Yoga, Meditation, and Mindfulness for Treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury: A Scoping Review.
Alyssa C Ehrhardt, Matthew J Rogatzki
Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine March 1, 2026 DOI: 10.1177/27683605251379812 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Scoping review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 72 |
| Population | Studies on individuals with traumatic brain injury treated with yoga, meditation, or mindfulness |
| Interventions | yoga meditation mindfulness |
| Duration | 7-8 weeks |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Traumatic brain injury Yoga |
| Key findings | Studies on yoga, meditation, and mindfulness for TBI typically use pre-post or exploratory designs with small, homogeneous samples, no control groups, and a wide range of outcome measures. |
Abstract
The objective of this scoping review was to analyze research using yoga, meditation, and mindfulness (YMM) as a treatment for traumatic brain injury (TBI). The rationale for this review was to provide an understanding of the methodology and outcome measures used in studies that include YMM as TBI treatment. There are currently no reviews that investigate how all three of these modalities are used in TBI treatment. This review is meant to draw attention to how this research is done and potentially improve future research study design. Criteria for studies included in this review were developed according to the participants, concept, and context framework. Specifically, participants must have experienced a TBI, the TBI had to be treated with yoga, mindfulness, meditation, or some combination of the three, subjects could not exclusively have had acquired brain injury such as stroke or Alzheimer's disease, and the study must have been published in the English language. PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsyArXiv, ProQuest, and LoveYourBrain were searched for articles that met our criteria. A total of 72 articles were extracted to address 15 variables. The majority of studies used either a pre-post or exploratory study design with no more than 29 female Caucasian subjects in the age range of 45-54 years. Most subjects participated in the study one month since their mild to severe TBI. In order to treat TBI symptoms, most studies used mindfulness, with the treatment done in person. Sessions of treatment typically occurred on a weekly basis for 10-30 min over 7-8 weeks. Outcome measures used to determine efficacy of treatment were primarily quality of life, followed by cognitive function and depression. Most studies were conducted in the United States after 2010 in the journal Brain Injury with no type of funding. Studies using YMM for treatment of TBI are typically done on a single type of population with a wide range of outcome variables and no control group. Future research may aim to include a control group and a variety of outcome measures consistent with those used in previous studies for result comparisons.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical populations | 2003 | Review | |
| Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects | 2007 | Review | |
| Mindfulness Interventions | 2016 | Review | |
| Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation | 2017 | Review | |
| Mindfulness and acceptance: expanding the cognitive-behavioral tradition | 2005 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cites 16
- Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) improves long-term mental fatigue after stroke or traumatic brain injury Brain Injury July 13, 2012
- A brief mindfulness-based intervention for stress, pain, emotion and attention regulation in military service members with mild traumatic brain injury. Journal of Clinical Psychology August 1, 2024
- An online self-study mindfulness-based stress reduction course for people suffering from mental fatigue after an acquired brain injury. Brain Injury July 28, 2024
- Progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, and mental practice-based interventions for the treatment of tremor after traumatic brain injury. Physiotherapy Theory and Practice October 2024
- Smartphone App-Delivered Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in Adolescents: Protocol for a Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Research Protocols April 11, 2024
and 11 more in the library