Impact of eurythmy therapy on stress coping strategies and health-related quality of life

Background

Eurythmy therapy (EYT, Greek: eurythmy=harmonious rhythm) is a mind–body therapy derived from anthroposophic medicine. EYT is an approach that allows patients to participate actively in the process of achieving balance and good health and can lead to long-term alleviation of chronic disease symptoms. However, there is a discrepancy between the prevalence of EYT use and its empirical data base regarding efficacy.

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of EYT on stress coping strategies (SCS) and health-related quality of life (hrQoL) in a controlled study with moderately stressed subjects (N=74).

Participants/method

In total 55 healthy adults (age=42.2±8.2) performed 10h of EYT over 6 weeks in a group setting. Controls did not receive any intervention (n=19; age=43.6±13.7). SCS (AVEM) and hrQoL (SF-36) were assessed by questionnaire before and after the 6-week EYT intervention.

The AVEM allows variable-oriented evaluation, as well as the classification of persons into four patterns of coping strategies (G, S, A, B). The distinction between these patterns makes it possible to identify problematic tendencies of professional engagement. Hypotheses were tested by multivariate analysis of variance and t-test.

Results

In two of the eight functional scales of the SF-36 (“physical health”, “mental health”) a significant group×time interaction was found (multivariate F (1/74)=7.22; p<.01). A significant impact on SCS was shown in seven AVEM scales (group×time interaction: multivariate F (1/74)=4.60; p<.05). Regarding mean differences over time, significant and clinically relevant changes from baseline to follow-up of at least 5 scale points were found for “bodily pain”, “general health”, “vitality” and “mental health”, and of at least 10 scale points for “emotional role” and “social functioning” (p<0.01 in all cases). With regard to the changes in pattern affiliation, 15 out of 55 persons (experimental group) showed a positive change towards healthier and better coping patterns (AVEM).Conclusion: Significant effects concerning perceived hrQoL and SCS were found in the experimental group compared to control over time. All effects were found independently of the sociodemographic and anthroposophic background of the test subjects. Further randomised studies need to be performed to allow a causal interpretation of the positive impact of the EYT.

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