Meditation and stretching can help relieve cramps caused by cirrhosis

People suffering from liver cirrhosis can find relief from their symptoms through two accessible activities: stretching and meditation.

A study by researchers at the University of Michigan compared the two therapies as a means of relieving nocturnal muscle cramps and found both to be effective.

The resulting article, “The Randomized Controlled RELAX Trial: Stretching Versus Meditation for Nocturnal Muscle Cramps,” appears in Deliver Internationally.

Two out of three people with cirrhosis experience muscle cramps at night that wake them from sleep. Because these cramps disrupt rest, they worsen other symptoms.

Previous research by doctors in Michigan found that muscle cramps have the greatest impact on quality of life compared to other symptoms associated with cirrhosis, making them a priority to treat.

“We wanted to test two different treatments for cramps: the first was meditation and the second was physical stretching exercises to prevent cramps,” said Elliot Tapper, director of the University of Michigan Cirrhosis Program and lead author of the paper.

“Ultimately, we found that both interventions significantly reduced the severity of cramps and improved quality of life, which was somewhat unexpected.”

The unexpected result was the effect of meditation.

The researchers had selected meditation as an active placebo after previous research on mindfulness techniques for caregivers of people with cirrhosis.

In this study, both participants in the meditation group and participants in the stretching group reported less cramps and better sleep.

“The hope was that if we could see positive effects for patients, we could use meditation in other studies of generalized chronic pain,” Tapper said. “I just didn’t expect it to have anything to do with the severity of cramps. I thought it might improve quality of life, but not reduce cramps.”

There is limited research into therapies to relieve these cramps, despite their common occurrence in patients with cirrhosis and chronic liver disease.

An earlier study led by Tapper found that drinking pickle juice can help stop crampsalthough it did not improve overall quality of life.

Although a higher percentage of patients who stretched (79.5%) indicated that they would recommend their intervention than patients who meditated (55.3%), the results suggest that meditation is more likely to improve overall health-related quality of life.

Tapper emphasizes that meditation can improve quality of life and is also more accessible, making it an interesting option that deserves further investigation.

“These results really show that these mind-body methods, when put into practice, can train people to overcome really debilitating physical symptoms,” Tapper said.