328. Daily meditation appears to calm anxiety as much an anxiety medication
Dr. David Geier is an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist in Charleston, South Carolina and Charlotte, North Carolina. He helps athletes and active people feel and perform their best, regardless of age, injuries and medical history. He has been featured in major media publications and shows over 2,500 times throughout his career.
It appears that a daily mindfulness and meditation practice might be as effective as a common medication for managing anxiety. In a new study published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, researchers divided almost 300 adults diagnosed with generalized anxiety, panic disorder, or social anxiety into either a group who received a daily dose of the medication Lexapro or a group who did weekly mindfulness classes and daily meditation. The participants who took the anxiety medication improved 20 percent on anxiety scales. The group who did the meditation and mindfulness practice achieved the same improvement. This practice might be appropriate for those struggling with anxiety who wish to avoid medication.
Through the stories of a dozen athletes whose injuries and recovery advanced the field (including Joan Benoit, Michael Jordan, Brandi Chastain, and Tommy John), Dr. Geier explains how sports medicine makes sports safer for the pros, amateurs, student-athletes, and weekend warriors alike.
