William Christopher,
Hubbert Douglas,
Edmondson Deborah Ann
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2020.34.s1.05221
Subject(s) - medicine , neuropathic pain , diabetes mellitus , overweight , population , aerobic exercise , quality of life (healthcare) , intervention (counseling) , physical therapy , disease , alternative medicine , obesity , psychiatry , pharmacology , nursing , environmental health , pathology , endocrinology
In today’s world, the prevalence of African Americans (AA) with diabetes continues to grow as it is becoming an epidemic. As of 2012, AA adults are two times more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes. Diabetes is most closely associated with being overweight/obese and around 50%–75% of AA that are older than 20 years of age fall into this category. With this disease comes many challenges not only mentally but physically that can decrease the quality of life in individuals that live with this condition. Often times pharmacological management of diabetes is introduced to patients as a means of controlling symptoms, such as neuropathic pain, without discussion of alternative methods. Commonly, side effects of these medicines introduce new problems that are then managed with more medications; this contributes to the rising opioid crisis in the United States. Therefore, alternative methods such as yoga should be employed. Current evidence suggests yoga has many beneficial effects to individuals with diabetes including decreased neuropathic pain. Although this evidence exists for the majority of the population in the United States, few studies have been conducted on AAs using yoga as a means to decrease neuropathic pain. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review regarding neuropathic pain in the AA population and how yoga may be a better alternative to treating this pain versus aerobic exercise only. Using a variety of databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, and EBSCO Host, studies were reviewed and ranked according to the Oxford Center for Evidence‐Based Medicine. Distal symmetric polyneuropathy (DSPN) is a common neuropathy among individuals with diabetes and this neuropathy can cause pain in the upper and lower distal extremities due to damage of small and large myelinated nerve fibers. While aerobic exercise is commonly used and has shown positive results in helping decrease neuropathic pain as well as promote regrowth of nerve fibers, research shows that yoga can be used as an alternative method for reducing blood glucose levels as well as improvements in nerve conduction velocities leading to a reduction in neuropathic pain. In conclusion, our research provided evidence as to why AA populations should be encouraged to participate in yoga as an effective means of providing relief of neuropathic pain.