Kundalini Yoga for Post-Treatment Lyme Disease: A Preliminary Randomized Study

Area of Science:

• Integrative Medicine
• Neurology
• Rheumatology

Background:

• Post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS) presents complex, multisystemic symptoms.
• Limited evidence exists for effective interventions targeting PTLDS symptom burden and cognitive dysfunction.
• Kundalini yoga (KY) is an emerging complementary therapy with potential mind-body benefits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the adherence and potential benefits of Kundalini yoga (KY) for individuals with post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS).
• To assess the impact of KY on primary outcomes (pain, fatigue, global health) and secondary outcomes (multisystem burden, cognition, mood, sleep, functioning).

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial comparing an 8-week small-group Kundalini yoga intervention against a waitlist control (WLC).
• Adherence measured by session attendance; outcomes assessed using linear mixed models.
• Primary outcomes: pain, pain interference, fatigue, global health. Secondary outcomes: multisystem symptom burden, mood, sleep, physical/social functioning, cognition, mindfulness.

Main Results:

• High adherence (75% attendance) observed in the KY group; poor retention in the WLC group (57%).
• No significant changes in primary outcomes (pain, fatigue) between groups.
• Significant improvements in multisystem symptom burden (p < 0.05) and cognition (p < 0.01) for KY participants compared to WLC.

Conclusions:

• Kundalini yoga shows preliminary promise for improving multisystem symptom burden and cognition in PTLDS patients.
• Recruitment and retention strategies need enhancement for future PTLDS trials.
• Larger studies are warranted to confirm the efficacy of KY for PTLDS management.