A Mindfulness-Based Pain Management (MBPM) program produced lasting improvements for people with chronic non-cancer pain. Among 65 participants, pain intensity, pain acceptance, psychopathological symptoms, negative thoughts related to pain, and physical quality of life all improved significantly after the program, and most gains were maintained at a 12-month follow-up. Better physical quality of life at 12 months was predicted by lower pain intensity and fewer negative thoughts before treatment, and by lower pain intensity and greater acceptance after treatment. The findings suggest that MBPM offers positive and durable benefits for chronic pain.
A mindfulness-based pain management (MBPM) program produced moderate to large improvements in pain management, pain acceptance, use of analgesics, psychopathological symptoms, negative thoughts, self-blame, mental-health-related quality of life, and resilience among chronic pain patients. Non-fibromyalgia chronic pain patients benefited significantly more than those with fibromyalgia. The study randomized 90 chronic pain patients to either an MBPM group (50 patients) or a wait-list control group (40 patients) and assessed them before and after treatment. The findings suggest MBPM is effective for chronic pain, and adding cognitive behavioral therapy components might address sleep, rumination, and need for control.