Steven D Pratscher, PhD, Lloyd Lalande, PhD, Mark A Lumley, PhD, Irene M Estores, MD, Adam W Hanley, PhD, Kimberly T Sibille, PhD, Roger B Fillingim, PhD;
Pain MedicineMarch 25, 2026Lorena S Nunes, Angela C. Incollingo Rodriguez, Benjamin C. Nephew et al.
Dear Editor, Chronic low back pain (cLBP) is increasingly prevalent across populations and ages.1 Low back pain is currently the leading cause of disability worldwide.2 Beyond widespread effects on individual functioning and well-being, the financial,3 psychological,4 and social5 implications of cLBP are vast. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is effective in decreasing various pain...
Labor epidural placement can cause significant procedural anxiety for patients. Behavioral interventions, such as mindful meditation, can effectively reduce anxiety, including during pregnancy. This study aimed to assess the impact of a 10-minute mindful meditation session on anxiety and pain during labor epidural placement. Pregnant women were recruited and randomized into 2 groups: A...
Known for their capacity to alter perception and consciousness, psychedelics are increasingly being explored for therapeutic applications in treating conditions such chronic pain, major depressive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. 1,2 Despite historical stigmas and legal restrictions, recent changes in legislation and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recognition...
Although mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are widely used in clinical and nonclinical settings, there has been little systematic study of their potential risks. To address this gap, we examined differences in psychological and physical worsening among participants in the usual care and intervention conditions of a 3-group, randomized pragmatic trial (Learning to Apply Mindfulness to Pain...
Pain MedicineSeptember 1, 2024Jeongsoo Kim, Hangaram Kim, Jae Eun Kim et al.1 citation
To investigate the predictive value of thoracic sympathetic ganglion block (TSGB) in response to ketamine infusion therapy (KIT) and spinal-cord stimulation (SCS) in patients with chronic upper-extremity pain including complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). Retrospective. Tertiary hospital single-center. Patients who underwent TSGB receiving KIT or SCS within a 3-year window. Positive TSGB...
Fibromyalgia is a chronic and disabling condition that presents management challenges for both patients and healthcare providers. The objective of this systematic review was to summarize current evidence on the effectiveness and safety of mind-body therapies in the treatment and/or management of fibromyalgia. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, AMED, and CINAHL databases from their inception...
Pain MedicineMay 3, 2024Mayumi Oguchi, Michael K Nicholas, Ali Asghari et al.9 citations
As psychologically based interventions have been shown to have clinical utility for adults with chronic pain generally, a similar benefit might be expected in the management of chronic neuropathic pain (NeuP). However, to date, this has not been established, with existing systematic reviews on this topic being hampered by the scarcity of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). This review aimed to...
Background: Improving pain management for persons with chronic low back pain (LBP) undergoing surgery is an important consideration in improving patient-centered outcomes and reducing the risk of persistent opioid use after surgery. Nonpharmacological treatments, including physical therapy and mindfulness, are beneficial for nonsurgical LBP through complementary biopsychosocial mechanisms, but...
Pain MedicineJune 1, 2023Bethany D Pester, Jenna M Wilson, Jihee Yoon et al.
Objective: To assess whether brief mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy (MBCBT) could enhance the benefits of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in improving pain and pain-related disability. Specifically, to determine 1) whether patients who received MBCBT differed from matched controls who received treatment-as-usual with regard to postsurgical pain outcomes and 2) whether changes in...
Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is among the most common types of pain in adults. Currently, injections and analgesic and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are often provided for patients with CLBP. However, their effectiveness remains questionable, and the safest approach to CLBP remains debated. Meditation-based therapies constitute an alternative treatment with high potential for widespread...
Pain MedicineNovember 26, 2021Mohammed M Faraj, Nina M Lipanski, Austin Morales et al.
Standard of care for opioid use disorder (OUD) includes medication and counseling. However, there is an unmet need for complementary approaches to treat OUD patients coping with pain; furthermore, few studies have probed neurobiological features of pain or its management during OUD treatment. This preliminary study examines neurobiological and behavioral effects of a virtual reality-based...
Pain MedicineFebruary 23, 2021Anna M. Polaski, A. Phelps, Thomas J. Smith et al.
OBJECTIVE This pilot trial examined the effects of a combined intervention of mindfulness meditation followed by aerobic walking exercise compared with a control condition in chronic low back pain patients. We hypothesized that meditation before exercise would reduce disability, pain, and anxiety by increasing mindfulness prior to physical activity compared with an audiobook control group....
