Chronic pain is typically defined as pain that lasts longer than three months or that exceeds the normal time for tissue healing. This kind of pain can lead to significant healthcare costs, relationship issues, and loss of productivity as well as medical, social, and economic consequences. Furthermore, chronic pain is often accompanied by reduced quality of life and psychiatric issues such as addiction and depression.
In this article, we will be discussing and summarizing the article, “Mindfulness Meditation for Chronic Pain: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.”
(Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and all information provided in this post is from the article which is available in the “references” section at the bottom of the page. This post is meant only to provide a synopsis of the information covered in the original article.)
Introduction
As a result of all the complications that come from chronic pain, there has been an increased interest in treatment options that include adjunctive or alternative therapies. Among these alternative treatments is mindfulness meditation.
Mindfulness is based in Eastern meditation practices and works to create a sensation of detached observation. Mindfulness is often recognized as focusing on the present moment and observing it with acceptance, openness, and curiosity. This kind of meditation is thought to be beneficial by working to refocus the mind on the present moment and increasing the awareness of internal sensations and external surroundings. This increased awareness allows the individual to step back, observe, and reframe their experiences.
Early studies on mindfulness show promising outcomes for the treatment of things such as drug usage, anxiety, depression, pain symptoms, and mood disturbances. However, although there has been some promising evidence, further studies are still needed to provide concrete answers. For the most part, it is up to the individual to determine if they feel that mindfulness meditation would be helpful for them.
Summary
Because of the negative impacts of chronic pain, there has been an increased focus on finding alternative therapies for chronic pain management. Because mindfulness meditation focuses on raising awareness of interior and exterior sensations and reframing experiences, it has shown some promise in improving the quality of life in chronic pain patients.
Study Methodology
Several comprehensive reviews have been conducted regarding controlled trials on chronic pain and mindfulness. This research included a review that showed improvements in coping abilities and depression as well as another study on mindfulness for musculoskeletal pain, fibromyalgia, and back pain that showed small positive improvements in pain. Additionally, the most recent review found that mindfulness helped with improvements in functional status, pain acceptance, quality of life, and pain.
Throughout these studies, the total length of intervention ranged from 3-12 weeks. Across the 29 studies that were examined, the majority used 8 weeks of interventions. Six of these studies used mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) while twenty-one of the studies used mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR).
Summary
Based on the results from the studies that were examined to create this article, mindfulness-based therapies seem to provide some improvement in symptoms. The average length of intervention used in these studies was 8 weeks and the two kinds of interventions that were primarily used were MBCT and MBSR.
Depression
The impacts of mindfulness meditation on depression were reported in 12 of the randomized control trials that were examined in the research paper. It was observed that, overall, meditation significantly reduced depression levels compared to other treatments such as waitlist control groups, education, stress management, support, and treatment as usual.
Quality of Life
Sixteen of the examined studies showed that mindfulness meditation had a significant impact on mental health-related quality of life compared to waitlist control groups, education, stress management, treatment as usual, and support groups.
Analgesic Usage
Only four of the studies that were examined reported on the use of analgesics. One study of MBSR for failed back surgery syndrome showed a decrease in analgesic usage at the 12-week follow-up compared to the control group. However, a study that examined mindfulness meditation and cognitive behavioral therapy versus standard care for lower back pain demonstrated no significant differences in the use of pain medications at the 8 and 26-week follow-ups. Furthermore, several other studies suggest that mindfulness meditation may not provide significant benefits for the reduction of analgesic usage.
Adverse Effects
Only seven of the examined studies reported on adverse effects. Of the seven, four reported no adverse effects, one reported that two of the participants experienced strong feelings of anger towards their pain and two participants experienced an increase and anxiety, and two studies reported mild side effects from progressive muscle relaxation and yoga.
Conclusion
In summary, mindfulness meditation appears to provide a small improvement in pain symptoms when compared to education and support groups, treatment as usual, and passive controls in the analysis of 30 randomized control trials.
Mindfulness meditation was shown to provide a statistically significant improvement in mental health-related quality of life, depression, and physical health-related quality of life. This review concluded that while mindfulness meditation did show significant improvements in quality of life, depression, and chronic pain, a strong body of evidence is lacking. This lack of evidence prevents strong conclusions. Until further evidence is collected and examined, it is up to the patient to decide if they feel mindfulness meditation is helpful or not.
Summary
While mindfulness meditation has been seen to provide some benefits, there is currently not enough evidence to form strong conclusions about whether or not it is an effective pain therapy option. Until further evidence can be gathered and examined, it is up to the patient to determine if they feel that mindfulness meditation is helpful to them.
References
Hilton, Lara, et al. “Mindfulness Meditation for Chronic Pain: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Annals of Behavioral Medicine : a Publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Apr. 2017, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5368208/\.
Kommentare