A mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) course was found to be beneficial for patients with chronic pain and depression, leading to a significant improvement in participants' perceptions of pain, mood and functional capacity, according to a study in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. Most respondents in the survey (89%) said the program helped them find ways to better manage their pain, while 11% remained neutral.
Chronic pain is a common and serious medical condition. The small-scale study was conducted in a semi-rural population in Oregon where issues such as affordability, addiction and access to care are common. Participants received intensive instruction in mindfulness meditation and mindful hatha yoga for eight weeks.
“Many people have lost hope because, in most cases, chronic pain will never completely go away,” says Cynthia Marske, DO, an osteopathic physician and director of medical education at the Benton and Linn County Community Health Clinics. “However, mindful yoga and meditation can help improve the body's structure and function, aiding the healing process.”
Healing and healing are inherently different
“Healing means eliminating disease, while healing refers to becoming more whole,” says Dr. marske. “With chronic pain, healing involves learning to live with a level of pain that is manageable. Yoga and meditation can be very helpful for this.”
The study found that mindful meditation and yoga led to significant improvements in patients' perceptions of pain, depression and disability. After the course, scores on the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), a standard measure of depression, decreased by 3.7 points on a 27-point scale. According to Dr. Marske, some patients experience a similar decrease with the use of an antidepressant.
“Chronic pain often goes hand in hand with depression,” says Dr. Marske. “Mindfulness-based meditation and yoga can help restore both a patient's mental and physical health and may be effective alone or in combination with other treatments, such as therapy and medication.”
Study participants were instructed in MBSR, a systematic educational program based on training people to have an awareness of themselves in the present moment and in a non-judgmental manner. The findings support other evidence that MBSR may be a useful adjunctive treatment for chronic pain while improving perceived depression.
“The bottom line is that patients are looking for new ways to manage chronic pain and that effective non-pharmaceutical treatments are available,” said Dr. marske. “Our findings show that meditation and yoga may be a viable option for people seeking relief from chronic pain.”
