Concurrent changes in psychological distress and pain thresholds following brief mindfulness: an exploratory phenotyping study of chronic pain.

Brief mindfulness training was associated with concurrent reductions in psychological distress and increases in pain thresholds among people with chronic pain, suggesting a shared underlying mechanism. The exploratory phenotyping study measured changes in distress and pain sensitivity immediately after a short mindfulness intervention, finding that participants who showed the largest improvements in distress also showed the largest increases in pain tolerance. The results indicate that brief mindfulness may simultaneously affect emotional and sensory pain processing.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Concurrent changes in psychological distress and pain thresholds following brief mindfulness: an exploratory phenotyping study of chronic pain.