Effect of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in Increasing Pain Tolerance and Improving the Mental Health of Injured Athletes
Frontiers in Psychology May 15, 2018 W. Mohammed, A. Pappous, D. Sharma
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) practiced for 8 weeks (one 90-minute session per week) alongside usual physiotherapy increased pain tolerance and mindful awareness in injured athletes. Twenty athletes (14 male, 6 female, aged 21–36) with severe injuries preventing sport for over 3 months participated. The intervention group showed an increase in pain tolerance and mindful awareness, and both groups experienced a promising change in positive mood. Stress and anxiety scores notably decreased across sessions, but no significant changes appeared in other main or interaction effects. The findings suggest mindfulness can aid sport rehabilitation by enhancing pain tolerance and awareness.