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Yoga and Placebo Effect - An Overview

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The placebo effect is a treatment with no therapeutic value, whereas yoga helps heal the mind and body. Read the article below.

Written by

Dr. Dheeksha. R

Medically reviewed by

Shakti Mishra

Published At April 21, 2023
Reviewed AtApril 21, 2023

Introduction

The placebo effect is a phenomenon where the person experiences benefit after intake of an inactive substance or treatment. This substance has no medical effect and can be a pill, injection, or liquid. Yoga, in contrast, is a physical activity that has healing effects on the mind and body. Therefore, yoga has a great therapeutic effect.

What Is a Placebo?

A placebo is a substance, pill, or other treatment which appears to be a medical intervention but is not. Placebos are usually given to the control groups during clinical trials. Placebo will not significantly affect the condition as it is not an active treatment. However, it helps to compare the placebo effect with the actual drug and helps people determine the new drug's effectiveness. The placebo effect is when a person experiences an improvement despite administering a placebo against the active drug.

What Are the Psychological Effects of Placebo Effects?

  • Classical Conditioning:

Classical conditioning is a way of learning when the person associates a thing with a specific response. Sometimes, a placebo can be combined with the treatment until the desired effect is evoked.

For example, when a person is given medication for a headache, the person associates pain relief with the medicine. However, when the same person is given a placebo similar to the medication, they feel relieved from the pain even though it is not the actual drug; they are conditioned to do so.

  • Hormonal Response:

One possible explanation of the placebo effect is that it triggers the production of endorphins. These endorphins are similar to morphine and other opiate painkillers in structure and behave as the brain’s natural painkiller. In addition, studies have shown that many opiate receptors are activated in both placebo and treatment groups.

  • Expectation:

In a person’s expectations, a placebo plays a major role. If a person expects something beforehand, it can influence the perception of it. For example, if a person expects a pill to relieve pain, it may be relieved after taking it.

Few cues contribute to a person’s expectations of whether the medicine will have an effect or not; these are:

1. Verbal:

Listening to a doctor or nurse tell the person that the pill or treatment will positively affect the condition.

2. Actions:

A person may feel better when they do something actively to improve the condition, such as taking a pill or getting an injection.

3. Social:

The tone in the voice, body language, and eye contact of the doctor can be reassuring, making the person feel more positive about the treatment or medication.

4. Genetic:

Genes also affect how people respond to a placebo treatment or medication. Some people are prone to respond to a placebo genetically. For example, some studies have shown that higher levels of brain chemicals called dopamine are more effective against a placebo than with less dopamine.

What Are the Benefits of a Placebo?

The main reason for using a placebo while evaluating a new drug is that it removes or weakens the effect that expectation can have on the outcome. If researchers expect a certain result from a drug during clinical trials, they may unknowingly give clues to the participants on how to behave. This affects the result of the study. To avoid this, a double-blind study is conducted. In this study, both the researcher nor the participants will not know who is getting the placebo medicine or treatment. By reducing the risk of biases influencing the study, researchers can look better into the effects of drugs and the placebo.

What Is Yoga?

Yoga is an ancient practice that includes breathing techniques and meditation focusing on healing the body, mind, and spirit. For many, yoga is a retreat from their daily chaotic and busy life. Yoga is a low-intensity physical activity that has numerous benefits. In contrast to the placebo effect, yoga has a therapeutic value, but a common effect of yoga and a placebo effect is that both connect the body and mind.

What Are the Types of Yoga?

There are various forms of yoga. Some forms, like power yoga, are high-intensity yoga practices that involve cardio and help to reduce weight. In contrast, other forms of yoga are low-intensity activities that help to relax the body and mind. The most common type of yoga is hatha yoga which includes many styles which are more physical than a still, meditative form. Instead, they concentrate on breathing techniques followed by some asanas, which end with savasana, the therapeutic form of yoga.

What Are the Benefits of Yoga?

The benefits of regular yoga practice are

  • Stress Reduction:

Yoga helps reduce stress and anxiety by enhancing mood and overall well-being. It also helps to deal with the symptoms of depression and anxiety caused due to various difficult situations.

  • Improve Fitness:

Regular yoga helps improve balance, flexibility, strength, and range of motion.

  • Management of Chronic Conditions:

Yoga can help with many chronic conditions such as heart disease, arthritis, blood pressure, asthma, lower back pain, neck pain, headache, cancer, etc. Yoga also helps to reduce chronic pain caused by various medical conditions. It also helps to reduce the side effects of the treatment in case of certain conditions like cancer treatment.

What Are the Precautions to Be Followed During Yoga?

Usually, consultation with the doctor is recommended before starting any physical activity if

  1. A person with a herniated disc.

  2. Higher risk of blood clots.

  3. Certain eye conditions like glaucoma.

  4. Pregnant women.

  5. The problem is balancing.

  6. Osteoporosis.

  7. High blood pressure.

A person can practice yoga even with the above conditions by avoiding certain postures and by modifying certain yoga postures. Therefore, a person should be benefited and should not experience any harm by practicing yoga.

