Supporting Renal Function and Electrolyte Balance in Chronic Kidney Disease through Yoga and Naturopathy Lifestyle: A Single-Group Pre-Post Study.

BACKGROUND

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is defined as an abnormality in kidney structure or function, persisting for more than three months. It is a multifaceted condition causing renal dysfunction and progression to end-stage kidney disease. Complementary and alternative medicine, including yoga and naturopathy, has demonstrated effectiveness in treating and preventing several conditions linked to CKD.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to investigate the impact of yoga and naturopathy on renal function and serum electrolytes in CKD patients.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

50 patients diagnosed with CKD underwent yoga and naturopathy-based lifestyle modification for 30 days. Renal function (including urea, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), uric acid, glomerular filtration rate (GFR)) and serum electrolytes (including calcium, potassium, sodium, phosphorus, chloride, and bicarbonate) were assessed before and after the intervention.

RESULTS

Results of the study showed a significant reduction in urea, creatinine, BUN, potassium, phosphorus (P < .001 for all variables), sodium (P < .005) and chloride (P < .05), and an increase in GFR and calcium (P < .001), with no significant changes in uric acid (P = .268), and bicarbonate (P = .112) in the post-test assessments compared to pre-test assessments.

CONCLUSION

Yoga and naturopathy-based lifestyle modification help to improve the renal function of CKD patients. However, the small sample size and lack of a control group limit the scope of this study. Hence, further randomized controlled trials with a larger sample size are recommended to validate the results of the study.

KEYWORDS: alternative medicine, chronic kidney diseases, hydrotherapy, lifestyle medicine, naturopathy, nutrition, yoga.