OBJECTIVE Psychological treatments for chronic low back pain (CLBP) are effective. However, limited research has investigated their neurophysiological mechanisms. This study examined electroencephalography- (EEG-) assessed brain oscillation changes as potential mechanisms of cognitive therapy (CT), mindfulness-meditation (MM), and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) for CLBP. The a...
BACKGROUND Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are evidence-based nonpharmacological treatments for treating chronic pain. However, the predominant MBI, mindfulness-based stress reduction, has features that pose significant implementation barriers. OBJECTIVES This study will test two approaches to delivering MBIs for improving Veterans' chronic pain and mental health comorbidities. These two...
Self-compassion meditation, which involves compassion toward the self in moments of suffering, shows promise for improving pain-related functioning, but its underlying mechanisms are unknown. This longitudinal, exploratory pilot study investigated the effects of a brief (eight contact hours, two weeks of home practice) self-compassion training on pain-related brain processing in chronic low...
OBJECTIVE The Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program is effective at improving chronic pain outcomes, but the time demand hinders participation. This preliminary study evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and potential effects of providing an abbreviated mindfulness program for patients with chronic pain. DESIGN A single-arm, mixed-methods, pre-post intervention study. SETTING An...
AbstractObjectiveThis pilot trial compared the feasibility, tolerability, acceptability, and effects of group-delivered mindfulness meditation (MM), cognitive therapy (CT), and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) for chronic low back pain (CLBP).SettingUniversity of Queensland Psychology Clinic.SubjectsParticipants were N = 69 (intent-to-treat [ITT] sample) adults with CLBP.DesignA...
Pain MedicineNovember 1, 2018José G Luiggi-Hernandez, Jean Woo, Megan Hamm et al.
Abstract: Objective: Mindfulness is a nonpharmacologic mind-body therapy that has been shown to be effective in older adults with chronic low back pain (cLBP). There are few first-person accounts in the literature that describe the older adult experience and perspective while learning mindfulness and meditation to treat pain. The objective of this study was to investigate dominant themes...
Pain MedicineNovember 1, 2017Anthony M Harrison, Whitney Scott, Louise C Johns et al.
Over the past 50 years, the field of chronic pain has witnessed an evolution of psychological approaches with some notable success. Some of this evolution has included "mindfulness-based interventions" (MBIs), now regarded as having encouraging partial support for their effectiveness. However, several theoretical challenges remain that may inhibit the progress of MBIs. These challenges include...
Dear Editor, Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) describes a disease of localized chronic pain that often occurs after preceding trauma, is out of proportion to its expected course, and includes other symptoms such as hair loss and allodynia [1]. There are no known psychologic or personality factors associated with its development [2]. Therapy is multimodal, and pharmacologic treatments...
Pain MedicineSeptember 1, 2016K. Maskell, Michael D. Bailey, S. R. Rose
Dear Editor, Methoxetamine (MXE) is a non-scheduled arylcyclohexylamine drug of abuse with clinical effects similar to ketamine or phencyclidine [1]. We report a case of MXE toxicity after self-medicating for treatment of chronic foot pain. A 29-year-old man was brought to the emergency department (ED) for altered mental status. He was apprehended by police after running into the street and...
Pain MedicineJune 2016Danielle Dresner, Katherine Gergen-Barnett, Kirsten Resnick et al.
Integrative Medicine Group Visits (IMGVs) are an 8-week outpatient medical group visit program for chronic pain patients combining mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), integrative medicine, and patient education. The authors conducted a qualitative study with IMGV participants to better understand the effects of IMGVs on patients' health. This qualitative study enrolled a convenience...
Research shows that mindfulness meditation (MM) affects pain perception; however, studies have yet to measure patterns of change over time. We examined effects of MM on perception of experimental heat pain using multiple psychophysical indices, including pattern of change in response to tonic painful stimuli. We also tested the potential moderating role of baseline mindfulness. Forty...
OBJECTIVE: To assess benefits of mindfulness meditation and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)-based intervention for opioid-treated chronic low back pain (CLBP). DESIGN: 26-week parallel-arm pilot randomized controlled trial (Intervention and Usual Care versus Usual Care alone). SETTING: Outpatient. SUBJECTS: Adults with CLBP, prescribed ≥30 mg/day of morphine-equivalent dose (MED) for at...