Conclusion

Yoga is a physical activity that heals the body and mind, whereas the placebo effect causes an illusion of a healing state governed by the person's expectation. In the case of yoga, physical postures, meditation, and breathing techniques are used for healing purposes. In the case of the placebo effect, a placebo is given, which resembles the original drug, to the participants during drug trials to know the effectiveness of the original drug. The placebo effect does not have any therapeutic effect on the person.

Frequently Asked Questions

1.

What Effects Does the Placebo Effect Have on an Individual’s Well-Being and Health?

- Self-limiting Disorders: A lot of illnesses, including the common cold, have a self-limiting course. With or without placebos or drugs, they will resolve on their own, and the cessation of symptoms is only coincidental.


- Remission: In certain conditions, like lupus and multiple sclerosis, symptoms may appear and go. A remission, or period of time during which the symptoms disappear, may occur by coincidence and not be related to the placebos at all.


- A Shift in Behavior: the placebo can inspire someone to prioritize self-care. Their symptoms may be lessened by rest, regular exercise, or a better diet.


- Modified Perception: When someone expects to feel better, they may perceive their symptoms differently. For instance, they can mistake a sudden, intense pain for an uncomfortable tingle.


- Decreased Anxiety: Hoping for better results by taking the placebo may be calming and lower the body's production of stress chemicals like adrenaline.


- Brain Chemicals: endorphins, which are the body's natural painkillers, may be released in response to a placebo.


- Modified Brain State: According to research, the brain reacts to imagined scenes very similarly to how it reacts to real, visual scenes. A placebo may alter the body by causing the brain to recall a period of time prior to the onset of symptoms.

2.

Can the Patient Apply the Theory of Placebo on Themselves?

It is not possible to "give yourself" a placebo and expect the same outcomes. It is not always the case that placebos are effective. For example, they do not appear to hasten the healing of wounds. Placebos can alleviate pain and nausea associated with cancer, but I would not rely on them to reduce tumor size.

3.

Could the Influence of a Placebo Save Life?

The placebo effect is more than just optimistic thinking; it is the conviction that a technique or therapy will be effective. A placebo is not a true cure, even though, in some circumstances, hoping for a recovery could be the finest medicine.

4.

To What Extent Does the Placebo Effect Work?

Approximately one-third of patients receiving placebos for various health issues, such as headaches, seasickness, and discomfort, will report a reduction in symptoms.

5.

How May the Placebo Effect Be Avoided?

By lowering susceptibility to these outside cues, teaching participants to focus within, while creating their symptom scores seems to lower placebo responses.

6.

What Is a Case Study of the Placebo Effect in Practice?

By making participants less susceptible to these outside cues, teaching them to focus within when creating their symptom scores seems to lower placebo responses.

7.

Which Personality Traits Are Involved in the Placebo Effect?

The most often studied personality qualities were optimism and the Big Five (neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness). Numerous researches discovered a favorable correlation between optimism and the placebo effect.

8.

Is It Possible for the Placebo Effect to Cause Actual Bodily Changes?

Examples of Placebo Effects in Real Life: Even without the use of painkillers, a mother's kiss can help a youngster feel better. For a youngster, the belief in a mother's healing kiss is sufficient to ease their suffering.

9.

Do Some Persons Have a Higher Sensitivity to the Placebo Effect?

It has been discovered that expectations, or what we think we will experience, are a major factor in the placebo effect. A placebo effect may be more likely to occur in highly driven individuals who have high expectations for the treatment's effectiveness.

10.

Am I Safe While Taking a Placebo?

Patients can use birth control efficiently and protect themselves from pregnancy by being aware of how placebo pills operate. We advise using condoms for additional contraceptive benefits and to avoid STIs (sexually transmitted disease), even if using a placebo will not put the patient at risk of conception.

11.

Is the Placebo Effect Harmful?

Unwanted side effects are a potential consequence of placebos. Negative placebo effects, generally referred to as nocebo effects, have been documented to include nausea, somnolence, and allergic reactions, including skin rashes.

12.

When Is the Right Time to Take a Placebo?

In clinical trials, placebos are frequently employed to assist in determining the true impact of a new medication, including any potential negative effects in addition to its beneficial effects.

13.

How Often Is a Placebo Recommended?

Plagues have been used clinically by medical professionals worldwide because of their ability to treat a variety of ailments. 48 % of physicians had prescribed placebos at least ten times in the previous year, according to some research. These placebos were typically vitamins to help with weariness and antibiotics to treat viral infections.

14.

Do Placebos Cause Menstruation to Stop?

Because the body sheds the uterine lining in response to the hormone drop, those using placebo pills typically experience their menstrual cycle at this time.

Shakti Mishra
Shakti Mishra

Nutritionist

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