Yoga is an ancient Indian way of living that entails a shift in mental attitude, a change in food, and the use of particular techniques, including yogic postures (asanas), breathing practices (pranayamas), and meditation to achieve the highest level of consciousness. According to the anatomical overview of postural yoga exercises, these movements are focused on stretching and strengthening muscles as well as improving blood flow. As a result of the action of slowly adapting receptors and hyperpolarizing currents, pranayama activities stretch the lung tissue, producing inhibitory signals. These inhibitory signals from the cardiorespiratory region, including vagi, are thought to coordinate neuronal components in the brain, resulting in alterations in the autonomic nervous system and a condition marked by decreased metabolism and parasympathetic dominance.
Pranayama affects numerous inflatory and deflatory lung responses, as well as the central nervous system, to restore physiological balance. In research, individuals with chronic kidney disease who were on hemodialysis who practiced 30 minutes of hath yoga daily for four months saw a significant reduction in oxidative stress and an increase in antioxidant activity. The higher sympathetic tone has been linked to the progression of CKD, the promotion of hypertension, and the damage of target organs, according to studies. Yoga has been shown to lower pulse rate, SBP, DBP, and metabolic rate by reducing sympathetic tone and improving parasympathetic tone.
Yoga in relation to control blood pressure, blood urea, and creatinine levels:
Ayurvedic kidney treatment by Yoga therapy and herbal medications plays a statistically significant impact in stabilizing both systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels of persons with kidney failure, according to earlier research. The current study also reveals the important effect of yoga in the management of renal impairment as measured by blood urea and serum creatinine levels. Over the course of six months, individuals who combined yoga practice with conventional treatment saw a significant reduction in blood urea and serum creatinine levels, whereas patients in the control group saw their levels rise. This is due to the fact that yoga has a major positive impact on renal function.
Complications Due to Kidney Disease:
Dysnatremia is a common complication in a patient with kidney failure and CKD . The normal renal function ensures that filtered salt and water tubular reabsorption is controlled such that urine excretion matches intake. This equilibrium is interrupted in CKD, where dietary sodium intake exceeds urinary sodium excretion, resulting in salt and water retention. This results in an increase in extracellular fluid volume, which contributes to hypertension, which can hasten nephron injury. Similarly, in CKD, the potassium secretory pathway in the distal nephron is disrupted, resulting in hyperkalemia. In this investigation, we discovered that after the study, the yoga group’s serum sodium and potassium levels were lower than the control group’s.
This impact could be attributed to enhanced renal function and excretion, which lowers blood pressure and prevents future nephron damage. An increase in renal sympathetic nerve activity, according to another theory, is a major cause of the impairment in renal excretory function in hypertension. Yoga lowers blood pressure via increasing sympathetic tone. As a result, the excretory mechanism improves, and the water and electrolyte balance is restored.
Effect of Yoga on Dialysis Patients:
Another randomized controlled study on hemodialysis patients found that a three months yoga intervention was safe and effective in managing pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbance, as well as significant improvements in the handgrip, creatinine, blood urea, alkaline phosphatase, and cholesterol, as well as significant improvements in erythrocyte and hematocrit count. The current study reveals that, in addition to increasing renal function, yoga therapy reduces the requirement for dialysis in patients over the course of six months. Yoga thereby reduces the patient’s financial load, which is especially beneficial in a nation like India, where the bulk of the population has a low socioeconomic status.
As a result of their long-term condition, many CKD patients have psychological symptoms such as despair, worry, discomfort, and mood swings. Previous research has suggested that yoga can improve those who have CKD, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, persistent low back pain, and depression.
With the exception of a few flaws, such as limited sample size and some patients’ incapacity to perform sophisticated yogic activities, the study proved productive in showing the beneficial role of yoga in battling the physical, social, and financial elements of CKD.
Conclusion:
In patients with kidney disease, a regular-based Ayurvedic kidney treatment by Yoga therapy and herbal medications is a safe and effective adjuvant therapy to standard treatment methods for lowering blood pressure, improving kidney function, reducing the need for dialysis. Because kidney disease promotes chronic disease, it is unclear if the findings of our short-term trial can be generalized to long-term advantages. To measure the benefits of yoga treatment and analyze its impact on the natural course of the disease, a large-scale, multi-centric trial with extended follow-up and a thorough methodology is required.
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