Amit Kashyap, MSc; Sakshi Chopra, MSc; Piyush Ranjan, MD; Siddharth Sarkar, MD; Anna Poorna, PhD; Upendra Baitha, MD
ABSTRACT
Medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS) is a common, yet neglected disease with a prevalence of around 25% in primary care setting. These patients present with multiple physical and psychological symptoms, without an underlying diagnosis, hampering their functional and mental wellbeing. The management of these undiagnosed symptoms through conventional treatment has not been encouraging. Patients shuttle between different specialities, seeking a diagnosis for their symptoms, making them dissatisfied and increasing healthcare burden. Yoga, as an adjunct therapy has shown to be effective in the management of MUPS related disorders such as somatoform disorder, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and depression and anxiety. Thus, we suggest an integrated yoga module which might help in improving both physical and psychological variable in MUPS patients and improving their overall quality of life. Furthermore, the gap in the literature on the efficacy of yoga in improving MUPS, can be addressed by planning a randomised controlled trial based on the suggested yoga module. (Adv Mind Body Med. 2020;34(1):17-21).
Amit Kashyap, MSc, Junior Research Fellow, Centre for Integrative Medicine and Research, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. Sakshi Chopra, MSc, PhD Scholar, Department of Home Science, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India. Piyush Ranjan, MD, Additional Professor, Department of Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. Siddharth Sarkar, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and NDDTC, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. Anna Poorna, PhD, In-charge and Head of Department, Division of Yoga, Centre for Integrative Medicine and Research, Manipal University, Manipal, Karnataka, India. Upendra Baitha, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
